With 16.5 million U.S. drivers having used premium fuel despite the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendation in the last 12 months, AAA evaluated vehicle performance, fuel economy and emissions and found no benefit to using premium gasoline in a vehicle that only requires regular-grade fuel. Currently, fewer than 20 percent of vehicles require high octane fuel.
“Drivers see the ‘premium’ name at the pump and may assume the fuel is better for their vehicle,” said John Nielsen, AAA’s managing director of Automotive Engineering and Repair. “AAA cautions drivers that premium gasoline is higher octane, not higher quality, and urges drivers to follow the owner’s manual recommendations for their vehicle’s fuel.”
Higher-octane gasoline is formulated to be compatible with specific high-compression engine designs, often found in performance and luxury vehicles, and is less likely to ignite prematurely than regular-grade fuel. This allows those engines to extract more power from the gasoline without suffering from performance issues like knocking or pinging.
“The AAA tests show there’s no benefit to using premium gasoline in a vehicle that requires regular fuel,” said Marie Dodds, Public Affairs Director for AAA Oregon/Idaho. “So it doesn’t make sense for consumers to pay more at the pumps when they’re not getting any benefits from higher fuel grades.”
The AAA survey finds:
- Seventy percent of U.S. drivers currently own a vehicle that requires regular gasoline, while 16 percent drive vehicles that require premium fuel. The remaining 14 percent own a vehicle that requires mid-grade gasoline (10 percent) or uses an alternative energy source (4 percent).
- In the last 12 months, 16.5 million U.S. drivers unnecessarily used premium-grade gasoline in their vehicle at least once. On average, those that upgraded to premium gasoline did so at least once per month.
- In the last 12 months, U.S. drivers unnecessarily used premium gasoline in their vehicle more than 270 million times.
- AAA research found a nationwide average difference of 49.3 cents per gallon between premium and regular gasoline in the last 12 months. It is 23 percent more expensive to use premium fuel than regular gas.
AAA’s recommendations:
- Follow the vehicle owner’s manual to determine which type of gasoline is required for your vehicle.
- For optimal vehicle performance, AAA urges vehicle owners to keep their vehicle’s maintenance up‐to‐date by following the manufacturer’s recommended schedule.
- Drivers looking to upgrade to a higher quality fuel for their vehicle should save their money and select a TOP TIER™ gasoline, not a higher-octane one. Previous AAA research found that fuel quality varies significantly among gasoline retailers and that using a gasoline that meets TOP TIER standards can result in 19 times fewer engine deposits, increase vehicle performance and improve fuel economy.
