1995 E320
206K Miles

This past weekend I filled about half my tank (8 gallons) with gas from a Getty station in Delaware, since it was the only one available before getting on the interstate. I normally use only Sunoco 93/94 or Exxon 93. (The Getty was 92.)

Since then, my fuel economy appears to have dropped noticeably, perhaps as much as 30%. Could this be the result of bad or watered-down gas?

The only other thing I did to the car that weekend was replace my neutral safety switch, during which time the car was jacked up pretty high at the driver-side front, and also during which time I occasionally pushed against a fairly thick rubber hose (vacuum??) adjacent to the transmission and the neutral safety switch. The neutral switch also needs to be correctly realigned, but I don’t think its misalignment should impact fuel economy.

In addition, I have noticed that my oil pressure, rpm and fuel gauges seem “weaker,” sitting at lower than normal levels when the car idles, and my engine sounds quieter than normal.

My first thought was “bad gas causing weak engine performance” and my second thought was “electrical fault in instrument cluster tricking me into thinking my fuel consumption is greater than it is.”

I plan to let the tank run empty before refueling, to burn off as much of the existing fuel as I can. Anyone who has experienced this, please share our thoughts.

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2008 E350 4matic / Black/Anthracite

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Gone but not Forgotten:
2001 E430 4matic, 206,xxx miles, Black/Charcoal
1995 E320, 252,xxx miles, Black/Grey
1989 260E, 223,00 miles, Black/Black