
{"id":1859,"date":"2020-01-30T20:35:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T20:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dealerfireblog.com\/thirdcoastautos\/?p=1859"},"modified":"2026-01-20T10:10:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T10:10:35","slug":"can-you-use-regular-gas-in-a-flex-fuel-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thirdcoastautos.com\/blog\/can-you-use-regular-gas-in-a-flex-fuel-vehicle\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you use regular gas in a flex-fuel vehicle?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>Understanding Fuel Options for Flex-Fuel Vehicles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Flex-fuel vehicles, or FFVs, are optimized to run on ethanol- and methanol-based fuels. But what happens if you put regular gasoline in the tank? Can regular gas be used in a flex-fuel vehicle?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thirdcoastautos.com\/used-cars-austin-tx?_gmod%5B0%5D=Dfe_Modules_VehiclePrice_Module&amp;_gmod%5B1%5D=Dfe_Modules_CustomizePayment_Module&amp;direction=desc&amp;fueltype%5B0%5D=FFV&amp;sf=sf_fueltype\">View Our Pre-Owned Flex-Fuel Vehicle Inventory<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Yes, standard gasoline can be used in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thirdcoastautos.com\/clp-ffv-flex-fuel-vehicles-austin-tx\">flex-fuel vehicles<\/a>.<\/strong> The engine in FFVs is designed to run on gasoline and other fuels. This generally means a gas blend of ethanol and methanol. No matter what fuel you put into your FFV, it\u2019s stored in the same tank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dealerfireblog.com\/thirdcoastautos\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/767\/2020\/01\/gas-pump-hand-fuel_b.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holds a fuel pump in the gas tank of their car.\" class=\"wp-image-1863\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3>What fuels should not be used in an FFV?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Do not put diesel or regular leaded gasoline inside an FFV. Admittedly, leaded gasoline is very rare these days, but if you happen to come across some, keep it out of your FFV tank. The flex-fuel designation generally means you can use E85 or regular unleaded gasoline in your vehicle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Does using regular gas in a flex fuel vehicle harm the\nengine?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No. However, putting E85 in a vehicle not designed for it is harmful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ever Wonder: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thirdcoastautos.com\/used-cars-austin-tx?_gmod%5B0%5D=Dfe_Modules_VehiclePrice_Module&amp;_gmod%5B1%5D=Dfe_Modules_CustomizePayment_Module&amp;direction=desc&amp;fueltype%5B0%5D=FFV&amp;sf=sf_fueltype\">Why is there a lot of oil in the Middle East?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>What does the number in flex-fuels mean?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The number after the E in a fuel like \u201cE85\u201d refers to the\npercentage of ethanol that\u2019s mixed in. E85 fuel, for example, is composed of\n85% ethanol. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>How does ethanol affect fuel economy?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With most FFVs, the more ethanol that\u2019s in the fuel, the larger the drop in your fuel economy. The reason is that ethanol burns faster than regular gasoline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Is ethanol better for the planet?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Though originally marketed as a \u201cgreen\u201d option, there\u2019s debate over whether ethanol is actually better for the planet than fossil fuels. Ethanol typically comes from corn, so making it requires using a lot of land to grow and harvest. The corn must then be refined into ethanol. This whole process can be taxing to Mother Earth. However, ethanol is theoretically renewable, whereas fossil fuels are not. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understanding Fuel Options for Flex-Fuel Vehicles Flex-fuel vehicles, or FFVs, are optimized to run on ethanol- and methanol-based fuels. But what happens if you put regular gasoline in the tank? Can regular gas be used in a flex-fuel vehicle?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,7,8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An FFV is made to be compatible with ethanol-mixed fuels. But is it okay to fill them up with standard unleaded gasoline? Find out here!\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tt-blogs.dealerfire.com\/thirdcoastautos\/can-you-use-regular-gas-in-a-flex-fuel-vehicle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can you use regular gas in a flex-fuel vehice? 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