Quote:
Originally Posted by Yodude3
Could it really be down to the fuel? The minimum octane fuel available in the UK is 95. The handbook recommends using 98 octane fuel. This is widely available, but slightly more expensive. The dealer also pointed out that in the UK we use far more fuel additives than elsewhere.
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Note: One needs to be careful comparing octane ratings. North America uses a
different octane rating system than pretty much every other country in the world. Our 94
AKI is
roughly equivalent to your 98
RON. Your 95
RON would be close to our 91
AKI, which is what the folks on the west coast seem to be stuck with.
Given the Toyota SA diagnosis of the problem, fuel octane would make perfect sense in context: octane is, by definition, the resistance to detonation, and detonation is what they claim damages the seals. Operating at the minimum requirement (e.g. 91 AKI for the US models) would leave you more vulnerable to variations in fuel quality (additives, impurities, real octane) and operating conditions (temperature, air pressure, power) than someone operating above the requirements (e.g. the 93/94 AKI available on the east coast).
Hearsay and speculation: I've been told by an ex-gas station employee that the owner of his gas station would move fuel from the regular (87 AKI) tank to the premium (93/94 AKI) tank prior to deliveries. This was done to meet the minimum order requirements (regular is the vast majority of a gas station's sales). The obvious side effect is lowering the actual octane level of premium fuel pumped from that station. Assuming this is true, this was decades ago and I have no knowledge as to how widespread it was (or potentially still is). For people living on the west coast, where "premium" is 91 AKI, it could be a serious problem if actually true. Repeat:
hearsay and speculation (I imagine state authorities are actively testing for this)