HELP!!!! Service engine light came on

epod86

As the son of a "the man" oil company employee (specifically Chevron) there is nothing wrong with the big name gas companies that use safe and tested additives that have been around for years, probably decades. These additives and octane modifiers are the stuff they advertise, such as 'nitrogen enriched,' which says about as much as 'Techron,' in that the compound is a trade secret but good for your engine and we'll never know how it really works.

You'll be safe using the following gas, because they actually buy each others gas then put the additives in (octane modifiers are all the same across the producers, and I hear these names on a regular basis from my dad when he does trades):

Chevron, BP, Conoco, Citgo, Shell, Texaco, Exxon Mobil, etc. These are the ones I can remember off hand.

The ones to watch out for are the off brands, that typically always have cheaper gas in comparison to the big guys, despite any price fluctuations. I don't actually know which ones to make generalities about because each one gets their gas in different ways, even station to station. An off brand won't always use the same octane modifiers (which often stabilize the octane level more than anything else) and the additives that are good for emission and engine health. They may buy their gas from a bigger company, meaning good octane, but they won't use additives, which means engine problems. I always put a brand gas in my tank, but which one doesn't really matter. there is a Shell down the road and a Chevron I use when I'm out shopping. I also tend to fill at 1/4 a tank. My dad's even worse, 1/3 and he yells "She's running on fumes!"