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.
! 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. See your
dealer or a qualified service technician 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
numbers 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.
! California fuel
If your vehicle was certified to California
Emission Standards as indicated on the
underhood tune-up label, it is designed to
optimize engine and emission control
system 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
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your vehicle to an authorized dealer for
service. The CHECK ENGINE warning
light/malfunction indicator light may also
turn on. If this occurs, return to your
authorized SUBARU dealer for diagnosis.
If it is determined that the condition is
caused by the type of fuel used, repairs
may not be covered by your warranty.
! MMT
Some gasoline contains an octane-enhancing additive called MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl Manganese T