For those here in the United States, you may or may not know this but sooner rather than later our gasoline is changing yet again. The Environmental Protection Agency has mandated an increase of ethanol in our gasoline. Right now, a majority of the fuel available is E10. This means there is 90% gasoline mixed in with 10% of ethanol. Well, pretty soon there will be a transition over to E15. This will be 85% gasoline and 15% ethanol.

Well, that's only a 5% increase in ethanol so no big deal, right? Not quit. It is a rather very big deal. Look in your owners manual and you will see a warning stating that use of fuel containing more than 10% ethanol can adversely effect your car, and ANY damage caused from using fuels with more than 10% ethanol WILL NOT be covered by your warranty.

Yes, that's right folks. E15 can cause problems with our cars, and any problems associated with E15 will not be covered under the Mitsubishi warranty.


So what exactly can E15 do to an engine that is not designed for it? For starters, ethanol causes rubber to break down. So ANY rubber in the fuel system can be damaged. This includes any rubber fuel lines (I need to check to see if the Mirage has any rubber fuel lines) to rubber O rings on the fuel injectors to rubber O rings and seals in the fuel tank. E15 can also make your car run lean, as in the air/fuel ratio is not in the ideal area. When a vehicle runs lean, you can burn up valves, it can cause over heating of the catalytic converters which can cause them to melt down, and it can even cause the engine to over heat.


So, what can we do about it? I am researching this and will have to get back to everyone but I would appreciate if any one has any ideas. The main point of this post is to inform our board members and try to get this figured out before it becomes an issue.


Here is a link where you can read a little more about this.

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/feds-pus...164706945.html


Here is another link, but the statement at the top of the page in contradicted by the article;

http://www.petroleumsolutionsinc.com...e-Fuel-Volumes

"(The)EPA has taken a significant step in the right direction by using its waiver authority to lower ethanol mandates, acknowledging the market limitations of the ethanol blend wall,” he said. “However, the agency must do more to protect consumers. EPA’s final rule relies on unrealistic increases in sales of higher ethanol fuel blends despite the fact that most cars cannot use them. Motorists have largely rejected these fuels.”