https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/30/aaa-e15-gas-harm-cars/1735793/
AAA warns E15 gasoline could cause car damage

...

"It is clear that millions of Americans are unfamiliar with E15, which means there is a strong possibility that many may improperly fill up using this gasoline and damage their vehicle," AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet tells USA TODAY. "Bringing E15 to the market without adequate safeguards does not responsibly meet the needs of consumers."

BMW, Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota and VW have said their warranties will not cover fuel-related claims caused by E15. Ford, Honda, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have said E15 use will void warranties, says Darbelnet, citing potential corrosive damage to fuel lines, gaskets and other engine components.

Bob Dinneen, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, says E15 is safe for virtually all post-2001 vehicles, based on extensive government-sponsored testing. "We think the (EPA) warning label should be sufficient to notify consumers,'' Dinneen says. "There are no corrosive issues with E15. If there's an issue with E15 (damaging vehicles) we're going to know about it, and the EPA is going to know about it."

But the American Petroleum Institute says a three-year study conducted by automakers and the oil industry found that E15 is a consumer safety issue for a majority of drivers with pre-2012 vehicles. "Our testing of a range of ethanol levels at 15% to 20% has identified issues about engine durability,'' API group director and engineer Bob Greco says.

...

Virtually every car made since then is compatible with E15.

It’s illegal to use E15 in either.

had a marine mechanic tell me to never leave gas in the engine. He said disconnect your fuel line when you put the boat on the trailer, and allow the motor to run out of gas before pulling the boat out of the water. Ever since I been doing this, I never had a fuel problem on my outboards.

I can see no chemical reason why gas (E0, E5, E10, or E15) would be any more corrosive today than in the past.
Corrosivity in metals is caused by the dissociation of acid functionalities into a solvent with thr properties of water.
That is almost NO organic solvents.
Plus in the past the sulfur compounds in gasoline (at retail) was 8 to 10x higher than today. It went from pretty darned small to super low. That's why we're puking less sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere with our cars.
So, the dissociable functional groups aren't as high, and there is little to know water in gas both new & in the past.
The issue with leaving gas in the engine has nothing to do with corrosion. It gas to do with the double bonds in the naphthebe being susceptible to oxidation & subsequent cyckization, creating the equivalent of varnish/lacquer that can plug fuel ports.
In modern engines, the fuel injectors drain down, and the tubing is sealed resulting in minimal air exposure.
If an engine actually has a carburetor, it can be a problem. I've got a shut-off valve on the backup generator so I can run the carburetor completely dry. But either way, it has nothing to do with corrosion.
I'm no car expert, but I am a chemistry expert & that corrosion from modern gas seems completely made up.

I can't remember what I had to do, but I had to buy something so my 60s car would be able to handle the new gas.
I'm thinking it's probably similar to this.

Last edited Sun Mar 22, 2026, 06:39 AM - Edit history (1)

a lead additive at Autozone for my older 9.5 HP Evinrude kicker motor on my Lund fishing boat.

It’s main purpose was to lubricate and coat the valve seats in the older engines.

This was an issue resolved back when Obama was president.

But yes, I do see reduced fuel economy when running E15 vs E10. But the cost is cheaper, so it's a wash.

Check the manual.

My 2006 truck is not E15 compliant.

As I said, this was resolved 15 yr ago.

Congrats on keeping it running so long though; I'm hoping my Ford can be so lucky.

You're going to have to look around to find it, if you're lucky you have a seller near you, and it's going to be another fifty cents a gallon. But it beats having to put a new carb kit on every year, or worse having to replace the entire carb. Plus, if you figure in all the environmental damage done growing all that corn for ethanol you'll find that ethanol fuel is worse for our environment than non ethanol fuel.

I hate using E10 in my car, lousy fuel economy, but can't afford regular gas. My car is twenty years old this year. I got gas yesterday (Friday) at Walmart, it all still said "up to 10%", so I hope they aren't lying.

Way back in the day, when ethanol was first being added to gas, we had to use it because it was cheaper, and we were broke. It didn't pay off, we got a lot less mileage, but when all you have is five bucks, and you need to get around, you do what you have to do. Then I got a bit more money (after the divorce, better pay, less paying for an a-hole), I never got ethanol/gas. Now it's harder and more expensive than ever. Good thing I don't have to drive much.

It's bad for the environment (all agriculture is bad for the environment) and it doesn't reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. The industry is just a convoluted way of subsidizing farmers who should probably be doing something else.

Please note, I am not any kind of representative of the Democratic Party. I'm speaking here as an environmentalist.

Of petroleum with a renewable feedstock. No matter what, you need an octane booster that’s safe. If you pull ethanol, we need to add an additional oxygen to the fuel. ISO Butanol is better but it’s more expensive and it come from either cracking gas or oil.

Ethanol is the better source.

10% ethanol reduces MPG by 10%.

Ethanol is a subsidy for billionaires who own corn and soy mega farms.

We used to use MTT or MTMB. They both contaminate ground water. Ethanol is a much safer alternative.

I was working for years with formulation of Iso Butanol into octane booster. It is being used for some marine and as ethanol free gas ( it’s ethanol free, but the octane booster is still needed). It’s a lot more expensive.

You can get away from ethanol, your fuel prices will go up substantially.

Brazil uses 27% soon to raise to 30% ethanol. It doesn’t damage the cars as long as they are designed for it.

https://hedgescompany.com/blog/2024/02/average-age-of-cars-trucks/

And my older brother still runs his 1970 'Cuda but keeps is fairly close to home these days, it's pretty low slung for some roads in Montana.

There's a certain date - I think it's March 15th - and usually the price goes up BECAUSE THEY CAN. Yes the gas is worth less, and yes they charge MORE for it.

I thought the same switch was happening all over the country. The retailers automatically sell 10% ethanol gas until some time in October. Who knows? Maybe it won't change back this year. (But the price will keep going up anyway.)

The atmosphere. Heat causes more evaporation. They change the formulation in the summer and one reason is to change to a more expensive blend that does vaporize in the air as easily. It’s compliance to our environmental laws and a good thing, but more expensive.

A bit off.

The gasoline needs an octane booster to raise the octane and run without knocks in our modern engines. The previous octane boosters did a lot of harm to the environment and are still in our water.
Ethanol is much safer. There are other octane boosters you can use. They are all more expensive and come from petroleum based feedstocks. Ethanol is a renewable resource.

Gasoline in many stations using ethanol free gas use iso butanol. It’s not hygroscopic and much better in marine applications. It’s also more expensive.

Ethanol is about a 113 octane. It’s cheap and doesn’t damage the environment permanently if spilled. It also doesn’t require more oil or natural gas to produce.

But after this post, I’ll be more observant. Thanks..always learning something new here

Unleaded 88 is 88% and is for most cars after 2000 and is what I use for my car. Be careful with E15