Toadster

last night I filled up the beast and had a faint smell of gas - I figured I maybe had some on my hand, etc. Not unusual after just filling up sometimes...

but when I got home I still smelled it, but outside the car...

this morning, my wife is taking the car to Napa and she even noticed the smell - after she left I saw this on the driveway...



it was toward the rear of the car (duh somewhere by the gas tank I'm assuming) but what the heck would that be from? It's definitely gas...

BBBSS

After being around a while and in so many threads I'm shocked you don't know what's going on.

Leaky gas tank/sending unit. What NHTSA is currently investigating and the two mile long threads are discussing.

Yacht Master

Tell us how you fill the tank, do you stop on the first time it auto clicks off, or do you keep going, trying to " top it off"?

Toadster

well duh, but I thought that was interior based? I guess I didn't' realize it would leak externally

I stop on the first click, I'm a bit OCD on fill ups so if it stops at 70.01 I'll most likely bump it to 70.05 as I don't like odd numbers when I fill up (at least in the ones digit) LOL

Yacht Master

Well if it was not over-filled, then it is not comming out the charcoal canister.
Not so good, a few members have had this external "leak" I know they have made a few threads here on the topic and repairs, sorry Toadster you gona have to search this one.

Toadster

yup - no worries, I know where to go

thanks for the redirect guys

Critter

Well best to get under the car and look where the gas is dripping from. Then remove the back seat, remove the gas tank access plate and then check there for the source. No smoking is recommended. Gas does evaporate so you might have to fillerup again or just wait until gas prices go up then 70 bucks will be 1/2 tank like here in Canuck
How did the SC bearing change go?

FinanceMike

Remove your rear seat covers and check the fuel sender units. Get ready to throw $1500 on the credit card if you see gas puddles. Unfortunately, they are maintenance items on our cars at 60k.

Toadster

Hopefully my warranty will cover this

Manuyc

I just fill it up 3/4 way

Toadster

LOL 180 miles per tank?

cij911

Toadster's account must have been hacked because he lives on here and everyone that has been on this site for more than 1 month has seen the threads about leaking gas, gas smells, defective tanks, etc....

Poor Toadster....

Super469

I also had the gas smell on the outside only. When I took out the back seat and removed the sending unit cover, there was literally a puddle of gasoline around the fuel sending unit. How it didn't invade the interior of the car is a testament to how insulated these tanks are from the inside of the car.

Like you, it would drip underneath the car - because the puddle inside was so big it would slosh onto the ground. In my case, that little plastic hose connector on the unit had cracked and was leaking out a tiny stream of gasoline at a pressure equal to the fuel pump pressure. New sending unit fixed it for me. I got it for $405 (Part No. 211-470-51-94) with a new seal for $17.63 (No. 211-471-05-79).

As mentioned above, DO NOT SMOKE while checking this. It took 1/2 a roll of paper towels to sop up all the gasoline. I then found a safe place in my yard to put a match to the pile of paper towels. heh, heh, fire, heh, heh.

moosejaw

I was at a party last night and walked by a 05 E320 that reeked of gas. It was owned by a 70 year old man who told me he just filled up. The smell was so bad we had to move the BBQ away from it. His mechanic only replaced the seal. I told him he may have to replace more

S2K750

I did some testing the last couple weeks and anything over 18 gallons in the tank will cause the smell in my car. I usually fill the car at a 1/4 tank exactly then ill fill 11 gallons exactly and I haven't had the smell since.


That thread is pretty old now, how long does something like this take to fix? Are they waiting for someone to die before they admit fault and give us new fuel systems.

How many miles on your car did you have when you bought your warranty? The first extended warranty on my car ended at 80k. It now has 88 and no one is willing to give me one.

Toadster

I have a full coverage warranty till 118k

cij911

My warranty company rejected it....Claimed that it was part of the recall even though my VIN and the defective part were not....Good luck

S2K750

With what company and how many miles did you have when you enrolled?

S2K750

If its a recall then why did they tell me to shove it when I brought it up at the dealer?

Do I need to try other dealerships and hopefully get lucky?

Toadster

National warranty company - I had 58k on the car

They only go back 6 years to cover cars I believe

Toadster

assuming you mean this ongoing issue...

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/feds...edes-1C8930024