Survey: Owners Fear E15 Fuel May Damage Car Engines

California Air Resources Board has told the AMA that even if it approves the sale of the new E15 ethanol-gasoline blend in California, the blend wouldn't appear in the market for several years.

Courtesy: earthyreport.com

(WASHINGTON, DC) - A recent survey found that more than three-fourths of Americans fear that E15 fuel may damage car engines and fuel system components. E15 is a fuel blend of up to 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline that the federal Environmental Protection Agency has approved for use in 2001-and-newer passenger vehicles. Ethanol is grain alcohol produced from crops such as corn that is mixed with gasoline to produce an ethanol-gasoline blend motor fuel.

E15 is not approved for use in any motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, lawn mowers and other small engines. Since 2011, the AMA has repeatedly expressed concerns to government officials and federal lawmakers about possible damage to the estimated 22 million motorcycles and ATVs currently in use by the inadvertent use of E15, which is now becoming available at retail fueling stations.

The survey findings were released on Oct. 2 by the American Petroleum Institute, which sponsored the poll. The API is a national trade association that represents America's oil and natural gas industry. Some 77 percent of registered voters are concerned that ethanol blends above a 10 percent level can cause severe damage to car engines and fuel system components, according to the poll. Also, 69 percent of those surveyed said that using more corn for ethanol production could increase consumer prices for groceries due to a reduction in the corn supply for food, food products and animal feed.

Research results released by the Coordinating Research Council indicate that E15 would damage millions of post-2001 model-year vehicles even though the EPA has approved the use of E15 in those vehicles. The study concluded that E15 would result in fuel-system failures in cars and other approved vehicles.

Moreover, the California Air Resources Board has told the AMA that even if it approves the sale of the new E15 ethanol-gasoline blend in California, the blend wouldn't appear in the market for several years. Specifically, CARB wanted time to complete the necessary vehicle testing and rule development in order to introduce a new transportation fuel into California's market. CARB made the comment in response to a letter from Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations, who expressed concern about potential misfueling of E15 into motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.

Source: American Motorcycle Association

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