# 2011 Ford Escape - gas smell **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [August 14, 2023, 7:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274 "2023-08-14T19:49:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nick46](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/2bfe46/32.png) [@Nick46](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nick46)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 7:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/1 "2023-08-14T19:49:48Z")
Have 2011 Ford Escape with 97,000 miles on it and recently we started to smell gasoline sometimes on the passenger side and sometimes on the driver’s side. Smell is worse with a full tank. Repair shop says it’s the gas tank and maybe the fuel pump. Any ideas…Thanks ---
**Author:** ![weekend-warrior](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/weekend-warrior/32/26122_2.png) [@weekend-warrior](https://community.cartalk.com/u/weekend-warrior)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/2 "2023-08-14T20:21:28Z")
Something to checkout. [RCMN-16V777-9214.pdf (nhtsa.gov)](https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2016/RCMN-16V777-9214.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/3 "2023-08-14T21:05:17Z")
Do you notice this odor more after first starting the engine? Or do you notice it the same whether the engine is running or not running? ---
**Author:** ![Nick46](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/2bfe46/32.png) [@Nick46](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nick46)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 3:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/4 "2023-08-15T15:44:36Z")
Notice odor when first walking up to the car before starting it. Strange that one day it comes from the passenger side and a few days later from the drivers side. It is usually stronger right after a fill up and then on the passenger side. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/5 "2023-08-15T22:35:20Z")
> [@Nick46](#): > > It is usually stronger right after a fill up and then on the passenger side. The odor could conceivably be originating from the evap canister area. When you fill the tank, gasoline fumes get pushed into the canister and are supposed to be stored there, inside the canister, later to be burned in the engine… If something was faulty w/that system , the fumes might get pushed right out of the canister and into the air. A faulty purge valve is one possibiility. That valve opens when the engine is warm and running and pulls the gasoline fumes from the canister into the engine, making room in the canister to accommodate the fumes from the next fill-up. If that didn’t happen, the canister would eventually stop working, might cause gasoline odors .Do you know which side the evap canister is located on your Escape? It is on the passenger side on my older Ford truck. Ask your shop to check the canister and hose connections to it. There may be something obviously amiss. If not, this may require a special shop leak-finding test, called a “smoke test.” ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 2:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/6 "2023-08-16T14:34:44Z")
> [@Nick46](#): > > Repair shop says it’s the gas tank and maybe the fuel pump NO, you need a different shop! Expect to pay for a diagnosis. BTW, is your CEL on? ---
**Author:** ![Nick46](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/2bfe46/32.png) [@Nick46](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nick46)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/7 "2023-09-04T17:21:53Z")
Thanks for the information. What you say makes sense. My neighbor is a mechanic and we swapped out the purge valve since that was the first thing that he thought of. Will take next steps as you suggested when we get back down to FL. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/8 "2023-09-04T18:02:08Z")
I would seriously consider that safety recall that @Weekend_Warrior posted as a possible culprit before paying for any (more) diagnosis ---
**Author:** ![Nick46](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/2bfe46/32.png) [@Nick46](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nick46)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 6:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/9 "2023-09-04T18:12:04Z")
Working on that as well. What you sent was a letter to Dealers and I am trying to contact the dealer that I purchased the vehicle from to see if by supplying the VIN number they can tell me if my vehicle was serviced under that recall. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/10 "2023-09-04T18:20:42Z")
You can enter the VIN on the manufactures site, this will show incomplete recalls for your vehicle. That recall was issued 6 years ago, has your vehicle been to a Ford dealer since then? [Ford Recalls | Ford Owner Support](https://www.ford.com/support/recalls/?gnav=header-support) ---
**Author:** ![Nick46](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/2bfe46/32.png) [@Nick46](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nick46)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/11 "2023-09-04T19:22:27Z")
Bought my used Ford Escape from the local Ford dealer in Estero FL in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/12 "2023-09-04T19:53:53Z")
The Ford dealer you bought the vehicle from should have known about the recall and would have collected payment from the manufacture for the repair. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/13 "2023-09-04T22:12:58Z")
> [@Nevada\_545](#): > > The Ford dealer you bought the vehicle from should have known about the recall and would have collected payment from the manufacture for the repair. Not all new car dealerships are as attentive to those things as we would hope . . . ---
**Author:** ![Nick46](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/2bfe46/32.png) [@Nick46](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nick46)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 12:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2011-ford-escape-gas-smell/192274/14 "2023-10-18T00:06:45Z")
Talked to a friend who was a field service rep for Ford. He said that the most likely cause of the gasoline odors could be a faulty EVAP canister.