I own a Nissan and every year at this time my gas mileage drops considerably. During the winter months, as long as the car is running fine, I just reset the check engine light. My Nissan mechanic claims, the check engine light could be a false code because of this: MTBE, read on...
If your car is getting poor gas mileage, call State Legislature, not your mechanic. The idea of "watering down" gasoline by adding oxygen was to lean out old carbureted cars so that they would pollute less. In an old carbureted car running rich (too much fuel), the move to oxygenated gas significantly reduces carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emission. However, the old carbureted cars that were running lean, would stall on the oxygenated gas unless they are adjusted to use more fuel. These cars were designed for unoxygenated gasoline that is more volatile then the current gasoline. We pay extra for gasoline with less energy so that old carbureted cars running rich will pollute less. For those of us with Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI), the oxygen sensor detects the added oxygen and says more fuel, more fuel. Unoxygenated gasoline has more energy per gallon then oxygenated gasoline. This means that it takes more gasoline to supply the same energy. In other words, my gas mileage sucks from Nov. till April every year.
Other side effects of adding oxygen to gasoline wa rubber hose deterioration and rust of fuel lines. Many old cars were not designed for Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether because of rubber hoses which would crack and leak. In addition, an oxygenated compound, whether it be Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether or Alcohol, absorbs water from damp air, causing fuel lines to corrode from the inside and eventually leak. I have been told that the number of car fires in old cars had increased significantly for a few years after MTBE was introduced. I suspect that many of the metal gas tanks at the Gas Stations also rusted because of MTBE, releasing gasoline and the carcinogenic MTBE into the ground water. Since oxygenated compounds are water soluble, MTBE easily mixes with ground water which can rapidly spread it for miles, making the water unfit to drink. To prevent leakage of MTBE, cars built after MTBE was introduced used fuel line materials that would not corrode with MTBE.
If your car is getting poor gas mileage, call State Legislature, not your mechanic. The idea of "watering down" gasoline by adding oxygen was to lean out old carbureted cars so that they would pollute less. In an old carbureted car running rich (too much fuel), the move to oxygenated gas significantly reduces carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emission. However, the old carbureted cars that were running lean, would stall on the oxygenated gas unless they are adjusted to use more fuel. These cars were designed for unoxygenated gasoline that is more volatile then the current gasoline. We pay extra for gasoline with less energy so that old carbureted cars running rich will pollute less. For those of us with Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI), the oxygen sensor detects the added oxygen and says more fuel, more fuel. Unoxygenated gasoline has more energy per gallon then oxygenated gasoline. This means that it takes more gasoline to supply the same energy. In other words, my gas mileage sucks from Nov. till April every year.
Other side effects of adding oxygen to gasoline wa rubber hose deterioration and rust of fuel lines. Many old cars were not designed for Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether because of rubber hoses which would crack and leak. In addition, an oxygenated compound, whether it be Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether or Alcohol, absorbs water from damp air, causing fuel lines to corrode from the inside and eventually leak. I have been told that the number of car fires in old cars had increased significantly for a few years after MTBE was introduced. I suspect that many of the metal gas tanks at the Gas Stations also rusted because of MTBE, releasing gasoline and the carcinogenic MTBE into the ground water. Since oxygenated compounds are water soluble, MTBE easily mixes with ground water which can rapidly spread it for miles, making the water unfit to drink. To prevent leakage of MTBE, cars built after MTBE was introduced used fuel line materials that would not corrode with MTBE.
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