Contact Corporate - no more Premium for my Smartie!

[katekav]

I would like to contact SmartCar of America Corporate Offices, but can find no "contact us" with e-mail or phone contact. Does anyone know how to get through???

As the proud owner of a blue Passion since 2/4/08, I would like to share with other owners the secret to dealing with their Smartie's hunger for Premium gas! I've been using Regular for 10 fill-ups now & it's happy as a clam! No pinging - great performance - clean bill of health at 9000 mile check-up!



For more info, contact me @ katekav@gmail.com

[SEEBURG200]

Originally Posted by katekav

I would like to contact SmartCar of America Corporate Offices, but can find no "contact us" with e-mail or phone contact. Does anyone know how to get through???

As the proud owner of a blue Passion since 2/4/08, I would like to share with other owners the secret to dealing with their Smartie's hunger for Premium gas! I've been using Regular for 10 fill-ups now & it's happy as a clam! No pinging - great performance - clean bill of health at 9000 mile check-up!



For more info, contact me @ katekav@gmail.com

What type of MPG are you getting?

[rawlus®]

1-800-smartUSA

smart car of america is this forum.
it is not affiliated with SmartUSA - the distributor for smarts in north america.

if you choose to ignore the recommendations in the owner's manual, that's your perogative. it's been discussed that you won't get pinging with lower-octane gas unless the knock sensors and other electronics fail to perform as designed. the engine will automatically lower performance to adjust to a lower octane gas. this may not be easily noticeable depending on your driving style.

evidence of adjusted performance has largely been anecdotal at this stage.

however, dave shembri recently restated his position on premium fuel on his blog at smartusainsider.com - paraphrasing him he's stated that the car is designed to run on premium 91 octane, running on lower octane for short times shouldn't damage anything, but premium is the recommended fuel. which is why the manual says premium and which is why the gas lid sticker says premium.

[SunDiego]

I read that using regular has resulted in a decrease in MPG. Not sure though.

[SEEBURG200]

Here is what I've read before. The lower the octane, the lower the temperature at which the gasoline explodes in the cylinders. And in certain "high compression" engines, lower octane gasoline explodes too early. Those early explosions are known as "pinging" and they eventually cause engine damage. Premium gas, whatever is specified in your owner's manual, explodes when it's supposed to in your engine, and that's why the manufacturer of your car requires it. You should always follow the manufacturer's recommendation when it comes to octane. Using a lower octane can harm the engine over time, and using a higher than called for octane is a complete waste of money.

[Dave Van]

For the $1.60 a tank....I'll stick with the prem. Euro fuel is higher octain so it makes sense....and at less than $2...worth it IMHO ONLY!!!

[saskdiesel]

The mapping will most likely draw back the timing to run the lower octane.
It should run as before except of course for less power and economy.
FJ Cruiser guys have been battling this for years now.

[angel]

Originally Posted by katekav

I would like to contact SmartCar of America Corporate Offices, but can find no "contact us" with e-mail or phone contact. Does anyone know how to get through???

As the proud owner of a blue Passion since 2/4/08, I would like to share with other owners the secret to dealing with their Smartie's hunger for Premium gas! I've been using Regular for 10 fill-ups now & it's happy as a clam! No pinging - great performance - clean bill of health at 9000 mile check-up!



For more info, contact me @ katekav@gmail.com

Kate:

Good for you. You're not the only one to make such a proclamation. Guess you don't mind doing a bit of self warranty. It's only a 2 year 24000 warranty anyway.

As others have stated:
Owners manual recommends premium. {At least 91 octane.}
Gas cap has the same recommendation.
Dave Schembri posted on his blog just this week about using 91 octane.
Most dealerships will even remind those that purchase to use premium.

I look at it this way ....
Less than $2 more per fill-up vs. the cost of a new engine and other possible failures. So maybe if it happened during warranty they couldn't prove I was not using premium and they'd fix it anyway. But after 2/24 it would be my dime anyway. {W/o extended warranty.} And while this is not the first time it's been brought up here it is also probably not the last.

[johnssc]

Yeah! You tell them! I mean, just What would those silly engineers know? I mean, they just have access to all of the design information on the engine, the long-term test data and the results of the long-term use of lower-octane fuel.

I look forward to hanging around the boards when the heads start eroding and reading the posts about those horrible, unreliable Mitsubishi engines that just don't "last" and "we have been ripped off" and "sign here to join the class-action suit."

All because y'all are going to "save" 20 cents a gallon.

Sometimes, no offense, but cheap is not the way to go. The car is not very expensive in the first place. Despite the complaints I read - and it is always pretty funny to read them from people who were posting regularly before they got their cars how the smart was the greatest thing since sliced bread and now they are oh so disappointed - for what you pay for them, I don't know how much more cost-effective the vehicle could be.

I am sure somewhere someone is trying to figure out a way to run the things on Mad Dog 20-20 or something, but God Bless this wonderful, Obsessive/Compulsive group here who have spent their time waiting for their cars building expectations beyond any reasonable limit and then the time after receiving same complaining about everything from the size of the key fob to trying to claim that they know more than the engineers that designed the darned things.

So, go on ahead and ignore the manual. Carry that over to other aspects of your life. You don't need an annual physical. Don't watch the sodium. You feel ok, right? Go ahead, plug in a few extra extension cords. Just what do those silly engineers know? You know it can handle it no problems!

I am entitled to do what I want, when I want, as long as it makes me happy!

[MichaelJ]

Originally Posted by SEEBURG200

The lower the octane, the lower the temperature at which the gasoline explodes in the cylinders.

Gasoline doesn't explode. It does burn rapidly, but not rapidly enough to be considered an explosion.