It's all a crock fueled by media exaggeration. In all reality E15 won't hurt anything newer than 1990 and probably not even older cars. There are more fallacies in that new story then I even care to mention right now.
Do you even know what E15 is? It means 15% ethanol, 85% gasoline. Most places are already selling E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline) and have done so for years with no ill effects - sans some old carbureted vehicles that still used rubber hoses and seals and even that was due to long term exposure to the alcohol and old parts in borderline condition.
As far as personal experience goes I ran a 50% mix of E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline - so about E40 after blending it) for a couple of years in my 1995 Escort with no ill effect. It ran fine, no fuel lines "rotted out", never broke down and always started right up.
E15 only has 5% more ethanol than what most places use now so I doubt it's going to cause any problems. Yes a whole tank of E85 in a non flex-fuel car might make it run rough and/or a check engine light, but it shouldn't cause any long term damage.
No you car isn't going to stall or blow up nor are your fuel lines going to blow because you "accidentally" filled it up with E15. It just doesn't work that way.
I'm not from fort myers, I'm from kansas, but I drive a bmw automobile, a 2008 328i. Here is an excerpt from another forum I read.
To All BMW of Fort Myers Customers:
We have been advised by BMWNA that with the release of E10 and E85 gasoline with ethanol, there is a need to advise customers that is very important to put quality gasoline into their vehicles. The following is a listing of "top tier" retailers:
QuikTrip Phillips Entec
Somerset Refinery Tri-Par Oil
Petro - Canada
Chevron Union 76 MFA Oil
Chevron - Canada Shell - Canada Sunoco - Canada
Conoco Shell
Kwik Trip/Kwik Star Aloha Petroleum Texaco
The sale of E10, blended ethanol fuel, is on the rise in the US as more states are mandating its use to improve air quality. Also promoting the growth of E10 allows the phase out of the current additive MTBE that has been found to contaminate ground water supplies. Even so, the amount of ethanol added to the gasoline could raise the alcohol level of the fuel and cause your vehicle to crank, but not start; stall out; and/or run rough. BMW has advised us that they will not warranty, or goodwill, necessary repairs due to bad gas or high alcohol content in the fuel.
Some of the parts that could be damaged by poor fuel quality include fuel pumps (high pressure pumps as well), fuel filter, injectors, etc. The problems start because E 10 is very effective solvent and it will attack varnish, gum, and resins: the sludge that can build up in fuel tanks. Once cleaned off the fuel tank walls, poor performance with clogged filters and injectors is common. Also ethanol has a great affinity for water, and will attract moisture from the atmosphere. Water is heavier than gas so the water/ethanol molecule is dragged to the bottom of the tank and separates from the more buoyant fuel molecules. This is called phase separation. When this separation occurs you end up with a corrosive water/ethanol layer on the bottom of the tank, under what is now substandard fuel. Water displaces gasoline and then pits and corrodes the metal surfaces causing premature wear on the fuel pump. Water also reacts with various components in the fuel and forms acids, which corrode the injector tips as well.
Water when sucked into an engine will shut it down. It must be cleaned, and the oil changed. However, a water/ethanol mixture causes a more serious problem, because instead of just shutting the engine down, the mixture can be partially cornbusted, but not effectively, which can damage the engine. Over a period of time this mixture will cause excessive carbon deposits, which can wear on pistons and valves.
We recommend that only "top tier" fuels be used, and if necessary a gasoline additive with "techron" be added, occasionally. If possible, make sure you know your gasoline retailer and try to buy your gasoline from the same location as often as possible. The best deal isn't always the cheapest deal.
Here is a link to the forum thread.
I'm sure not gonna use 10 or 15% ethanol as there is plenty of fuel around me without it.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1027358
