reggiereyes

Hello all! I have a 2013 c250 25000 miles and for about a year now I have been trying to locate a fuel like smell that takes over the interior only when I open or tilt my sunroof. Weather is getting nice here in Georgia and I cant even open my sunroof because I become high and a strong headache develops. I have been to all Mercedes dealers here in the Atlanta area trying to figure out this situation and according to service advisors and shop formans no leaks found and vehicle operating as designed. The odor does go away if I turn on A/C or heat and only present when sunroof is open. Recommendation from shop forman is to drive with sunroof closed and if I do decide to open it to keep A/C on.. What kind of B?? alternative is this? Anyhow I was just wondering if anybody else is or has experienced any similar issues that can shed some light in my direction? Thanks in advance.

c300white

0. What if you open roof with engine off ? Any smell? What about engine on open roof, but not driving. Or is this only when driving ?

1.What if you open window - not sunroof ? Still have fuel smell ? (when driving). What if you stop at that point ? Still smell coming ? That says it is coming from outside not inside.

2. If you open sunroof all the way (not just tilt) - do you smell any odor around the roof when car is stationary and outside ? (engine off).

3. When you get smell - stop the car - open engine bay - do you smell fuel in there ?

4. If you AC is on - you are simply blowing fresh air out through the sunroof - so not so much air entering from outside. WHat if you just turn fan on high but AC off - still solves problem ?

4. I had leak in fuel pipe under car (see my thread on that topic). This caused fuel smell in cabin - but not sure it was related to sunroof being open or not.

Next step could be to have dealer inspect fuel line - there is meant to be access cover over that under the car - mine was missing for some reason. You could also try to lift back seat - and smell on top of fuel tank - you might sometimes get leak from access cover on top of tank - but then I don;t think it would be related to sunroof being open or not.

Hope that helps ...

c300white

Also when you drive it to shop - did you open sunroof so service advisor could smell it also ? Do you always fill gas tank 100% - try fill tank 50% a few times - and see if it is still there - then that might point to issue with vapor recovery system etc.

If dealer can also smell fumes - Merc has to fix this under warranty - don't let them tell you otherwise ....not using sunroof on a car they sold you with sunroof is a BS answer ...Get service advisor to smell same issue as you and then esclate to regional rep for Mercedes ...

Carsy

Good advice. JC

reggiereyes

Hey guys thanks so much for you quick responses! C300white if the windows are open I also get the smell not as bad though as I get a blast of outside air. If im stationary lets say at a traffic light I get no fumes at all and if I open the sunroof all the way I still get the odor however not as bad and I guess its because of the amount of air coming in cabin. If I close all windows and roof and turn A/C or heat on there is no smell at all. All of this is worst when i have my sunroof tilted and im cruising at speeds over 50ish or so. If I turn on fan either hi or low with no A/C compressor the odor goes away. No check engine light and no issues whatsoever runs great and i love the car but this headache and getting high all the time is no longer fun hehe. In regards to my warranty everytime I go in for service they look at me like im a crazy person thats just whining about the exhaust fumes of the cars in front of me. I made a case with MBUSA and the rudest person ever offered me 1000.00 dollars to trade vehicle for a new one. Trading is really not an option because i am upside down now on the loan. If it was not for the odor this would be the most enjoyable car i have ever had. P.S I have gotten under the car and have inspected with a LED flashlight and have not seen anything abnormal. There is plastic covering the entire bottom which i have not removed just in fear that the dealers could see that i have tampered with it and dont want to loose my warranty which is no good anyways. Sorry for the long story hopefully this helps me solve this problem. Tank is currently half full and it seems to be worst with a full tank. Thanks in advance!

Carsy

It is obvious that you have a small petrol weep/leak or vapour venting somewhere in your fuel system.

When there is a slight vacuum in your cabin the fumes are drawn in.

A MB representative should test drive the vehicle with you & be made to sit through a period with the fuel fumes. Pull a cigarette lighter out as if to light up & see his reaction .

Your entire fuel system should be exposed & tested by a competent mechanic .

Make sure MB take responsibility for this. Go to the top .It is a safety issue.

I wonder whether it is a simple issue with the fuel tank venting system?.

Good luck & nil carborundum.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...um+carborundum

nyca

I have developed this problem now, does the smell come from the rear drivers side seat/wheel well area? The problem is described here, but for a different model, you see some photos and details here about what is (likely) going on:

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...uel-smell.html

You have to pull the rear seat bolsters and examine the fuel sending units on the tank - see the sketches above.

supercooper188

MB extended the fuel system warranty on a number of models from 4 yrs. to 15 yrs. I just had my 2004 E500 fuel tank replaced under the warranty. I was smelling fuel after filling the car up. Dealer said their was a leak on the valve. I know the warranty also extends to the CLS models also. Your car is still under original factory warranty so they should be able to find the problem.

TS MBZ

I have the same issue with a 2013 C300. Purchased used a few months ago and to deal dealer once with the problem with no resolution. When I purchased, there was a lemon smell that may have been a temporary cover for the smell emanating from the trunk. I now realize the smell comes from vents inside the side trunk compartments (first aid and fuses). The vents may be intended to equalize air pressure when sunroof or windows are open and car is moving. Smell seems to be coming from heated parts beneath the trunk. I will try to resolve with dealer. More later.

michail71

A while back someone was having pressure issues in their car that wound up being those trunk vents being installed upside down. Not saying that's the issue but it might be worth checking.

TS MBZ

Thanks. I will have the dealer check it out.

MB0007

Hello, I recently purchased a pre-owned 2013 C300 Canadian car. I live in Toronto. It has 95kms. Good condition but I noticed that there is a smell of gas inside the cabin especially when the sunroof is open. I used to think it was from outside but I think its coming from the inside because I dont experience it in my other MB.

It can make someone feel noxious and uncomfortable. Just wondering what it could be. Otherwise the car is in good working order and fun to drive... but this is becoming more problematic. Its not the smell per se, which is actually somewhat light, its the noxious feeling thats annoying.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

TS MBZ

I had the same issue. Someone on this forum suggested looking at the vents inside the compartments in the trunk. They hold the fuse box on one side and the first aid kit on the other. Mine were stuck open and the dealer replaced them with new ones. Smell is now better, but not eliminated. When windows or sunroof are open, a vacuum is created drawing air from these vents. The air is the same from underneath the car as you smell when opening the doors after the car has been wormed up. The vents are supposed to vent air from INSIDE the car when heater o0r AC are drawing outside air from the front. Looks like a design error rectified in later versions of C300

AndLarDK

I have a 2015 E350d with the same problem; fuel like smell in the cabin with sunroof open. Inspirered by you guys I think I finally found a solution to the problem. In the compartement in the trunk below the floor (where the spare tyre used to be in the old days) there where 4 open holes at the front end of the chassis - two of abt one inch diameter and two smaller. See picture. After I covered them with gaffa the fuel smell is drastically reduced and now at a acceptable level.
As my car MB model C207 shares platform with the C-class the solution may work on these models too.


4 open holes covered with gaffa.

Alfadude

The fuel smell is at an "acceptable level? Unless there is NO fuel smell I would think that wouldn't be acceptable. You are masking (literally and figuratively) the real problem. There should be no fuel smell at all. Must be an issue somewhere else.

AndLarDK

Thanks for the comment. The smell is clearly exhaust fumes being pulled into the cabin due to the negative pressure when sunroof is open. I cannot say that there aren’t other holes or cracks in the chassis than the ones that I have found and covered which may still cause a little smell, but I am happy with the result in my car. Just my 50 cents.

Alfadude

Exhaust fumes do not smell like gas..If it smells like fuel, chances are there is something with the tank or the vapor recovery system or the like.

ChazThePhoenix

plus, the fuel pump is under the back seat...