2009 Honda Element Owner's Manual - Page 202

Main Menu Table Of Contents Break-in Period, Fuel Recommendation Break-in Period Help assure your vehicle's future reliability and performance by paying extra attention to how you drive during the first 600 miles (1,000 km). During this period: ● Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid acceleration. Do not change the oil until the scheduled maintenance time. Avoid hard braking for the first 200 miles (300 km). Do not tow a trailer. Fuel Recommendation Your vehicle is designed to operate on unleaded gasoline with a pump octane number of 87 or higher. Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause a persistent, heavy metallic rapping noise that can lead to engine damage. On vehicles with manual transmission In addition, in order to maintain good performance, fuel economy, and emissions control, we strongly recommend, in areas where it is available, the use of gasoline that does NOT contain manganese-based fuel additives such as MMT. Use of gasoline with these additives may adversely affect performance, and cause the malfunction indicator lamp on your instrument panel to come on. If this happens, contact your authorized dealer for service. Some gasoline today is blended with oxygenates such as ethanol or MTBE. Your vehicle is designed to operate on oxygenated gasoline containing up to 10% ethanol by volume and up to 15% MTBE by volume. Do not use gasoline containing methanol. ● ● ● You may hear a knocking noise from the engine if you drive the vehicle at low engine speed (below about 1,000 rpm) in a higher gear. To stop this, raise the engine speed by shifting to a lower gear. We recommend using quality gasoline containing detergent additives that help prevent fuel system and engine deposits. You should also follow these recommendations with an overhauled or exchanged engine, or when the brakes are replaced. 198 2009 Element