2002 Subaru Forester Owner's Manual - Page 224
2002 Subaru Forester Manual
Page 224 highlights
Fuel CAUTION Use of a fuel which is low in quality or use of an inappropriate fuel additive may cause engine damage. J Fuel requirements B Fuel Octane Rating Your engine is designed to use only unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87 AKI or higher. This octane rating is the average of the Research Octane and Motor Octane numbers and is commonly referred to as the Anti Knock Index (AKI). Using a gasoline with a lower octane rating can cause persistent and heavy knocking, which can damage the engine. Do not be concerned if your vehicle sometimes knocks lightly when you drive up a hill or when you accelerate. See your dealer or a qualified service technician if you use a gasoline with the specified octane rating and your vehicle knocks heavily or persistently. B Unleaded gasoline The neck of the fuel filler pipe is designed to accept only an unleaded gasoline filler nozzle. Under no circumstances should leaded gasoline be used because it will damage the emission control system and may impair driveability and fuel economy. B Gasoline for California-certified LEV Your vehicle was certified to California's low emission vehicle (LEV) standards as indicated on the underhood tune-up label. It is designed to optimize engine and emission performance with gasoline that meets the clean burning low-sulfur California gasoline specifications. If you live in any other state than California, your vehicle will operate on gasoline meeting Federal specifications. Gasoline sold outside California is permitted to have higher sulfur levels, which may affect the performance of your vehicle's catalytic converter and may produce a sulfur exhaust odor or smell. SUBARU recommends that you 7-2