Chrysler 1998 Voyager, Service Manual, Page: 1296 / 1938

GASOLINE/OXYGENATE BLENDS
Some fuel suppliers blend unleaded gasoline with
materials that contain oxygen such as alcohol, MTBE
(Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) and ETBE (Ethyl Ter-
tiary Butyl Ether). Oxygenates are required in some
areas of the country during winter months to reduce
carbon monoxide emissions. The type and amount of
oxygenate used in the blend is important.
The following are generally used in gasoline
blends:
Ethanol - (Ethyl or Grain Alcohol) properly
blended, is used as a mixture of 10 percent ethanol
and 90 percent gasoline. Gasoline blended with etha-
nol may be used in your vehicle.
MTBE/ETBE - Gasoline and MTBE (Methyl Ter-
tiary Butyl Ether) blends are a mixture of unleaded
gasoline and up to 15 percent MTBE. Gasoline and
ETBE (Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) are blends of gas-
oline and up to 17 percent ETBE. Gasoline blended
with MTBE or ETBE may be used in your vehicle.
Methanol - Methanol (Methyl or Wood Alcohol) is
used in a variety of concentrations blended with
unleaded gasoline. You may encounter fuels contain-
ing 3 percent or more methanol along with other
alcohols called cosolvents.
DO NOT USE GASOLINES CONTAINING
METHANOL.
Use of methanol/gasoline blends may result in
starting and driveability problems and damage criti-
cal fuel system components.
Problems that are the result of using methanol/
gasoline blends are not the responsibility of Chrysler
Corporation and may not be covered by the vehicle
warranty.
Reformulated Gasoline
Many areas of the country are requiring the use of
cleaner-burning fuel referred to as Reformulated
Gasoline.
Reformulated gasolines are specially
blended to reduce vehicle emissions and improve air
quality.
Chrysler Corporation strongly supports the use of
reformulated gasolines whenever available. Although
your vehicle was designed to provide optimum perfor-
mance and lowest emissions operating on high qual-
ity unleaded gasoline, it will perform equally well
and produce even lower emissions when operating on
reformulated gasoline.
Materials Added to Fuel
Indiscriminate use of fuel system cleaning agents
should be avoided. Many of these materials intended
for gum and varnish removal may contain active sol-
vents of similar ingredients that can be harmful to
fuel system gasket and diaphragm materials.
E-85 GENERAL INFORMATION
The information in this section is for Flexible Fuel
Vehicles (FFV) only. These vehicles can be identified
by the unique Fuel Filler Door Label that states
Ethanol (E-85) or Unleaded Gasoline Only. This sec-
tion only covers those subjects that are unique to
these vehicles. Please refer to the other sections of
this manual for information on features that are
common between Flexible Fuel and gasoline only
powered vehicles.
ETHANOL FUEL (E-85)
E-85 is a mixture of approximately 85% fuel etha-
nol and 15% unleaded gasoline.
WARNING: Ethanol vapors are extremely flammable
and could cause serious personal injury. Never
have any smoking materials lit in or near the vehi-
cle when removing the fuel filler tube cap (gas cap)
or filling the tank. Do not use E-85 as a cleaning
agent and never use it near an open flame.
FUEL REQUIREMENTS
Your vehicle will operate on both unleaded gasoline
with an octane rating of 87, or E-85 fuel, or any mix-
ture of these two.
For best results, a refueling pattern that alternates
between E-85 and unleaded gasoline should be
avoided. When you do switch fuels, it is recom-
mended that
•
you do not switch when the fuel gauge indicates
less than 1/4 full
•
you do not add less than 5 gallons when refuel-
ing
•
you operate the vehicle immediately after refuel-
ing for a period of at least 5 minutes
Observing these precautions will avoid possible
hard starting and/or significant deterioration in driv-
ability during warm up.
NOTE: When the ambient temperature is above
90°F, you may experience hard starting and rough
idle following start up even if the above recommen-
dations are followed.
STARTING
The characteristics of E-85 fuel make it unsuitable
for use when ambient temperatures fall below 0°F. In
the range of 0°F to 32°F, you may experience an
increase in the time it takes for your engine to start,
and a deterioration in drivability (sags and/or hesita-
tions) until the engine is fully warmed up.
14 - 2 FUEL SYSTEM
NS
GENERAL INFORMATION (Continued)