I usually take my Mini to Nova Scotia once or twice a year and the last trip I noticed that I could small gas after driving. Unfortunately I'm not able to get anything with an octane rating above 89 because the area is pretty rural but I though the ECU would adjust the engine automatically for the lower octane.

Anybody have any ideas what would cause that to happen?

 

i thought 91 was the minimum octane.. could be wrong tho..

I don't see how octane would relate to gas smells in the cabin..

i think it was a coincendence...

unless it's something else ur smelling in that area :p

 

Not in the cabin area and this has happened every time we drive the Nova Scotia. The smell is in the front of the car and seems to be coming from the engine compartment.

If every gas station with a 100+ mile radius only has 89 octane then I'm pretty much stuck with 89 octane.

 

I had the same problem in some places in Montana. I just bought some Octance booster and just used enough of it so it does not ping. Switched as soon as I got the chance.

 

smart !!!!!!

 

I live in Canada, I've regularly switched between 89 octane, 91 octane & Sunoco "Ultra94" gas in my '08 Cooper for the past year of use. I've never noticed any unusual smells of any kind, no matter what fuel I use. No perceptible difference in fuel mileage or performance either, no pinging, etc. My MINI doesn't seem to care what I put in it. I only buy gas at "brand name" gas stations, but other than that restriction I pretty much shop by price - - lower is better.

Based on my experience, I don't think you can blame the smell on low octane Canadian gas. I don't know what could cause it.


_____________________________________________

 

octane boosters Don't work.


sorry to burst ur bubble

 

Yeah, I'm also in Canada and have filled up in the States before. Canadian gas probably comes from the same place (a lot of our stations and US stations have a common owner). So, no idea! Maybe it's a particular station that you fill up at? I would think generally that if you go to a brand name station, they should have 91 octane.

 

Make sure the gas doesn't have more than 10% ethanol. If you use an octane booster (probably a bad idea) make sure it doesn't increase the ethanol % to above 10%.

 

Canadian Beer gives me the same problem

 

Guiness is Irish

 

I just came back from a roadtrip to Nova Scotia.
Didn't notice any stink.

Are you sure a beaver didn't crawl under the hood and die?