2000 Saab 9-3 Owner's Manual - Page 139

Starting and driving NOTE • Fill to maximum filling capacity • Stop filling after the first time that the nozzle trips to shut off the flow of fuel • Filling capacity can differ between different fuel stations and outside temperature. Fuel tank volume when nozzle trips to shut off, may vary by 0.5 gal. (2 liters). • Do not fill fuel all the way up the filler pipe. The gasoline must be allowed room for expansion especially during hot weather. 139 Recommended fuel: The engine in your Saab 9-3 is designed to operate on unleaded gasoline that has an octane rating of: • AON 90 (minimum 87) for 185 hp engines. • AON 93 (minimum 87) for 205 hp engines and Viggen. Octane rating is determined according to the formula: MON + RON 2 where MON is the Motor Octane Number, and RON is the Research Octane Number. The average of these two values is the octane rating of the gasoline as it appears on the pump at a retail gas station. This value is sometimes referred to as the "Anti-Knock Index" (AKI) or the "Average Octane Number" (AON). To avoid deposit formation on the fuel injectors which can cause poor driveability, use only quality gasolines that contain detergents and corrosion inhibitors. Because gasolines sold at retail gas stations vary in their composition and quality, you should switch to a different brand if you begin experiencing driveability and/or hard starting problems shortly after refueling your car. In recent years, a variety of fuel additives and alcohols or oxygenates have been blended with gasoline. These types of gasolines may be found in all parts of the United States and Canada, but particularly in geographic areas and cities that have high carbon monoxide levels. Saab approves the use of such "reformulated" gasolines in its products, which help in reducing pollution from all motor vehicles, provided that the following blending percentages are met by such fuels: • Up to 10% ethanol by volume, with corrosion inhibitors. • Up to 15% MTBE by volume (methyl tertiary butyl ether). • Up to 5% methanol by volume, with an equal amount of a suitable co-solvent and added corrosion inhibitors. Other, less common, fuel additives used by some gasoline dealers are also acceptable, provided that the resultant gasoline is not more than 2.7% oxygen by weight. In many cases, you may not be able to determine the exact type or percentage by volume of fuel additive in the gasoline you purchase for your car. Some Canadian and U.S. gasolines contain an octane enhancing additive called methlycyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT). If such fuel is used, your emission control system performance may deteriorate and the malfunction indicator lamp on your instrument panel may turn on. If this occurs, return to your authorized Saab dealer for service. However, these blended gasolines are regulated and should never exceed these rec-