I use Sams Club gas because there's no ethanol in it. Sams Club only has low (87) and high (91) and are cars are spec'd for 89. I know that each fill up is going to be close to 13 gallons so I simply put in 91 for 6.7 gallons and then stop and put in the other 6.3 gallons (or whatever) with 87 octane gas. Is it possible that this is impacting my "check engine light" warning indicator? I thought it might be because I am over-tightening the gas cap because the first two check engine lights came on after a recent fill-up but now I am at the bottom of my 3rd tank and it came on again. Any help would be appreciated because the nearest dealership is 100 miles away and I have to call roadside assistance to come and get the car if I can't figure it out (there is no decline in performance even with the light on and the light does go away as opposed to staying on).


regards.

 

MINIs are specced for 91.

I would suggest going by a local Autozone or similar and have them read the code for you. They will do it for free. That may help you figure out how urgent an issue it is.

 

Yikes what a dumb a$$ I've been I could have sworn I saw 89 somewhere. I will head over to Autozone asap and get it read... many thanks for the quick response and advice!!

I guess the next question is have I done any damage by driving 1000 miles on 89 instead of 91??



Cheers.

 

I doubt it, there are multiple threads here with people saying they are running 87 or 89 with no problems. Personally I would stick with 91+ (please don't let this thread become another debate.) but I doubt you have done any lasting damage.

 

I agree with Danny. Doubt you have done any damage. The engines are designed to run on 91, but will run on lower octanes. As he mentions, there are several folks who run 89 on a regular basis with no apparent ill effects.

 

Thanks guys... I'm hoping that running 91 and occasionally 89 (when I'm feeling cheap ) will take care of the check engine light. I will head over to Autozone after work and have them read the code just to make sure that is what I've been dealing with.

Very appreciative for this forum and it's members!!

 

Why take the chance on less than $3 a tank?

 

I would suggest running only top premium in these engines. They have been known throw a light if you use anything less.

This may be helpful

http://www.toptiergas.com/

 

Agreed! I had not done the math yet on the price difference but you're right!! I got the codes checked at Autozone and they found no codes???? I think the check engine light warning was probably a function of my using 89 octane and over-tightening the gas cap!!! Thoughts??

 

I don't think the gas cap can be overtightened? My cap just turns until it clicks then just stops dead. There is no tightening beyond that point without breaking something.

Of course not turning the cap until it clicks can set your CEL on. The code may not be one that is stored after the fault is corrected. If it were then that would cause a lot of people to fail their emissions testing right off the bat.... I think any stored code is an automatic failure.
The car can't tell the difference between a loose cap and some other problem with the fuel system that causes the system to loose pressure so we are all stuck with that bother.

For 2nd gen:
89 is the minimum octane for 'S' models
87 in min. for base models.
91 is recommended for all.

Please tell us what you have or make a signature file.......

 

Sorry I've not gotten around to posting pics of our 2011 Clubman S Pepper White with Premium Package and bonnet stripes, with powder-coated (black) rims... The salesman had a Cooper and he told us that 89 was what we were suppose to run but that has obviously been corrected on our third fill-up (today).

I'll assume that since the fill-up fixed things then that is why the code was not retrieved and cheers to that... hey where's the icon of someone lifting up a stein of beer toasting folks??

Thanks for everything folks the help everyone, this site and the folks on here are a huge resource