In modern cars we have octane & knock sensors that can retard the timing in order to compensate for lower octane fuels. You'll lose a little performance but nothing to worry about. Just pump the correct octane next time you pump gas.

That pinging noise you hear is detonation, which is not good for your pistons.

If your tank is half empty, drive gently to the nearest gas station and fill it up with 93. Take it somewhat easy on that next tank until you can fill up with 93 again. Should be fine after that.

Already there

+1. To the OP--Assuming your father is apologetic about this, he owes you a tank of PREMIUM. The car will be fine, one tank of 87 won't make a difference in the long haul. Just drive the car like your grandparents for the remainder of this tank (no heavy acceleration, no revving of the engine, etc.). On the plus side, you may get slightly higher than average gas milage even with the regular gas.

Most likely you have induced irreparable damage to the engine. Consider scrapping the car.


OK, sorry, could not keep a straight face...

Your car is fine. How are you even hearing a knock when the computer has sensors that will detect the first hint and then pull timing out of the curve?

I doubt that even running 87 octane long term would harm the engine; most likely just lose a few of the high load horsepower.

Fill the tank with 91 octane and don't freak out next time. As mentioned the car has a knock sensor that will retard timing when needed.

93+ is the recommended octane rating in the US.
91 can be used when it's not available, without detriment but it's going to lose power and can't be good long term because it's designed to run on 93 octane or higher.

87 would void the warranty and almost certainly cause engine damage.

First part is right, your second statement is completely wrong. There have been numerous users on here who have had 87 in their initial tank from the dealer that have not shown any long-term effect. A single tank of 87 will not void your warranty, nor cause catastrophic engine damage.

Just drive it gently, no throttle blipping or hard acceleration and prevent driving it in hot after noons. It'll be fine.

Geez.... overreaction. Toyota knows that there are some times when you won't be able to get premium gas. Hence, the engine will react to detonation by retarding the spark.

Just think dilution. You have 89-90 in the tank now, since your father filled only half a tank. When it goes down to one quarter tankful, you can boost that to 91 by adding 93. Problem solved. Just go easy on the engine, particularly under load such as going up hills and you won't induce detonation. Relax.

Thanks, Cpt.Leaflet-Reader, but it's clear you haven't a clue how petrole engines work, particularly the electronics that control fuel and spark.

thanks for dropping by.

I bet you triple the US national debt that 99.9% of everyones vehicle here had its first tank of gas with 87 octane.

Dealers NEVER put the correct grade unless you happen to be standing right next to them when they fill it, and even then you might not be able to persuade them.

I was lucky, I had a sales lady that pays attention to the little sticker inside the fuel door. Either that, or she was just covering her ass. I was inclined to believe her. :lol:

Put in 93 and dilute out the lower octane gas. You'll be fine.

I told the sales manager about the fuel requirement and he replied that they put 87 in ALL their cars, regardless of make or model.

I turned around and pointed to the Porsche 911 Turbo and Lexus LFA sitting 30 feet behind me...he replied: "those are the owners cars". I then replied: "and I bet you my new car he put the correct gas in them...".