Starting and operating / Fuel
7-3
Fuel
CAUTION
Use of a fuel which is low in quality or use of an inappropriate fuel additive may cause engine damage.
& Fuel requirements
! STI
The engine is designed to operate at maximum performance using unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 93 AKI( 98 RON) or higher. If 93 AKI( 98 RON) fuel is not readily available in your area, unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 AKI( 95 RON) may be used with no detriment to engine durability or driveability. However, you may notice a slight decrease in maximum engine performance while using 91 AKI( 95 RON) fuel. Use of 91 AKI( 95 RON) fuel will not affect your warranty coverage.
! Except STI
The engine is designed to operate using unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 AKI( 95 RON) or higher. If 91 AKI( 95 RON) fuel is not readily available, unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of
87 AKI( 90 RON) may be used.
Regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87 AKI( 90 RON) or higher may also be used. Using regular unleaded gasoline will not be detrimental to engine durability, nor will it affect your warranty coverage. However, depending on your driving habits and conditions, you may notice a decrease in maximum engine performance, fuel economy or slight engine vibration or knocking. If you experience any of these conditions while using a lower octane rated fuel, you may want to return to using 91 AKI( 95 RON) octane rated fuel as soon as possible. Additionally, if your vehicle knocks heavily or persistently, the use of 91 AKI( 95 RON) or higher grade unleaded gasoline is required.
! 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 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.
! 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 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
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