Raw fuel smell? LOG HERE!

[westy66]

ok, im really pissed off this morning:spin:

 

i went out to start (warm up) my car today and when i went back out smelled gas around the car. i previously had this with my 2002 WRX which needed a repair to the fuel line beneath the TMIC. and even tho there are numerous threads on NASIOC, one with 2100+ replies Subaru hasnt recalled anything, just a damn TSB???

 

AND NOW MY LEGACY HAS IT :mad:

 

anyone else have this issue in cold weather? below freezing. warmed up or not.

[ShrinerMonkey]

Yes I have noticed this the last few weeks as well. Strong gas smell until the car is warmed up. I am guessing their may be a problem with the charcoal filter canister that is part of the emmissions system.

[westy66]

no, im pretty sure its the fuel lines under the intake

[Beanboy]

Nope. I just smell the rich mixture for a few minutes on a cold start. Nothing from front of car, just from exhaust.

[hassa]

Yup, I have it too....sometimes I have to set the ACC to recirc instead of the open vent option for the defrosters becuz my eyes begin to water from the fumes.......

[unequal]

Hmm...can't say that I notice fuel odor during warm up, but I did notice w/in the past week strong fuel odor while I'm driving. I have close to 60k on my car and I have never noticed this before.

[tvitarelli]

I now have this same problem. I just installed a TMIC and the next time I drove I can smell this raw fuel odor in the car when I stop at lights. I opened the hood and can smell it as well between the intake and the BOV on the driver side. Anyone been able to resolve this issue?

[mclmk8d]

She's on her way to pick up our son at UMass and called me crying about how bad the smell is in her 2001 Legacy GT. She's driving with both windows open a bit to air it out. Over the years, she's complained on and off about the smell and the dealer has never beeen able to find anything. Someone mentioned a TSB. Do you have the number and is it for Legacys also or just the WRX (NASIOC Raw Fuel Smell Log)? Please let me know ASAP as I promised to call her this evening.

Thank you and you all have a wonderful holiday season and healthy new year.

[Pawlwawl06]

Nope. I just smell the rich mixture for a few minutes on a cold start. Nothing from front of car, just from exhaust.

 

Same here. I believe I have an exhaust leak though because I hear this faint hissing sound coming from the axleback.

[twisted]

possibly loose clamps in the fuel line. there are quite a few as per subaru service. i'm gonna tk my 02 in as well for the exact same problem

[mclmk8d]

possibly loose clamps in the fuel line. there are quite a few as per subaru service. i'm gonna tk my 02 in as well for the exact same problem

 

It turned out to be a bad clamp...fixed by Subaru of Nashua.

[cardiofix]

Guys,

 

I am new to this forum and an auto idiot. I just encountered the same problem as has been posted, I googled gas smell and Legacy and here I am. In an event, New years day extremely cold weather about 5 degrees, smell raw gas upon start up. (I have an 03 Legacy, about 62k on it.) Same thing again today. I took it to a neighborhood mechanic and he smelled it as well, put it up but didn't see any leaks, wet spots etc. He said to key an eye on it, and if it continues to happen or get worse to bring it back in and he would have to "take the seats out" and inspect the fuel line.

 

Question is do I

 

Hope this is a cold weather deal and will myself into thinking spring is around the corner.

 

Take it back to him and ask him to look at the

charcoal filter canister that is part of the emmissions system

check the clamps on my fuel line

examine all of the hoses (I saw in another post something about

cold weather and seals on gas lines)

OR

Take it to a dealer and test my new line of credit?

 

Thanks in advance

[rwade]

I had my dealer on the phone the other day and asked about this. They said it is a common problem in cold weather and that the fuel line clamps need tightened - $100. I googled it tonight and found this guy who took pictures.

 

http://www.bazoomer.com/fuelline/fuelline.html

[cardiofix]

Outstanding!! Thanks much!

[snowmobiledog]

Same situation here. It's bloody cold outside and my '01 Legacy just decided to start smelling like raw gas as everyone above has described. So I just tightened the fuel line clamps (which were all a bit loose) and viola...fixed.

 

I can't thank you all enough for saving me what would have been a large bill at the local Subaru dealership!

[scoobydoobie]

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[rwade]

I found the info about tightening the hose clamps last year, but then the weather warmed up, problem went away, and I never got out there and actually tightened them up. Well it got cold again this year and the fuel smell was back again. I went out and tightened all the clamps that were shown in the link that I posted last year:

 

http://www.bazoomer.com/fuelline/fuelline.html

 

But after doing this I was still getting the strong raw fuel smell. I ran the car and looked under the hood and found the fuel leak was coming from a different fuel hose on the passenger side. At that point I went around and tightened all of the fuel hose clamps that I could find. Problem fixed.

 

So please note that the link above does not show all of the fuel hose clamps, only some of them. The ones that were leaking on my car were a little difficult to access. I had to remove a steel cover to get to the clamp screws.

 

My leaky hose was under the steel cover in pictures

[sirbOOm]

I have this on my 05 LGT. Dripping gas, literally dripping under the front right of the plastic engine cover. Kind of gold, metal lines is where the gas is dripping off of.

[sirbOOm]

Fix it with tightening the lines, as suggested on the forum.

[scoobydoobie]

Anyone have a link/pictures of where all the fuel line clamps are located on a turbo model?

[oli]

Could also be the fuel pressure regulator. On my '00 i needed to change it, in some cases it's just a rubber o-ring. NOTE: if you remove the FPR be prepared to change the o-ring whether its broken or not. With time the ring loses its original shape and when you put it back you will probably damage it.

[STiSubie109]

I've tightened the lines and smell is still there. According to some guys on nasioc subaru is sending out letters for 02 wrx's with a 12 year warranty fix for the fuel lines. I wonder if this will carry over to our lgts as well? I have an email into Subaru of America.

[snowmobiledog]

I've tightened the lines and smell is still there. According to some guys on nasioc subaru is sending out letters for 02 wrx's with a 12 year warranty fix for the fuel lines. I wonder if this will carry over to our lgts as well? I have an email into Subaru of America.

 

Let us know if Subaru gets back to you. I've tightened all the lines in my '01 Legacy, but on a really cold morning the smell is back. I'd be thrilled if Subaru would offer to fix this!

[rwade]

If you've tightened the clamps but still have the smell, there's a chance that you missed some clamps. That was the case with me. When you have the problem, run the engine and get under the hood and use your nose and eyes to try and find out exactly where the leak is coming from. For me it became obvious becuase I could see the fuel dripping. But it was coming from a connection that was partially hidden that I hadn't noticed before. Good luck!

[oli]

Let us know if Subaru gets back to you. I've tightened all the lines in my '01 Legacy, but on a really cold morning the smell is back. I'd be thrilled if Subaru would offer to fix this!

 

 

You sure it's not just a typical smell of an engine running rich? Does the smell continue when idle stabilizes? When your engine runs rich, unburnt gas comes from the exhaust and smells almost identical...