Cold weather gas smell - 2003 Subaru Forester

[Paleen]

This past Friday, with the temperatures here in Pittsburgh dipping into the ngetative numbers, I smelled the distinct odor of gasoline in my 2003 Subaru Forester as I sat at a red light. This had never happened before. I called the Subaru service department and was told that they had received about 10 calls that day about this same issue. He indicated that the cold weather caused the lines to contract and allow gasoline to leak onto the engine. He said that the as the weather warmed up, the lines would expand again, thus minimizing the problem. However, he said that the only way to correct the problem was to have the lines changed. When I asked if it was a hazard to continue driving the vehicle until I could have the lines replaced, he suggested that I limit my driving since gasoline dripping onto a hot engine was dangerous.