dealership said do NOT run higher octane in sport

[Brian41]

I have posted two two recent threads on here about issues with my 2015 sport I recently purchased acting sluggish and having all kinds of power issues. The first time the dealership said it was probably bad fuel and that I SHOULD use either 89 or 93 octane gas. I told them that I had been putting 89 but I would then try 93.
I ran several tanks of 93 octane and the car still had issues.

I just took it back to the same dealership and they now tell me the mechanic noticed the lack of power and said he found it was running 3 times as high in octane as it should be. They then told me to use only 87 octane and to never use anything higher again. They said after a few tanks it should start running better. The mechanic said had I kept running at higher octane "I would have burned that engine out".

I'm no car expert and I feel they are giving me the run around. I know the 3.5 ecoboost is designed to run on all 3 grades of gas and I feel even if this helps the problem, it is just putting a bandaid on the issue as there is still something not right with the engine not coping with the higher octanes it is supposed to have.

Those who have far more knowledge on this forum than me, please chime in, as your responses are going to help me decide my next phone call to this dealership, as I'm not real happy. Thanks.

 

[jade97]

I just took it back to the same dealership and they now tell me the mechanic noticed the lack of power and said he found it was running 3 times as high in octane as it should be. They then told me to use only 87 octane and to never use anything higher again. They said after a few tanks it should start running better. The mechanic said had I kept running at higher octane "I would have burned that engine out".

The only thing I can suggest you visit a different dealership.......clearly an idiot for a mechanic or they were just trying to get rid of you.

 

[Lee1974]

try reading your owners manual and see what octane it suggests or the gas cap should tell you possibly. The factory knows way more about it than some mechanic at the dealership ever will.

 

[Brian41]

try reading your owners manual and see what octane it suggests or the gas cap should tell you possibly. The factory knows way more about it than some mechanic at the dealership ever will.

The manual say 87 octane is ok but premium will increase performance/help when towing. I just don't understand how the dealership is contradicting the manual and not fixing my car which still runs terrible

 

[peterk9]

try reading your owners manual and see what octane it suggests or the gas cap should tell you possibly.......

I'm guessing you mean the fuel filler door since the Explorer doesn't have a gas cap. Honestly I've never looked to see if there is any info on there.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

The manual say 87 octane is ok but premium will increase performance/help when towing. I just don't understand how the dealership is contradicting the manual and not fixing my car which still runs terrible

I doubt very much that the gasoline octane is the cause of your issue. I've run 87 and 89 without problems and many here use 91 or 93 where it is available. If you read the fine print on the brochure you will see that it says that the advertised HP and Torque were achieved using 93 octane gas. I agree that you should find yourself another dealership.

Peter

 

[TinMan4154]

From my 2017 Sport manual:

"For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended. The performance gained by using premium fuel is most noticeable in hot weather as well as other conditions, for example when towing a trailer."

 

[rmcalis]

I just took it back to the same dealership and they now tell me the mechanic noticed the lack of power and said he found it was running 3 times as high in octane as it should be.

So the mechanic thought you were running 261 octane gasoline? (87 X 3 = 261)

 

[JETZ]

That's 'Moonshine', isn't it?

 

[pacman9270]

Manual for the '16 EX Sport staes 91 octane or higher recommended.

 

[reserved50]

did I really just read this. If its brand name gas 87 octane is fine, unless you are towing, racing, tractor pulls, hill climb events, driving with parking brake on etc.

 

[Brian41]

Anybody know why this would be happening in my vehicle where it is not utilizing the higher octane gas correctly?

 

[peterk9]

Manual for the '16 EX Sport staes 91 octane or higher recommended.

You must have a special "Sport" Manual.
Here is what the 'regular' 2016 Explorer Manual shows for fuel recommendation;

We recommend regular unleaded gasoline
with a minimum pump (R+M)/2 octane
rating of 87. Some fuel stations offer fuels
posted as regular unleaded gasoline with
an octane rating below 87, particularly in
high altitude areas. We do not recommend
fuels with an octane rating below 87.
For vehicles with EcoBoost engines, to
provide improved performance, we
recommend premium fuel for severe duty
usage such as trailer tow.

So unless you are using it for severe duty or trailer towing, the recommended 87 is just fine.

Peter

 

[Sixonemale]

Brian, In a kind way all responses to your initial post are saying that the mechanic at dealership is completely incompetent, an idiot and wrong about what he said regarding octane. The higher the octane the better or stronger the performance of a engine, so long as the octane is not off the charts. Your best bet is to take your car to another dealership because it is extremely unlikely that the octane level of your fuel is the root cause of your problem associated with poor performance.

 

[Brian41]

I contacted another dealership today and told them what was going on. They were nice enough to put me on the phone with who they consider their top mechanic. I told him what the other dealership said about the octane and he stated that was the most absurd thing he heard in a while. I am scheduled for him to look at the vehicle next friday Anybody know the best way to file a complaint with the other Dealership? They acknowledged something is wrong with the vehicle and are clearly dodging wanting to do any warranty work. I am one very unhappy ford customer.

 

[Machine090767]

From my 2017 Sport manual:

"For best overall vehicle and engine performance, premium fuel with an octane rating of 91 or higher is recommended. The performance gained by using premium fuel is most noticeable in hot weather as well as other conditions, for example when towing a trailer."

Proof of said comment, please.

 

[TinMan4154]

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/F...picHRef=G1717126&div=f&vFilteringEnabled=True

 

[peterk9]

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/F...picHRef=G1717126&div=f&vFilteringEnabled=True

That is from the 2017 Owner's Manual, not from the 2016 which pacman9270 mentioned. There was a change made. See my post #13 above.

FYI, here is what the OP's 2015 Manual says;

2.0L/3.5L EcoBoost® engines:
Regular unleaded gasoline with a pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87 is
recommended. Some stations offer fuels posted as “Regular” with an
octane rating below 87, particularly in high altitude areas. Fuels with
octane levels below 87 are not recommended. Premium fuel will provide
improved performance and is recommended for severe duty usage such
as trailer tow.

Peter

 

[ckc123]

The higher the octane the better or stronger the performance of a engine, so long as the octane is not off the charts.

This is not always true and also depends on the vehicle it's being driven in. The effect of a higher octane is a longer duration burn (less bang/pinging) however, newer engines can adjust the timing as well to to a "similiar" thing. (takes 2-3 tanks to adjust automatically) unless you have an engine especially designed for it, anything higher than 93/94 can cause problems as well. it will change burn time, and reduce power and leave unburnt fuel etc..

 

[bdginmo]

I'm going to pile on here. Everybody knows the EcoBoost engines have special control logic that tries to dynamically figure out the optimal running parameters in realtime for the whatever octane fuel is used. There's no possible way the dealer mechanic can't know this. I wonder if they were trying to give you the runaround.

Anyway, you can google for how it works by searching for things like "ecoboost octane adjustment ratio" Basically the computer will occasionally expand the running parameters outside of optimal to probe and see if a new set of parameters work better. It is reported that in as little as one or two wide open throttle accelerations the computer can quickly hone in on a close set of parameters that work best for the fuel. It's also reported that fine tuning of the parameters can take 2-3 tanks of gas so it's best to pick an octane and stick with it. But, yeah, it doesn't matter if it's 87, 89, 91, or 93...the car will figure it out.

Also, I just did a test with my 2017 Platinum. I get about 10-15% better mpg with 93 than with 87. I will say that's probably mostly due to the fact most 93 octane gas is E0 (no ethanol). But, there was also a noticeable boost in power as well...not a huge jump...but definitely noticeable.