Honda CR-V 2005 making 'gulping' sound at rear of vehicle

Last night I entered my garage in the car and thought I’d run over a cat, and was hearing its last desperate gasps of air. The sound was stronger than what I imagine a cat might produce, but it set me off. After looking under the car, I couldn’t locate the source of the sound. All cats were accounted for. I concluded the antennae had hit the door as I came in, and that was the sound I was hearing.

This morning I parked at work, and the sound reoccurred. This time it was definitely at the bottom rear of the vehicle, and audible from the interior but not the exterior (but there was ambient noise in the mix, of course). After verifying I didn’t have any large jugs of fluid leaking in the interior, I came here.

I suspect this is a fuel tank issue, because I don’t know where else the amount of liquid implied by the sound could have come from. Right before this started to occur, I had filled up the gas tank. There does not appear to be any unusual exhaustion of gas according to the dashboard indicator. There is no unusual gas smell. I am wondering if the pump might have screwed up and filled the pipe/hose past the normal point, such that gas is periodically draining into the tank as the tank is emptied. Any ideas?

The next time there are two in the car, one should get out and walk to the rear to listen when the car is shut off. Maybe you can locate the source that way.

Also remove the gas cap and listen. If, cap off, the sound stops, that’s a clue.

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