Starting and operating
Fuel
CAUTION
Use of a fuel which is low in quality
or use of an inappropriate fuel
additive may cause engine damage.
& Fuel requirements
! Non-turbo models
The 2.5-liter non-turbo engine is designed
to operate using unleaded gasoline with
an octane rating of 87 AKI or higher.
! Turbo models
The 2.5-liter turbo engine is designed to
operate using premium unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 AKI or
higher. If premium unleaded gasoline is
not available, regular unleaded gasoline
with an octane rating of 87 AKI or higher
may be temporarily used. For optimum
engine performance and driveability, it is
required that you use premium grade
unleaded gasoline.
NOTE
Be sure to use premium unleaded
gasoline of 91 AKI or higher for turbo
engine models. If other gasoline (lower
than 91 AKI) is used, knocking, reduced output and poor accelerator
response will result.
! Fuel octane rating
This octane rating is the average of the
Research Octane and Motor Octane
numbers and is commonly referred to as
the Anti Knock Index (AKI).
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.
! 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
7-3
emission performance with gasoline that
meets the clean burning low-sulfur California gasoline specifications. If you live in
any other state than California, your
vehicle will operate on gasoline meeting
Federal specifications. Gasoline sold outside California is permitted to have higher
sulfur levels, which may affect the performance of your vehicle’s catalytic converter
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-enhancing additive called MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl). If
you use such fuels, your emission control
system performance may deteriorate and
the CHECK ENGINE warning light/Malfunction indicator lamp 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.
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