1996 Pontiac Grand Am Owner's Manual - Page 224

A CAUTION: You can be injured and your vehicle could be damaged if you try to service work on a do vehicle without knowing enough about it. Be sure you have sufficient knowledge, experience, and the proper replacement parts and tools before you attempt any vehicle maintenance task. Be sure to use the proper nuts, bolts and other fasteners. "English" and "metric" fasteners can be easily confused. you use If the wrong fasteners, parts can later break or fall off. You could be hurt. , , ~ Fuel Use regular unleaded gasoline rated 87 octane or at higher. At a minimum, it should meet specifications ASTM D4814 in the United States and CGSB 3.5-M93 in Canada. Improved gasoline specifications have been developed by the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA) for better vehicle performance and engine protection. Gasolines meeting the AAMA specification could provide improved driveability and emission control system protection compared to other gasolines. is Be ,sure the posted octane at least 87. If the octane-is less than 87, you may get a heavy knockingnoise when you drive.If it's bad enough, it can damage your engine. If you're usingfuel rated at 87 octane or higher and you still hear heavy knocking, your'engineneeds service. But don'tworry if you hear a little pinging noise when you're accelerating or driving up a hill. That's normal, and you don't haveto buy a higheroctane fuel to getrid of pinging. It's the heavy, constant knock that means you have a problem. If your vehicle is certified to meet California Emission Standards (indicatedon the underhood tune-up label), it is designed to operateon fuels that meet California are specifications. If such fuels not available in states adopting Californiaemissions standards, your vehicle will operate satisfactorily fuels meetingfederal on specifications, but emission control system performance on may be affected.The malfunction indicator lamp y o u instrument panel may turn on and/or your vehicle may fail a smog-check test.If this occurs, return to your authorized Pontiac dealer diagnosis to determine the for cause of failure. In the event it is determined thatthe f cause s the conditionis the type of fuels used, repairs by may not be covered your warranty.