E-85 in a non E-85 car.....troubles ahead???

[nitroant]

O.K. First off I didn't do this, another person I know did and decided to just drive it and fill up with regular gas as soon as it was down to 1/4 tank, then again when its down a 1/4 tank again and so on in hops to dilute the E-85. I think bad move that will cause problems down the road. Anybody know for sure??

[Shack]

If they accidentally filled up with E85, they are doing what I would be doing. I would be adding regular at about half tank though.

If they have not had issues yet (check eng. light), they are most likely in the clear by now.

It is very hard to say. Only time will tell!

I do not think I would drop the gas tank and drain for just E-85 fuel.

[Dave S]

The wife did this in her first Saturn. The car never ran right after the fact. I'm guessing it happened more than once. She got home from work one day and was bragging how cheap it was to fill her car. Once the car started acting up, I finally put 2 and 2 together.

I would just bite the bullet and have the tank drained instead of running it through.

[Scott K]

What kind of car, and what year? I had a 96 taurus I ran it a quite abit, and never had a problem at all.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Knowing what car would help in what advice is given.

[jesse larson]

e85 has a very high alchohol content and will eat up rubber lines in the fuel sysyem thats the one major prob;lem I know of

Jesse

[nitroant]

Car was/is a 2003 Chevy Malibu. I am not sure what engine it has, doubt it matters what engine it has other than it doesn't have one that is supposed to drink E-85. I know they made a long trip home after Thanksgiving with it, do not know if the engine lights came on or not, but they did make it home. My question is if 5,10,15, 20,000 miles down the road there will be problems

[Dave S]

if they ran the majority of it out right away, they should be ok. In my wifes case, it was in the car for a week. As I mentioned earlier, I think she put more than one tank in the car.

[Jeremy airjer W]

If it ran fine than I would not worry about it. Just about everything that will happen (if it where to happen) would have happened without running it with E-85. Did that just happen?

There are many people that report no ill effects from running non E-85 vehicles on E-85. Others are not so lucky!

After the tank is burned off I would recommend an oil change! Since the octane rating is much higher it is harder to achieve complete combustion. Small amounts of unburned fuel get left behind and can end up in the oil. Mix it with moister from the condensation that occurs during warm up and there is a possibility that things can go wrong! All that granted the vehicle even starts when it is below 0 degrees?

[Scott K]

My experience is GM vehicles arent as forgiving as some others. I wouldnt worry about it, its not poison! Run it out fill it up with regular and drive it, if a tank or 2 goes by with no problems, then it didnt hurt anything. If something happens beyond that, I wouldnt blame it on the e-85!

[Shack]

The only other failure I can recall from running E-85 in a non E-85 vehicle (besides rough running and check eng. light), was a failed fuel pump.

The Lady filled up a Taurus (I recall) with E-85 and called in to the dealer to ask what she should do. We gave her a choice of having it towed and driving it to the dealer. Well, she decided to drive it to the dealership. On the way the check eng. light came on and shortly after the eng. died. Could have just been a fluke, but the fuel pump failed and she had to have it towed in.

That was when I found out the part numbers are different between an E-85 fuel pump and a Non- E-85 fuel pump.

[Jeremy airjer W]

It was probably due for a fuel pump anyways!! lol At least the customer had some idea of there being an issue instead of just out of the blue!!

[nitroant]

I'll recommend the oil change to them.

Thanks for the insight.

[UMDSportsman]

How about a fuel filter change? If the E-85 dissolves anything, it may plug up the filter. Replacing a fuel filter can also help with the life of a fuel pump. Usually pretty cheap and easy to do yourself. unless there are special tools needed to take off the fuel lines (Ford).

[Ryan_V]

I actually did this too. I was told by my mechanic that it won't hurt anything on the newer vehicles. it may loose power and smell funny, but one tank won't hurt it. if the check engine light comes on, it just needs to be reset when the e85 is diluted out. when I did it, I never noticed anything different. mine is an 01.

[zamboni]

The wife did this in her first Saturn. The car never ran right after the fact. I'm guessing it happened more than once. She got home from work one day and was bragging how cheap it was to fill her car. Once the car started acting up, I finally put 2 and 2 together.

Did she mention how "sweet" the gas smelled??

[zamboni]

BTW, I may have mentioned this once on here, but when I was a Schwans man in Platte City, Missouri I was at a gas station using the restroom when a woman ran in all frantic. She had just filled up her husbands BRAND NEW F250 Turbo Stroke Diesel with unleaded. D'OH!!!! Bet he was happy!!!