03 Baja, 4cyl, automatic. 195,000+
Every now and again I get a fuel smell. Full tank, empty tank, half a tank… doesn’t seem to matter.
Usually switching up the gas I put in helps and clears the issue. This time, not so much. Really strong and causing me to banish the car for the garage due to it stinking up the house.
The odor MAY be coming from the left/drivers side of the car. (I only say this as if it is outside in the parking lot, I notice it more on that side.
Suggestions?
You have a 13 year old vehicle so could be several places or just one leaking. I would just pay someone to do a smoke test rather that start throwing parts or guessing.
I basically agree with Volvo, but would suggest that a shop with a tailpipe sniffer (combustion analyzer) may be able to sniff out the source.
Leaky injectors, a leaky fuel pressure regulator, a saturated charcoal bed (do you “top off”? Are you having any operating problems?) are all possibilities, as is a leaky fuel line filling. This NEEDS to be fixed. It’s downright dangerous this way.
Thanks to you both! I’m think you are just confirming what I already had in the back of my head.
I’ve experienced no performance or operation issues, so hopefully whatever it is, is “minor”.
If I didn’t love this car so much I wouldn’t put up with it’s shenanigans!
As @the_same_mountainbik suggested. If you top off your tan, you can saturate the charcoal canister and you may get fumes from that. This is why… in modern cars…you should not top off the tank. Once the pump self triggers off, continuing to force more fuel in is a bad thing.
The other problem is that the pump to fuel tank seal may be leaking. I would have this looked at soon. If fumes are leaking out, dirt can also leak into the tank and cause more expensive problems.
Either way this should be looked at for your own safety. The burn ward is no fun!!!
Yosemite