While I may have bought my current car while I was living in Oklahoma, I was aware when I bought it that it originated in California; and thus has the California emissions package.
It wasn't until I brought it home and flipped through the owner's manual that I discovered the reference to California fuels. The manual states that cars with the California emissions package were specifically designed to run on California fuel, and using fuel from other states may cause the SES light to illuminate and the emissions system to not function properly.
While I've never had a problem with the car in the almost 13,000 miles I've already put on it since I bought it 6 months ago, I have wondered about this comment in the owners manual. While living in Oklahoma I always used QuikTrip (a top-tier rated fuel), and while traveling I always use quality name brands (Shell, Exxon, Sunoco). Now that I live in Maryland I've been using Chevron, and so far I've had no problems.
So what actually is the difference between the fuel the rest of the US uses and that sold in California?
It wasn't until I brought it home and flipped through the owner's manual that I discovered the reference to California fuels. The manual states that cars with the California emissions package were specifically designed to run on California fuel, and using fuel from other states may cause the SES light to illuminate and the emissions system to not function properly.
While I've never had a problem with the car in the almost 13,000 miles I've already put on it since I bought it 6 months ago, I have wondered about this comment in the owners manual. While living in Oklahoma I always used QuikTrip (a top-tier rated fuel), and while traveling I always use quality name brands (Shell, Exxon, Sunoco). Now that I live in Maryland I've been using Chevron, and so far I've had no problems.
So what actually is the difference between the fuel the rest of the US uses and that sold in California?