We’ve written multiple in-depth articles about the fuel requirements that involve different Buick models. In this blog, we’ve compiled this information to answer whether Buicks require premium gasoline or whether this is a myth. Here’s a quick summary:
All Buick models currently sold in the United States take regular, unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87 or higher. Previous Buick models that take premium, 91-octane gasoline are the 2005 – 2009 LaCrosse with a 5.3L V8 and the 2011 – 2017 Regal with a 2.0L turbo engine.
However, that certainly doesn’t tell the full story. Below, we’ll first dive deeper into why one would or wouldn’t need to use regular instead of premium gasoline for their Buick. After that, we’ll give you a complete rundown of all the Buick models sold in the USA in the past decade or so, and their fuel requirements. Read on!
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Why Should or Shouldn’t I Use Premium Gasoline For My Buick?
As stated in the introduction, some Buick do take premium gasoline, whereas other Buicks don’t have this kind of fuel recommended.
The reason why most Buicks don’t have premium gasoline recommended is that Buick (or GM) didn’t design their engines to make use of the higher octane level. Premium gasoline is only useful when an engine is specifically designed to take this fuel. Putting premium gasoline in an engine that has regular gasoline recommended won’t result in any performance and/or longevity benefits.
Furthermore, some previous Buick models (discontinued in the United States) do have premium gasoline recommended. This is because these larger, or turbo-powered engines, can make use of the higher octane levels. Once again, it’s best to follow the instructions in the owner’s manual from which these recommendations come.
Fuel Recommendations For Each Buick Model
It goes without saying that each Buick model, and each generation, has different gasoline requirements. Luckily, we have written articles on this already. You can find extensive articles for each model by clicking on “Read more here” after each model.
Below, you’ll find a quick summary for each model regarding octane recommendations. This list only includes models sold in the United States.
Enclave
All Buick Enclave made from 2008 onwards have a 3.6L V6 engine which requires regular, unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87 or higher. Furthermore, All model years of the Enclave can take gasoline with a maximum of 15% ethanol. Read more here about its fuel requirements.
Encore
All model years of the Buick Encore made from 2013 onwards have a 1.4L engine, which takes regular gasoline with an octane level of 87. Furthermore, they can all take gasoline with a maximum of 15% ethanol. Read more here about its fuel requirements.
Encore GX
All model years of the Buick Encore GX made from 2020 onwards take regular, unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87. Furthermore, all model years can take gasoline with a maximum of 15% ethanol which means E15 and E10 are safe to use.
Envision
Buick Envision, made between 2016 – 2020 with a 2.5L engine, take regular, unleaded 87-octane gasoline. Envisions of the same model years with a 2.0L engine take premium, unleaded 93-octane gasoline.
The current generation of the Envision, made from 2021 onwards, takes 87-octane regular, unleaded gasoline. Read more here about its fuel requirements.
LaCrosse
Buick LaCrosse, made from 2010 onwards, take regular, unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87. Furthermore, they also take gasoline with a maximum of 15% ethanol.
Buick LaCrosse, made between 2005 – 2009 with a 3.8L V6 engine, take regular, unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87, whereas the models with a 5.3L V8 engine have premium, 91-octane recommended, although they can temporarily take 87-octane whenever premium is not available. Furthermore, these model years only take gasoline with 10% ethanol.
Regal
Buick Regal, made between 2011 – 2017 with a 2.4L engine, take regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87. The same model years that are equipped with a 2.0L turbo engine take premium gasoline with an octane rating of 91. Furthermore, both engines can take gasoline with a maximum of 15% ethanol.
What Other Things To Consider When Refueling Your Buick?
Besides the octane and ethanol levels, there are other things to consider when refueling. Two of the most common things that should be taken into account are the use of additives and where you get your gasoline from (yes, there are differences between retailers).
Aftermarket additives are available in places like Amazon and are marketed as either being performance-enhancing or as a helpful substance that cleans the internals of your engine. However, Buick recommends against using aftermarket additives that aren’t ACDelco and that haven’t been specifically mentioned in the owners manuals.
This is because these additives may contain silicon or metallic pieces that actually harm your engine more than they clean it. This is damage that’s not covered by any warranty. Furthermore, using gasoline from the correct retailer will provide your engine with all the fuel additives it needs.
For this reason, Buick recommends using gasoline from TOP TIER retailers. You can find a retailer like this at toptiergas.com. TOP TIER is an initiative that several large carmakers in the United States support. Gasoline from these retailers has a higher amount of additives that have proven to keep your engine much cleaner in the long run. Below, you can see the difference between TOP TIER and non-TOP TIER gasoline.
What If I Hear A Knocking Sound From The Engine?
Furthermore, using fuels with an octane rating lower than 87 in any Buick will result in severe damage to the engine, which is indicated by a symptom referred to as engine knock.
Engine knock means that the fuel can’t be adequately burned, resulting in a heavy knocking sound of the engine. A slight knocking sound is never a problem, but heavy knocking should be dealt with immediately.
Please stop the vehicle and contact your dealers if this heavy knocking occurs. You’re likely using fuel with a lower-than-recommended octane rating. The car needs to be drained, the fuel filter will need to be replaced, and the battery will need to be disconnected and reconnected to reset the car’s memory.
Hi! My name is Stefan; I’m the owner and lead writer at TheDriverAdviser.com.
I’m an active writer on this blog myself, as well as a novice car mechanic. For the really technical stuff, I find writers with experience as a mechanic or who have studied mechanical engineering.
Read more about our fantastic team on our about page!