gr8stlakerfan

Can anybody tell me why whenever I fill my gas tank it smells like gasoline might be leaking somewhere around my car?

jimbo1763

That is a common issue. There is a seal on the top of the gas tank that has broken, ordinarily.

This issue was the subject of a NHTSA settlement with Mercedes, and the warranty on the tanks and its components have been extended to, I think, 15 years for most cars.

Take the car to a dealer and tell the service manager that you smell gas when you fill the car up. It should result in your getting a new tank and its innards.

See this link.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w211...ell-again.html

konigstiger

Warranty letter, see attachment.

Heatwave

Take jimbo1763's advice. Call ahead. Tell the MB service writer that there's a heavy, distinct odor of gasoline in your garage when you park your car with a full (or near full) gas tank. This is a familiar problem at MB dealerships.

nivram13

Is the smell on the inside or from the outside of the car?

Two different issues.

Heatwave

nivram13: There may be two different places for smelling gasoline ... inside the car or outside the car in the garage ... but both are traceable to a single source: a leaking component in the fuel tank system.

Here's my experience with the weepy gas tank in my wife's '07 W211: whenever the gas tank was half-full or fuller, it filled our garage with the distinct odor of gasoline. When I drove the car ... which wasn't often, other than to refill the gas tank ... I frequently could smell gasoline inside the driver/passenger compartment, and I noted that the odor appeared when the gas tank was more than half-full.

I took the car to the MB dealership for Service A or Service B (or such) maintenance, and mentioned to the service writer that I frequently could smell gasoline inside the car. "Imposible," I was informed ... "the entire gas tank is completely sealed off from the car's interior. There's no way leaking gas could enter the interior." So I told him about the odor in my garage; he said he'd note it on the order and have a technician (mechanic) check it out. Of course, the mechanic found nothing amiss.

But the odor persisted. Then I discovered this forum and I read the threads regarding the gas tank seals and the gasoline odors and MB's agreeing to replace fuel system components, including the entire tank and pump assemblies when appropriate. Someone here posted a copy of a letter on MBUSA letterhead ... the letter stated that MBUSA was taking ownership of the problem and would fix affected vehicles.

I took the car back to the dealership, with a copy of the letter in hand, and told the order writer that I had a leaking tank or fuel system, that I reported it to him previously but got blown off, that MBUSA confessed its errors and agreed to remedy the problem(s), and that I wanted whatever it took to eliminate the fuel odors in the car and in my garage.

The dealership agreed to perform the necessary work to eliminate the gasoline odors, but it wanted me to pay up front for the work, with a written promise that MBUSA would fully reimburse me for the charges. I have forgotten how much it cost ... but it was a considerable sum. It took MBUSA about 6 weeks to send me a check, but it sent me a complete reimbursement for the bill.

As I said, that was two ago. I have never again smelled gasoline inside our W211 or in the garage.

I hope this informs you with useful information.

rodneypierce

Why would you have to pay for the work up front? That sounds shady as hell to me. If I take my car in to the dealer for an extended warranty issue, they better foot the whole bill, and from the time I drop the keys off. Not reimburse me 6 weeks later.

Heatwave

rodneypierce:

Q. "Why would you have to pay for the work up front?"

A. Because that's the way MBUSA said to do it.

It all happened during the early days of MBUSA's commitment to cure the gas odor problems. I had a copy of MBUSA's letter taking responsibility for the work, and I had the local dealership's written promise ... printed on the service papers the dealership printed out ... to reiimburse me. That was good enough for me.

jimbo1763

Yeah, I got reimbursed for the work done on the tanks, etc on my 2 E350's at about $1000 each. I had to ask for it-but once I did, they stepped right up.

Gangrene3075

That's just crazy. When I took my Benz to the dealer for the fuel tank recall...it was absolutely $0 upfront cost.

OnlyGerman

Has this mostly effected the early w211 model years?

nivram13

So my issue was outside the car I had no smell inside the cabin the issue was a crack in the upper filler neck of the tank. Smell only evident when the tank was full.

Heatwave

So ... did you get the tank repaired?

nivram13

I had the upper filler neck section replaced which was not under warranty at a cost of $800!!

cmriv

no dealership should be taking money upfront for a recall. That is a crock of dookie!
if you yourself paid to have pump/filter (sending units) replaced prior to recall, you then would be reimbursed...

all w211 chasis at some time or another have this issue, depending on model year will determine if you get a tank, or fuel system components.


you forum members surely do know how to find the poorest dealerships. My jaw drops when I read stuff on here about other dealerships.... with that said, always do homework prior to taking vehicle to dealer unless you have endless money. a little bit of research wont hurt!

nivram13

Unfortunately I was told by MB here in New Zealand this warranty was not world wide and only applicable to the US.

nivram13

Recall did not apply outside the US I was told.

cmriv

wow, the ***** scheming per usual

S70Houston

REALLY?????????? I take offense to that and I think you should apologize!

nivram13

This thread has turned rather sour.

Heatwave

Godwin's Law. Color this thread dead.

cmriv

Zeee Germans I meant. But that is BS, It's the same setup if i'm not mistaken. Not really sure why they don't cover the diesels.

S70Houston

I know what you meant, but it is not what you said.

As a German, I do not appreciate these kind of comments. Actually, no one should appreciate them, as they are unnecessary and do not add any value here.

Look at your signature, you may want to apply the "think again" yourself!

Izrud

Thank you so much for this info guys! I just called my local MB dealership and explained the issue over the phone. They immediately made an appointment and secured me a loaner while they replace all the warranty parts. There were no questions and no mention of payment - the dealership will shoulder all the costs and seek re-reimbursement from MBUSA themselves.

I was really impressed, especially since the warranty letter itself says that you might have to foot the bill and get reimbursed yourself after the repair.

Thanks again!

macro254

I called MBUSA yesterday about a different issue and they informed me over the phone that they have a recall through 2020 for gas tank issue that I was not aware about. They were quite concerned about it and asked me questions like "can you smell gasoline", "the tank is under the rear seats area, smell fuel there?".

I haven't and don't smell gas. But they strongly advised that I schedule the warrant repair sooner than later.

Hope this small bit of info helps. I registered to make this comment! XD

FYI 2006 E350 3.5l