HELP!...wife accidentally filled our tank w/ E85 Ethanol

[mymark]

I'm renting an Impala and am using E85 ethanol. My wife overheard me saying..."when I see the yellow hose...I fill up and save 30 cents per gallon! She assumed she could fill up with it yesterday and bragged to me that she paid under $3.00 a gallon doing so. I called my Lexus/Toyota shop and they said it was not dangerous. They say it will run bad, get bad mileage but not stall or strand her in the middle of an intersection, the check engine light would come on, it would produce some "lean codes", but just to drive the E85 ethanol out.

My questions are;

• is there something I can buy at an auto parts store to boost the octane?
• has anyone tried running ethanol?
• what if the car runs great, can we continue using E85?
• are we screwed?
• or should I tow the car to my shop and have them drain the system?
• our 2nd generation is a 2004 Avalon

[RningOnFumes]

Originally Posted by mymark

I'm renting an Impala and am using E85 ethanol. My wife overheard me saying..."when I see the yellow hose...I fill up and save 30 cents per gallon! She assumed she could fill up with it yesterday and bragged to me that she paid under $3.00 a gallon doing so. I called my Lexus/Toyota shop and they said it was not dangerous. They say it will run bad, get bad mileage but not stall or strand her in the middle of an intersection, the check engine light would come on, it would produce some "lean codes", but just to drive the E85 ethanol out.

My questions are;

• is there something I can buy at an auto parts store to boost the octane?
  Possibly, but not really needed.
• has anyone tried running ethanol?
  No, not that I remember.
• what if the car runs great, can we continue using E85?
  Long term use of E85 in a non E85 adapted vehicle will then make certain parts wear out faster.
• are we screwed?
  Not at all. Only screwing done was when your wife screwed the cap back on.
• or should I tow the car to my shop and have them drain the system?
  No necessary.
• our 2nd generation is a 2004 Avalon
  

LOL...she had a Lucille Ball moment huh?

If you are still worried, refill at the 1/4 empty and then again at the 1/2 empty--whatever combination as long as you dilute it with regular gas. One tank isn't going to hurt the car at all. If you google E85, you get info on what components are reinforced or different just so that your vehicle can run on E85.

[BiXLL]

1 tank will not cause a problem, car will not run as well and mpg will suffer until its gone.