Is E15 Gas safe in a 2001 Blazer?

[FTTSHO]

I was going down the highway and got off at a big gas/truck stop to fill up my 2001 Blazer. It needed almost a full tank of gas.


They had big stickers on all the pumps stating all of their gas except 93 octane contains 15% ethanol. I’ve never ran E15 in my 2001 Blazer 4.3 vortec before, but I had to fill up so I chose the E15 87 because it was the cheapest.

By the way I have a OEM GM gas cap on my truck, and even it does not mention anything regarding ethanol or even octane.


The truck drove great for the remainder of the trip with a full tank of E15. Didn’t notice any difference on how it drives or behaves.

The thing I don’t really understand is EPA says all vehicles from 2001 and onwards are approved to run up-to 15% ethanol, but each car manufacturer seems to have their own rules and standards on this. Ford says 2013 and onwards for their vehicles, and I believe GM says 2012. I may be wrong but this is what I found through some research,

My owners manual for the truck does not mention anything about ethanol. All it says is the fuel must be 87 octane or higher.

I feel E15 will become more and more common around my area, so I want to know if it will be safe for my mint 2001 Blazer that I plan on keeping forever. Some will say crazy but it’s the nicest completely stock blazer ever.

 

[StumblingElk]

E15 is fine in your car

 

[slacktide_bitog]

E15 is supposed to be OK for anything 2001 and up, so you can use it

 

[Rand]

e15 is rarely 15% ethanol I doubt 12-13% vs the 10% that was available when it came out will hurt anything.

 

[hunter2929]

If the EPA said orange juice was safe would you run it. Just because it runs fine doesn’t mean it’s safe.

You better find out for sure.

 

[Zee09]

Personally I'd fill up when you get to half a tank and when you have to use E15 it won't be a big ordeal or risk. Going to empty in a 25 year old vehicle is a risk too.

 

[Zee09]

I have a 2000 blazer myself
My father left it to me

 

[hunter2929]

If it doesn’t say E15 is ok in the owners manual I would not run it.

 

[walterjay]

I won't use E15 in my new Tucson due to rough running issues with it. But try it and see.

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

I would NOT run it in a 2001 anything,,, So thats how its gonna go??? the E10 will vanish unless willing to pay a premium...
What State OP?

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Safe? For how long? It will run but will accelerate deterioration of already old rubber.

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

I run Diesel in the Truck and E00 in my Harley but my family is sure using E10, It's May1st and understand Today is the day!
I may take a ride tonight and see if any pumps now say up to 15% that yesterday said up to 10%,,,
This gets under my skin big time...

 

[Hall]

The truck drove great for the remainder of the trip with a full tank of E15. Didn’t notice any difference on how it drives or behaves.

It won't impact HOW it runs. It will - and did - run just fine as you saw.

If it doesn’t say E15 is ok in the owners manual I would not run it.

E15 didn't exist when that manual was written so it's not going to refer to it. The manual probably says to use API S? oil, so you'd say not to use API SN, SP, etc synthetic ?

 

[fantastic]

E15 didn't exist when that manual was written so it's not going to refer to it. The manual probably says to use API S? oil, so you'd say not to use API SN, SP, etc synthetic ?

Several OEM's said >10% ethanol fuel would void the warranty. That was after 15% was out & about.

 

[FTTSHO]

I would NOT run it in a 2001 anything,,, So thats how its gonna go??? the E10 will vanish unless willing to pay a premium...
What State OP?

SC

 

[FTTSHO]

Safe? For how long? It will run but will accelerate deterioration of already old rubber.

It’s got all new rubber fuel hoses, new fuel pump and new metal fuel lines.

 

[JavierH19]

I doubt a 5% increase in the ethanol content will cause issues. I once ran E30 in my Yukon and it ran just fine. Probably took an extra third of a second in total to start. I once put 7 gallons of E85 in my Ranger with probably 3 gallons of e10 left to see what would happen and that thing was sputtering like a piglet with a deep wet mud but it did run, but I filled up the rest with regular and it was fine.

 

[MCompact]

BMW and Mercedes recommend no higher than E10 in most of their vehicles.

 

[meep]

If I were in this situation, I’d run the tank and then dilute it with stronger good gas when convenient. If it’s harmful to the rubber, one tank isn’t going to do it. Add fresh gas at home and sleep on it.

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

I doubt a 5% increase in the ethanol content will cause issues. I once ran E30 in my Yukon and it ran just fine. Probably took an extra third of a second in total to start. I once put 7 gallons of E85 in my Ranger with probably 3 gallons of e10 left to see what would happen and that thing was sputtering like a piglet with a deep wet mud but it did run, but I filled up the rest with regular and it was fine.

Many Yukons were Flexfuel and can run up to 85%