my friend recently bought a 2007 chevy cobalt. everything runs great. the only problem is that when she turns off her car,the smell of gas slowly gets stronger and then completely dies out. this only happens outside of the car. what could be the reason?
The reason could be a fuel leak.
A fuel leak while the engine is running, is hard to pinpoint while driving and if it’s actively dripping, after it’s turned off it’ll dissipate fairly quickly as it dries up. It might be a leak that you don’t smell while the car is moving because it gets carried away or it may be behind the passenger compartment like a small leak in the gas tank. Is this something that always happens or more frequently after filling the tank? I’d check for leaks at the fillter tube and make sure the gas cap is secure and not leaking. It can be pressure tested as the fuel system can be.
Is the car “dieseling” or running on after she turns off the ignition switch? If so, that might require a mixture adjustment of fuel to air.
See if you can locate where the smell of gasoline is strongest around the car and check whether you can spot any leaks when it’s just parked and you might be able to isolate that by looking around the engine, tracing out the fuel line, looking around the engine compartment with the engine running looking for drips and checking for the odor of gas. Locate the fuel filter and see if that’s dripping while the engine is on and off. Look for drips behind the car as it was pulled into the parking spot.
If you can’t find it, keep a fire extinguisher handy ;>) and I’d suggest taking it to a shop to have them pressure test the fuel and and fuel storage systems.
Mark
she just took it into the shop. apparently there was a recall on the car and the original owner never took it in to get it fixed. there was a leak in the fuel tank. thanks for your help though! very helpful