Starting and operating/Fuel
Fuel
CAUTION
Use of a fuel which is low in quality
or use of an inappropriate fuel
additive may cause damage to the
engine and/or fuel system.
& Fuel requirements
The engine is designed to operate using
unleaded gasoline with an octane rating
of 87 AKI (90 RON) or higher.
! Mexico only
Add a bottle of genuine SUBARU fuel
additive to the fuel every 15,000 km (9,000
miles). Refer to an authorized SUBARU
dealer for details.
! Fuel octane rating
Using a gasoline with a lower octane rating
can cause persistent and heavy knocking,
which can damage the engine. Do not be
concerned if your vehicle sometimes
knocks lightly when you drive up a hill or
when you accelerate. Contact your
SUBARU dealer if you use a fuel with the
specified octane rating and your vehicle
knocks heavily or persistently.
! RON
This octane rating is the Research Octane
Number.
! AKI
This octane rating is the average of the
Research Octane and Motor Octane num-
bers and is commonly referred to as the
Anti Knock Index (AKI).
! Unleaded gasoline
The neck of the fuel filler pipe is designed
to accept only an unleaded gasoline filler
nozzle. Under no circumstances should
leaded gasoline be used because it will
damage the emission control system and
may impair driveability and fuel economy.
! Gasoline for California-certified
LEV
If your vehicle was certified to California’s
low emission vehicle (LEV) standards as
indicated on the underhood tune-up label,
it is designed to optimize engine and
emission performance with gasoline that
meets the clean burning low-sulfur Cali-
fornia gasoline specifications. If you live in
any other state than California, your
vehicle will operate on gasoline meeting
Federal specifications. Gasoline sold out-
side California is permitted to have higher
sulfur levels, which may affect the perfor-
mance of your vehicle’s catalytic converter
7-3
and may produce a sulfur exhaust odor or
smell. SUBARU recommends that you try
a different brand of unleaded gasoline
having lower sulfur to determine if the
problem is fuel related before returning
your vehicle to an authorized dealer for
service.
! MMT
Some gasoline contains an octane-enhan-
cing additive called MMT (Methylcyclo-
pentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl). If
you use such fuels, your emission control
system performance may deteriorate and
the CHECK ENGINE warning light/Mal-
function indicator light may turn on. If this
happens, return to your authorized
SUBARU Dealer for service. If it is
determined that the condition is caused
by the type of fuel used, repairs may not be
covered by your warranty.
! Gasoline for cleaner air
Your use of gasoline with detergent ad-
ditives will help prevent deposits from
forming in your engine and fuel system.
This helps keep your engine in tune and
your emission control system working
properly, and is a way of doing your part
for cleaner air. If you continuously use a
high quality fuel with the proper detergent
and other additives, you should never
need to add any fuel system cleaning
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