Gasoline containing oxygenates

Some fuel suppliers sell gasoline containing oxygenates such as ethanol, MTBE and methanol with or without advertising their presence.

NISSAN does not recommend the use of fuels of which the oxygenate content and the fuel compatibility for your NISSAN cannot be readily determined. If in doubt, ask your service station manager.

If you use oxygenate-blend gasoline, please take the following precautions as the usage of such fuels may cause vehicle performance problems and/or fuel system damage.

- The fuel should be unleaded and have an octane rating no lower than that recommended for unleaded gasoline.

- If an oxygenate-blend, other than methanol blend is used, it should contain no more than 10% oxygenate.

(MTBE may, however, be added up to 15%.) - If a methanol blend is used, it should contain no more than 5% methanol (methyl alcohol, wood alcohol). It should also contain a suitable amount of appropriate cosolvents and corrosion inhibitors. If not properly formulated with appropriate cosolvents and corrosion inhibitors, such methanol blends may cause fuel system damage and/or vehicle performance problems.

At this time, sufficient data is not available to ensure that all methanol blends are suitable for use in NISSAN vehicles.

If any driveability problems such as engine stalling and difficult hot-starting are experienced after using oxygenate-blend fuels, immediately change to a non-oxygenate fuel or a fuel with a low blend of MTBE.

Take care not to spill gasoline during refueling. Gasoline containing oxygenates can cause paint damage.

    See also:

    Oil viscosity
    The engine oil viscosity or thickness changes with temperature. Because of this, it is important to select the engine oil viscosity based on the temperatures at which the vehicle will be opera ...

    Driving on snow or ice
    ● Wet ice (32°F, 0°C and freezing rain), very cold snow or ice can be slick and very hard to drive on. The vehicle will have much less traction or “grip” under these conditions ...

    Capacities and recommended fuel/lubricants
    1: For additional information, see “Engine oil” in the “8. Maintenance and do-it-yourself” section for changing engine oil. 2: For additional information, see “Engine oil and oil filter ...