My husband and I were recently on a long distance drive, we were getting terrible gas mileage and had acceleration problems with my 2009 Nissan Rogue. We stopped to fill up but gasoline poured out of the tank when it was close to full. We found a Nissan dealer who located the problem: the service technician at my home dealership had not reconnected the fuel fill line to the gas tank when the fuel sieve was changed a few days earlier (it was a recall item to fix a fuel gauge issue). My questions: Gasoline could have gotten all over the underside of the car, including the rear seat - is any damage possible? We still have the acceleration problem, could this have been from the gas tank being disconnected? My home dealership said they are going to change the fuel pump which should fix the acceleration issue - should I be concerned about any other damage like debris in the gas tank?
We are big fans and listen to your radio show every Saturday. You’ve given good advice, so I hope you can help with my concerns.
Thank you!
Gasoline spilled on the underside of the car will do no damage. Any debris in the tank (I doubt there is any) will be caught by the strainer and/or the fuel filter.
Let the dealership fix it and don’t worry. Maybe you should ask them to double check their work before you pick up the car next time.
I Agree With McP, Including Having This Dealer Technician Recheck All Work. A Potentially Dangerous Situation Was Created. They Owe You One For The Danger And Inconvenience.
They owe you some gasoline, too.
CSA
Just further agreement with the above advice. Let the dealership handle it.
External spilled or leaking gasoline will cause no damage to the interior of your car. When you pick up your repaired car, and it drives normally, you have no further cause for concern.