Hi everyone! My 2002 MCSS' owner's manual says fuel without ethanol added only. I found one station that has it, it's a buck more a gallon, and that's what I've been putting in since I got it not all that long ago...does fuel with ethanol truly damage the 3800 series Monte Carlo? The manual from 2002 certainly says so..but that was 17 years ago. I'm wondering if you've found it to be alright or if you all use only the pure gasoline? The shop/dealership that sold it to me said it has undoubtedly run on fuel with ethanol in the past..just their guesstimation...claimed it wouldn't hurt the engine at all unless I were to let it sit for the Winter with that fuel in it...I'm not.

Kelly BB says somene had it in CA the first five years of its life before bringing it to Idaho, and I think in CA it's next to impossible to get pure fuel. I haven't lived there in ages, but I was there in 2018. I'm just curious, as the buck extra and going to the North to boot to get it is an ouch, but I don't want to trash my car!
Are higher grades of gasoline with ehtanol safer than lower? Maybe there is a place in Sandpoint whose premim doesn't contain it, I only know at the moment of the one place in Bonner's Ferry whose premium is pure....and the price makes me homesick for CA, because it's just like trying to fill up there! Hee hee

 

The place that sold it to you is spot on. The vast majority of people just find whatever station is cheapest and most convenient and dump in a tank of 87. So it's a pretty safe bet that its had an ethanol mix in it at some point in its life.

The engine will also run fine on the typical low E blends. I certainly wouldn't drive out of the way to spend an extra $1/ gal. That's like $4-5k extra over 100k miles, enough to buy two whole spare montes just in case, lol...

Ethanol blends have been used for a long time and cars have been built to handle small amounts for awhile. Plenty of W body cars have even switched to E85 without major issues. I've been running straight E85 in my 96 monte carlo for probably 5 years a this point with no issues (granted with an aftermarket pump and injectors for flow reasons).

 

I agree with bumpin96monte. With the ethanol fuel make sure you change you fuel filter and also use Stabil in the fuel if you leave it set for to long. Where I am located, I am not sure I could get a Premium fuel I would have to travel some possibly to get it. But they make some additives to put in the tank to help with that.
If I had a big V-8 from the 70's or 80's that might take the premium fuel or it would (Ping) some.
When you use the ethanol fuel it kinda acts as a cleaner in the fuel system and if you have never used it before, it will clean up the deposits in the fuel line and stick them in the fuel filter.
I like to use Lucas oil fuel injector cleaner in mine, sometimes it will boost the gas mileage too.

Keep in mind there are no dumb questions when it comes to cars, you can learn by experience or you can listen to a few tips given by those who have had the experience.

10 years ago I met this lady and we worked together for a couple of months.
She liked the Impala rental car I had and eventually bought one herself.
After which she asked me about some service and driving tips none of which she thought were good tips. ( I had only been driving this type of vehicle for about 500K miles and could tell when something was going bad just by listening to the car.) She called me several times and asked me about an issue, but would never do what I suggested. Then she learned the hard way. Her Mom and Dad would kid her about that stuff. Careful what you see sometimes on the internet cause some of those tips are not right and will mess up the cars.
Good luck with the Monte Carlo