Gas smell after driving. No error codes. No visible leaks.

[toddjb122]

An example of why I avoid service at my dealership whenever possible...

• I call for service. Am told they can't get me in for 10 days.
• Wake up early the Tuesday of appointment to get the car in their hands by 8:AM.
• Am told, "Sorry. Backed up. The tech won't get to it until tomorrow."
• "Why didn't you call me? I would've brought it here Wednesday instead?" is met with a blank stare.
• They don't look at the car until late Thursday.
• Problem is quickly identified and the warranty company has to be contacted for coverage.
• I know warranty companies can be slow, but I'm guessing they were not called on Thursday...
• I am told Friday afternoon, "We received approval too late in the day, will have your car finished Monday."
• Monday calls are not returned. 4:00 PM I'm told, "New flange gasket was damaged. Had to order a new part. It'll be ready for you Tuesday."

That'll make 8 days with the dealership for a half day repair. I'll grant them a day for the warranty company.

With the mechanics I typically use, when I make an appointment, they start working as soon as I get there. In most cases, if I'm late, I feel bad that I'm holding them up. If they have to wait for a warranty call, everything is inspected on deck and ready to go. As soon as the call comes in, the part is ready to go in. The dealership complains that they're backed up, but all the evidence I see points to that they are probably tripping over their own feet.

Sorry, this has no bearing on the original question, but folks here have sometimes questioned why I avoid this dealer. They are throwing away revenue. I can't imagine how many people they chase away with this service.

 

[toddjb122]

Finally got it back. After 8 days. Almost didn't make it as they reported that the techs needed mandatory training this morning. But it's good. Seems fixed. No fuel smell.

They said it was very clearly the busted flange. Guessed that perhaps it was improperly torqued during initial manufacture assembly and has been wearing since.

 

[Surfrider77]

Glad you got a resolution! Thanks for posting as well, so others can reference this if it happens to them.

 

[toddjb122]

Glad you got a resolution! Thanks for posting as well, so others can reference this if it happens to them.

Appreciate the feedback.

The annoying thing was, the two independent shops I went to who are both excellent, punted on this one. If there were no error codes and no visible drips, they didn't want anything to do with it.

Yet, the dealer claimed there was obviously a problem (the smell), no error code was not uncommon, and knew they'd see it once they dropped the tank and exposed the fuel system.

Why do you think the independent shops deferred to the dealer? I figured they have chased elusive smells before that have taken many hours to diagnose, and it's difficult to recoup their true $150/hour hourly rate back from the owner if they don't find anything, or from the warranty company if they do. My further guess is that for most jobs they bill the book labor rate when it actually takes them half the time to fix. But dropping the tank and diagnosing these issues likely takes the full book rate or more, so it just isn't worth their time.

In the end, as I told the shops, I would have rather paid them out of pocket for portions of their time not covered by warranty than to wait almost 3 weeks for the dealer to resolve this (after initial appointment was made).

Seems fixed now, though! And I made a new relationship with the dealer service tech who seems like a great guy. Despite the shortcomings of the dealership as a whole.

 

[LR4inLA]

Finally got it back. After 8 days. Almost didn't make it as they reported that the techs needed mandatory training this morning. But it's good. Seems fixed. No fuel smell.

They said it was very clearly the busted flange. Guessed that perhaps it was improperly torqued during initial manufacture assembly and has been wearing since.

This is exactly what is happening to mine. Do you recall by any chance how much did you pay total? I am taking mine in on Wednesday.

Thank you!

 

[toddjb122]

@LR4inLA , it was covered by my extended warranty.

Just note, they'll check several things before they commit to dropping the tank. Which is good. Nobody wants to get stuck with that bill, including you, if is isn't required. There are many self tests the system can do to make sure everything is venting the way it's supposed to. If that doesn't work, insist that they drop the tank. It will also help if you can localize while the smell is coming from. (for me, it was right rear tire wheel).

As you'll note above in my thread, they first smoke tested it and determined that a pump module above the spare tire was the problem. It may have needed replaced, so I'm glad it was, but it wasn't the problem.

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

 

[R Hermann]

Great thread- thanks to all of the contributors!

 

[johnnwalters]

I'm a little late in finding this thread but wanted to state that the same thing happened to me as far as the gas smell. I was fortunate in taking it to an independent mechanic Eurobahn in Greensboro, NC. They simply listened to my concern and got to work. There was a little difficulty in dropping the tank because of corrosion to the straps but afterward they were able to diagnose and repair.

This is from their notes:
"Technician looked over vehicle, scanned for faults and inspected fuel lines and tank. Notes fuel running down inside center area of fuel tank. Appears fuel pump sending unit damaged and/or fuel tank to be cracked. Need to lower fuel tank and inspect for leaks.
Technician dropped fuel tank assembly to inspect top side of fuel tank. Found two of the three breather lines on top of tank to be leaking in valley of tank, causing fuel to accumulate and ultimately running down side of tank. Need to replace both hoses to resolve. Customer approved repair. Replaced both hoses, reinstalled gas tank and test drove vehicle. Found following test drive, fuel again accumulating on top of tank. Dropped tank for second time to find fuel pump filter at back of tank to have stress fractures around perimeter of fuel filter along with connection for previously replaced vent hose. Need to replace fuel filter to resolve. Customer approved repair.
Technician removed and replaced defective fuel filter, installed tank and test drove to find no other leaks have returned."

It was a little unnerving to know that there was an accumulation of fuel sitting on top of the tank while driving but the problem is fixed. The cost was a little over $1,000 but there was a lot of time devoted to this repair.

 

[toddjb122]

Wow, thanks for sharing that @johnnwalters

Quite a bummer to have them drop it once, and still not resolve the issue. Ugh. I guess there are more than one thing up there that can cause this, as mine was a different issue all together. (for this "rare" fuel smell issue)

 

[MST]

Damn! just leaving for vacation tomorrow and noticed the gas smell last night. I don't think a 7 hour ride would be safe so we are going to have to take wife's car. No boards or bikes - hopefully rentals will be good enough. Glad I have this info to take to the dealer when I get back.