Should I Use Premium Gas for My Mercedes-Benz?

Should I Use Premium Gas for My Mercedes-Benz?

Your Mercedes-Benz vehicle is a high-performance fine-tuned automobile. Any high-performance vehicle requires high-octane or premium gasoline for the proper combustion cycle, and all gasoline-powered Mercedes-Benz vehicles need premium gas for optimal performance. Using a lower-octane gas, like regular gasoline, can cause the engine to fire at the wrong time resulting in long-term damage. Using high-octane premium gasoline for your Mercedes-Benz as recommended for your model, helps ensure your vehicle’s engine performs as expected and extends the lifespan of your high-performance vehicle. Our team at Mercedes-Benz of Tyler, Texas, created this handy guide to help de-mystify the difference between regular and premium gas and if any Mercedes-Benz models can take regular gas.

How Is Gasoline Processed and Manufactured?

Gasoline’s journey began millions of years ago. Plant and animal matter that lived and died millions of years ago, got covered and buried by mud, silt, and sediment. After eons of exposure to weather and the environment, these buried products make hydrocarbons, also known as crude oil or petroleum. Oil companies drill into the crude oil, extract it from the ground, and ship it to a refinery. At the refinery, workers distill, refine, and purify the crude oil, and then store it in massive tanks. Before the gasoline is ready to be shipped to gas stations, the manufacturers must place additives to the refined oil to help comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations. The amount of detergent additive in the gasoline determines the octane level, classifying it as regular, midrange, or premium. Be aware that some states classify premium octane levels differently. One state may consider a 90 rating high-octane premium gasoline while other states classify premium high-octane with a 94 rating. While these rating differences may seem minor, if your Mercedes-Benz specifies an exact octane rating, try to fill the gas tank with the recommended premium octane rating.

What’s the Difference Between Standard Gas and Premium Gas?

Most vehicles use regular or low-octane gas as fuel while high-performance vehicles need high-octane gas. What is octane, and what’s the difference between these grades of gasoline? According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, octane ratings measure the stability of fuel and how much pressure is needed for the fuel to combust, or auto-ignite, within the engine. These octane ratings are an average of motor octane rating and research octane rating. The higher the octane rating, like what you would find in premium gas, the more stable the fuel is. Octane ratings for gasoline, include:

• Regular gasoline has the lowest octane rating of 87.
• Midrange gasoline has an octane rating between 89 to 90.
• Premium gasoline has the highest octane ratings ranging between 91 and 94.

Turbocharged engines and high-performance engines have internal sensors that detect the firing sequence of the cylinders to promote fast and smooth acceleration. High-octane fuel stands up to a higher compression rate and thus, the engine’s cylinders fire precisely at the right time. If the cylinders fire at the wrong cycle due to lower octane gas, they’ll be unburnt fuel inside the engine compartment leading to knocking and eventually causing damage to the engine. Using the proper octane premium gasoline as recommended for your specific Mercedes-Benz model will ensure it performs optimally and help extend the lifespan of its high-performance engine. Understanding how gasoline works in a vehicle is a complex subject, and our team at Mercedes-Benz of Tyler can further explain the process of combustion, detonation, and the importance of using premium, high-octane fuel in your sophisticated Mercedes-Benz vehicle.

Which Mercedes-Benz Models Require Premium Gas?

All but the electric Mercedes-Benz models require premium unleaded gasoline. The Mercedes-Benz sedan and wagon lineup includes:

• C-Class Sedan.
• E-Class Sedan.
• Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Sedan.
• E-Class Wagon.

The Mercedes-Benz SUV lineup includes:

• GLA SUV.
• GLB SUV.
• GLC SUV.
• GLC Coupe.
• GLE SUV.
• GLE Coupe.
• GLS SUV.
• G-Class SUV.
• Mercedes-Maybach GLS SUV.

The Mercedes-Benz coupe, convertible, and roadster lineup includes:

• CLA Coupe.
• C-Class Coupe.
• E-Class Coupe.
• CLS Coupe.
• Mercedes-AMG® GT 4-Door Coupe.
• C-Class Cabriolet.
• E-Class Cabriolet.
• SL Roadster.

The Mercedes-Benz future and concept lineup includes:

• The 2024 Mercedes-AMG® CLE.
• The 2024 Mercedes-AMG® GLC Coupe.
• The 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain.
• The 2024 Mercedes-AMG® GT Coupe.
• The 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe.
• The 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe.
• The 2024 AMG® 63 S E Perforamce.
• The 2024 AMG® C 63 Performance.

While all the gasoline-fueled Mercedes-Benz vehicles require premium unleaded fuel for optimum performance, the AMG® 63 S E Performance will need the highest-octane rating gas as they produce enormous amounts of power and torque, up to 791 horsepower and 1,055 lb-ft of torque. This engine needs the proper combustion ratio for acceleration when it goes from zero to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. The AMG® 63 S E Performance is the highest-performance vehicle Mercedes-Benz makes and needs precision servicing and regular maintenance by certified Mercedes-Benz service technicians.

Which Mercedes-Benz Models Can Get Standard Gas?

Mercedes-Benz does not recommend any of their gas-only vehicles to use standard gas in their vehicles. If you use low-octane fuel for a Mercedes-Benz engine, you may cause severe and long-term damage to the engine. Always follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for the precise octane level for your Mercedes-Benz model. The only vehicles that don’t use gasoline in the Mercedes-Benz lineup are any of the electrified ones. If you see the following letters in front of a Mercedes-Benz model, they are electrified and don’t require gasoline.

• The EQB lineup.
• The EQU lineup.
• The EQS lineup.
• The AMG® EQE lineup.

Electrified future concept Mercedes-Benz vehicles include the Vision One-Eleven, the Vision AMG®, and the Vision EQXX by Mercedes-EQ.

Learn More About Which Mercedes-Benz Models Need Premium Gas

As new automobile technology advances, changes in which models need premium gas may also change. High-performance Mercedes-Benz vehicles perform optimally with premium gas while automobiles designed for regular driving needs often need regular gasoline. Contact our team at Mercedes-Benz of Tyler, TX, to learn more about fuel requirements for your specific make and model. We invite you to browse our inventory of new Mercedes-Benzs and our Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned autos and stop by our dealership to take your favorite one for a test drive.