I'm wondering if there is any long term problems with Subarus and using gas with MTBE (or other additives) in it? Most of the stations around here are using gas with MTBE in it (Only a few are not), and I have heard in other forums that it can eat some of the fuel delivery systems, particularly on older cars. . .

 

Does anyone have info on these issues?

It's been in our gas here for years and no problems to date.

The only problem is the stupid ethanol. Minnesota is talking about mandating 20%. No thanks. How many farm subsidies do we need? If your concerned add some seafoam...it is the ultimate fuel stabilizer.

MTBE is bad stuff. ethinol is far better. yes ethinol is bad on old rubber fuel lines. MTBE is bad for injectors and all sorts of other parts. it causes power loss compared to regular fuel. it also has a habbit of seeping into the ground watter system and making the water undrinkable and harming the fish and other kritters. the best part is I hear its a waste product that they are selling to us rather than figure out how to dispose of it properly. MTBE is being phased out here in CA finally. most other states threw the stuff out within months. CA is a little slow for some reason. if you have a 76 station there I highly recomend using it as the do not use MTBE.

If I recall right, MTBE was approved and mandated by the EPA. Must not be all bad?

MTBE is bad stuff. ethinol is far better. yes ethinol is bad on old rubber fuel lines. MTBE is bad for injectors and all sorts of other parts. it causes power loss compared to regular fuel. it also has a habbit of seeping into the ground watter system and making the water undrinkable and harming the fish and other kritters. the best part is I hear its a waste product that they are selling to us rather than figure out how to dispose of it properly. MTBE is being phased out here in CA finally. most other states threw the stuff out within months. CA is a little slow for some reason. if you have a 76 station there I highly recomend using it as the do not use MTBE.

Union 76 is also the highest priced gasoline in the state. . . Would Seafoam correct problems with the injectors until I'm no longer forced to burn this stuff?

If I recall right, MTBE was approved and mandated by the EPA. Must not be all bad?

the purpous of MTBE is to reduce NOX but at the same time it reduces fuel mileage causing you to burn more fuel and therefore emiting more emissions over all.

so there is a good purpous behind it but the negitivs out weigh the positives.

 

sea foam is good stuff but it does not take the MTBE out of the gas.

dont worry its been given the ax. it will be gone soon.

http://www.energy.ca.gov/mtbe/

 

http://tsrtp.ucdavis.edu:16080/mtberpt/

 

according to that first link, MTBE is supposed to be gone already.

It is well past Dec 31, 2003. . . Why is this stuff still being sold in this state?

Is there any other problem with this stuff, besides that you get crappy milage? I can verify that the milage takes a major dive with this stuff in the tank. I was using cheapie gas for a while that had this in it (it was also $0.12 cheaper than anything else on the market at the time. Once the rest of the stations dropped thier prices to the same as that one, I stopped using them.) and my milage was horrible. . . Down below 20MPG combined. I usually get 24 combined. . . Once I went back to Arco, the milage went back to normal. . .

MTBE was required for a few years to make what was generally called oxygenated fuel. It wasn't just a drop or two either, sometimes 25 to 30 percent content. The idea of oxygenated fuel was to make the few old cars still running be a bit less polluting, not much if any effect on the vast majority of modern (88 up) cars with electronic injection, o2 sensors, etc. The reason it has been pulled is that it has a remarkable ability to pollute ground water if it leaks out of the underground tanks, up to a distance of miles from the leaking tank as i understand it. That problem was known ahead of time which is why all the stations had to dig up their old tanks and stick in the double shell fiberglass tanks with leak sensors that are now everywhere. Somehow, there were still instances of whole towns losing their ground water, so MTBE which is made from oil, is now replaced by ethanol made from corn for the most part.