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Flex fuel?

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2011 Explorer flex fuel? Yes? No?

Is the new Explorer a flex fuel capable vehicle? A bunch of gas stations around my area now serve gasoline with 10 - 15% ethanol... Now last time I remember, ethanol eats fuel systems. Does this mean my new Explorer's fuel systems are already being eaten up? Is there certain modifications needed to keep my new Explorer safe from ethanol if it's not flex fuel? Thank you!
 



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The new Explorer is not a Flex Fuel vehicle.
 






This whole myth about "ethanol eating the fuel system" is silly. May have been true years ago. Not so true for modern vehicles today. You can safely run fuels with 10% ethanol in your new Explorer.
 






So that means NO 15% ethanol?
 












In the future, there is bound to be higher blends of ethanol in the fuel. There isn't an infinite amount of oil in this world.
 






Hey guys,

Bill #4 Explorer is correct: under “Choosing the right fuel” on page 395 of the Owner’s Guide 3rd Edition, it states:

“Use only UNLEADED fuel or UNLEADED fuel blended with a maximum of 10% ethanol. Do not use fuel ethanol (E85), diesel, methanol, leaded fuel or any other fuel. The use of leaded fuel is prohibited by law and could damage your vehicle.”

In case you don’t have a digital copy, the Owner’s Guide can also be downloaded/printed for free at www.FordOwner.com > Vehicle Basics > Owner’s Manual and Videos > and selecting 2011 Explorer from the drop down menus!

Please let me know if you have any questions you would like help with!

Cory
 






Thanks, Cory, for clarifying.

I'm guessing there is nothing unique about the E85 pumps to keep us from unwittingly using it. Is that true?
 






“Use only UNLEADED fuel or UNLEADED fuel blended with a maximum of 10% ethanol."

That causes an issue, considering I believe the gov't passed a law to make stations sell 15% ethanol mix....Probably won't cause any issues, just thought I'd point that out.
 






E85 is yellow pumps in northen california. don't know about anywhere else
 












WOW IS THIS THREAD CONFUSING...

E 85 Ethanol is the yellow pumps-you cannot use this in or x's. Only for use in flex fuel vehicles.

E 10 & E 15 are ethanol blends @ 10% and 15% respectively. Most pumps you go to will have a disclaimer on them (any station that has ethanol blends must post) to inform you of ethanol. The federal gov. recently ok'd the 15%.

In our county last june 1st it was mandated all gas stations switch over to E-10 blend. Behind the scenes that meant alot of costs to independent owners of stations.

It is important for consumers to understand that Yes this blended fuel will become corrosive as it ages. We see all kinds of problems in first parts of spring when summer cars come out of hibernation. No starts & poor performance due to 6-7 month old fuel. Same goes for small engines. I rec. to drain or use sta-bil ethanol treatment fuel stabilizer for storage. Ethanol is corn based and becomes acidic.

When our tanks were removed, the guy from the EPA who was overseeing the project was telling me of problems down south where ethanol has been in use longer. They are discovering how corrosive it is & eating away at fiberglass tanks & lines.

As far as using the 15% blend, that is all that will be soon available to us in certain areas, and it will be safe for our use... Just reduce engine performance and gas mileage. But who cares about gas mileage, right? I believe the feds said safe in cars 01 or newer but I cant say weve seen a ton of problems in older cars yet, as long as it is kept fresh.
 






Lol, but if we were to keep it fresh, we would have to go to the pumps more and we don't want to do that. I'm not going to just stick 5 gallons of gas in the tank only either. With that, especially winter, it'll allow for water to accumulate in the tank. So I either have to spend more money to get ethanol treatments, fill my tank full of rotting gas, or drive with a smaller tank and have more trips to the pumps. Hopefully they come out with a flex fuel engine like they did with the 3.7 litre V6 on that police interceptor Explorer. If I could, I'd completely switch my care to flex fuel after warranty is up.

I just hate the idea of what I put in my car is actually slowly killing it.
 






Lol, but if we were to keep it fresh, we would have to go to the pumps more and we don't want to do that. I'm not going to just stick 5 gallons of gas in the tank only either. With that, especially winter, it'll allow for water to accumulate in the tank. So I either have to spend more money to get ethanol treatments, fill my tank full of rotting gas, or drive with a smaller tank and have more trips to the pumps. Hopefully they come out with a flex fuel engine like they did with the 3.7 litre V6 on that police interceptor Explorer. If I could, I'd completely switch my care to flex fuel after warranty is up.

I just hate the idea of what I put in my car is actually slowly killing it.

That is the exact opposite of what you want to do. The more Ethanol the worse this problem. E85 contains more ethanol than E10 or E15. Not to mention E85 will be lower performance and gas mileage.
 






I have a 2013 that can use the E85 fuel. Has anyone tried it? What type of mileage are you getting. Were the 2011's or 2012's flex fuel vehicles?
 






2011 & 2012 are not flexfuel vehicles
 






Expect about a 25% decrease in your mileage,ethanol is way over hyped.I'll stop there and I won't bore you with the details.:D
 












Having had fleet vehicles that can take E85, we steer clear of it. I think the only reason our fleet would use it, is if it was last fuel available.
 



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I have not tried it, our dealer said he would not use it, it is cheaper, but you get less gas mileage and I don't know about where you are at, but around here there are only a couple stations that sell it, so if I were to get in a situation where I had to get gas somewhere else I would have to mix the two which he said was not the greatest for the vehicle.
 






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