Mercedes-Benz E 300 1996 Emergency Operation User Manual
Page 62
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Vehicles with Gasoline Engine
Premium Unleaded Gasoline
Caution!
To maintain the engine's durability and
performance, premium unleaded
gasoline must be used. If premium
unleaded is not available and low octane
fuel is used, follow these precautions:
• have the fuel tank filled only partially
with unleaded regular and fill up with
premium unleaded as soon as
possible,
• avoid full throttle driving and abrupt
acceleration,
• do not exceed an engine speed of
3000 rpm, if the vehicle is loaded with
a light load such as two persons and
no luggage,
• do not exceed
2
/
3
of maximum
accelerator pedal position, if the
vehicle is fully loaded or operating in
mountainous terrain
.
Fuel Requirements
Use only Premium unleaded meeting
ASTM standard D 439:
The octane number (posted at the
pump) must be 91 min. It is an average
of both the Research (R) octane
number and the Motor (M) octane
number: [(R+M)/2]. This is also known
as ANTI-KNOCK INDEX.
Unleaded gasoline containing
oxygenates such as Ethanol, I PA, IBA
and TBA can be used provided the
ratio of any one of these oxygenates to
gasoline does not exceed 10%, MTBE
not to exceed 15%.
The ratio of Methanol to gasoline must
not exceed 3% plus additional
cosolvents.
Using mixtures of Ethanol and
Methanol is not allowed. Gasohol,
which contains 10% Ethanol and 90%
unleaded gasoline, can be used.
These blends must also meet all other
fuel requirements such as resistance to
spark knock, boiling range, vapor
Gasoline Additives
A major concern among engine
manufacturers is carbon build up
caused by gasoline. Mercedes-Benz
recommends the use of only quality
gasoline containing additives that
prevent the build up of carbon deposits.
After an extended period of using fuels
without such additives, carbon deposits
can build up especially on the intake
valves and in the combustion area,
leading to engine performance
problems such as:
• warm-up hesitation,
• unstable idle,
• knocking/pinging,
• misfire,
• power loss.
Do not blend other specific fuel
additives with fuel. They only result in
unnecessary cost, and may be harmful
to the engine operation.
Damage or malfunctions resulting from
poor fuel quality or from blending
specific fuel additives are not covered
by the Mercedes-Benz Limited