octane Oldsmobile Achieva 1997 Owner's Manuals

Adding Equipment to the Outside of
Your Vehicle
Things you might add to the outside of your vehicle can
affect the airflow around
it. This may cause wind noise
and affect windshield washer performance. Check with
your Oldsmobile retailer before adding equipment to the
outside of your vehicle.
Fuel
Use regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher. At
a minimum, it should meet specifications ASTM
D4814 in
the United States and CGSB 3.5-M93 in Canada. Improved
gasoline specifications have been developed by the
American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA)
for better vehicle performance and engine protection.
Gasolines meeting the
AAMA specification could provide
improved driveability and emission control system
protection compared to other gasolines.
Be sure the posted octane is at least
87. If the octane is
less than
87, you may get a heavy knocking noise when
you drive. If it’s bad enough, it can damage your engine.
If you’re using fuel rated at
87 octane or higher and you
still hear heavy knocking, your engine needs service.
But don’t worry if you hear a little pinging noise when
you’re accelerating or driving up a hill. That’s normal,
and you don’t have to buy a higher octane fuel to get rid of
pinging. It’s the heavy, constant knock that means
you have a problem.
If your vehicle is certified to meet California Emission
Standards (indicated on the underhood tune-up label),
it is designed to operate on fuels that meet California
specifications. If such fuels are not available in states
adopting California emissions standards, your vehicle
will operate satisfactorily
on fuels meeting federal
specifications, but emission control system performance
may be affected. The malfunction indicator lamp on
your instrument panel may turn on and/or your vehicle
may fail a smog-check test. If this occurs, return to
your authorized Oldsmobile retailer for diagnosis to
determine the cause
of failure. In the event it is
determined that the cause of the condition is the type of
fuels used, repairs may not be covered by your warranty.
Some gasolines that are not reformulated for low
emissions contain an octane-enhancing additive called
methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT);
ask your service station operator whether or not his fuel
contains MMT. General Motors does not recommend the
use of such gasolines. If fuels containing MMT are used,
spark plug life may be reduced and your emission
control system performance may be affected. The
malfunction indicator lamp on your instrument panel
may turn on. If this occurs, return to your authorized
Oldsmobile retailer for service.
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