Strong gasoline smell when starting in cold

[worzacct]

I have a 2000 Outback (2.5L, auto) with about 80,000 miles. It has
been a great car with virtually no problems. Recently when starting
in the morning in cold weather, there is a strong smell of gasoline --
like someone has poured gas inside the interior of the car. It is
much worse in very cold weather. I have taken it to my Subaru dealer
twice, but the dealer can't replicate the problem -- of course by then
the engine is warm.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem or have any ideas what might
be the cause?

 

[Edward Hayes]

One could take a look under the hood while starting your cold engine.
Maybe something is slightly loose (hose clamp on fuel filter) that can
be spotted. Other than that you could leave it at the dealer
overnight.

 

[Monique Y. Mudama]

I have a 2000 Outback (2.5L, auto) with about 80,000 miles. It has
been a great car with virtually no problems. Recently when starting
in the morning in cold weather, there is a strong smell of gasoline
-- like someone has poured gas inside the interior of the car. It
is much worse in very cold weather. I have taken it to my Subaru
dealer twice, but the dealer can't replicate the problem -- of
course by then the engine is warm.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem or have any ideas what
might be the cause?

No, but two coworkers who both have WRXes have the same problem.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

No, but two coworkers who both have WRXes have the same problem.

I believe there was a recall or TSB for that issue on some WRXs. Might
be worth investigating.

Carl

 

[Monique Y. Mudama]

I believe there was a recall or TSB for that issue on some WRXs.
Might be worth investigating.

Thanks; I'll mention it to them.

 

[RR]

Make sure you're not flooding it. You shouldn't have your foot on any pedal
when you start it.

 

[Michael Pardee]

I have a 2000 Outback (2.5L, auto) with about 80,000 miles. It has
been a great car with virtually no problems. Recently when starting
in the morning in cold weather, there is a strong smell of gasoline --
like someone has poured gas inside the interior of the car. It is
much worse in very cold weather. I have taken it to my Subaru dealer
twice, but the dealer can't replicate the problem -- of course by then
the engine is warm.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem or have any ideas what might
be the cause?

That usually makes me think of leaking injector hoses or leaking injectors.
On a cold start the liquid gasoline is probably visible.

It's just as big a fire hazard as it sounds like. I had an engine fire once
when I had the replacement injector in hand and was just waiting for the
weekend to replace it - I shouldn't have waited :-(

Mike

 

[Mike]

With the WRX it happens in cold weather and has something to do with the
fuel rail hose. Some of the fixes i have read about is rotate the clamps and
tighten them, replace the hose and clamps.

 

[Edward Elhauge]

I believe there was a recall or TSB for that issue on some WRXs. Might
be worth investigating.

Carl

My WRX needed this fix. The TSB:
TSB: 09-36-03
Date: 04-01-2003
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/prepos/files/Artemis/Public/TSBs/2003/SB-10001442-3852.pdf

The dealer wasn't able to reproduce the problem for months because I
would experience this in the mountains and they are near the coast.
Eventually, in the winter, they were able to detect the smell in their
shop. But they were still stumped until I found the TSB.

 

[Tim]

alternatively, the problem could be in the filler neck. the connection for
my '95 wagon finally gave up - and had the exact same symptoms. strong gas
odor in the morning. the salt finally corroded things enough for failure.

 

[Michael Pardee]

alternatively, the problem could be in the filler neck. the connection
for
my '95 wagon finally gave up - and had the exact same symptoms. strong
gas
odor in the morning. the salt finally corroded things enough for failure.

I thought of that too, but then realized the OBDII in his post-96 would set
the MIL if the tank had a vapor leak.

Mike

 

[Dominic Richens]

Make sure you're not flooding it. You shouldn't have your foot on any
pedal when you start it.

with a fuel injected engine you put your foot on the gas pedal to clear the
engnine after it is flooded - says so in your manual.

 

[Al]

with a fuel injected engine you put your foot on the gas pedal to clear the
engnine after it is flooded - says so in your manual.

My wife's Outback also has a smell of gasoline when it is started when
the outside temp. is less than 30F or so. I found the source, it is from
the exhaust. When the car warms up, the smell disappears.

Sniffing at the exhaust can make you dippy thou, ;-)

Al

 

[worzacct]

Thanks, but I never put my foot on the gas pedal when I start the car.

 

[worzacct]

Thanks for the suggestion.

It seems like the colder it is the stronger the smell of gasoline and
the longer the smell lingers. A few weeks ago, we drove the car to
Chicago where the temp was below zero -- it took at least 45 minutes
to get rid of the smell (my wife was also in the car and she
complained about the gasoline odor too) even driving most of that time
on the freeway at speeds of 65 to 75 mph. That seems like a long time
to clear gasoline from the exhaust system.

Any ideas as to what the dealer should check for -- perhaps an
emission test for unburned hydrocarbons?

- - John

 

[Al]

Thanks for the suggestion.

It seems like the colder it is the stronger the smell of gasoline and
the longer the smell lingers. A few weeks ago, we drove the car to
Chicago where the temp was below zero -- it took at least 45 minutes
to get rid of the smell (my wife was also in the car and she
complained about the gasoline odor too) even driving most of that time
on the freeway at speeds of 65 to 75 mph. That seems like a long time
to clear gasoline from the exhaust system.

Any ideas as to what the dealer should check for -- perhaps an
emission test for unburned hydrocarbons?

- - John

If you do the test for unburned hydrocarbons, you will have to do it
with the engine cold and with the ambient air below freezing. I doubt if
you can get a dealer to do that. The equipment is most likely in a nice
warm garage area.

It is my understanding that modern engines determine the density of the
air entering the engine. The colder the air, the denser it is. More fuel
has to be added to ensure a proper air/fuel ratio. It may be that the
mass sensor is not quite right or that Subaru's algorithm for
calculating the ratio is off a little at low temps.

In the old carburated engines, you used a manual choke to increase the
fuel to air mixture so that the engine would properly fire and run when
cold. You would gradually release the choke as the engine warmed up. You
certainly could smell the gasoline then. This is supposed to happen
"automagically" now. I'm sure there are failures. Mine isn't bad enough
to try to have it diagonsed and repaired.

Al

 

[mulder]

Thanks for the suggestion.

It seems like the colder it is the stronger the smell of gasoline and
the longer the smell lingers. A few weeks ago, we drove the car to
Chicago where the temp was below zero -- it took at least 45 minutes
to get rid of the smell (my wife was also in the car and she
complained about the gasoline odor too) even driving most of that time
on the freeway at speeds of 65 to 75 mph. That seems like a long time
to clear gasoline from the exhaust system.

Any ideas as to what the dealer should check for -- perhaps an
emission test for unburned hydrocarbons?

- - John

Does the smell go away if you put the vent on recirculate, or is is
still there? If it goes away it's coming from the engine compartment
and being pulled in through the air intake at the base of the
windshield. If it doesn't go away it may be inside the car. The fuel
tank access cover is under/behind the rear seat, there could be a leak
at that point. One of the lines could be leaking or the gasket under
the cover could be damaged.

 

[Rick Courtright]

on the freeway at speeds of 65 to 75 mph. That seems like a long time
to clear gasoline from the exhaust system.

Any ideas as to what the dealer should check for -- perhaps an
emission test for unburned hydrocarbons?

Hi,

If it's taking THAT long to clear, ask 'em to check the cold start
sensor system (its job is the equivalent of a choke on a carb.) If the
sensor's weak or gone, it could be problematic. I don't know what the
failure mode is on current models, but on some earlier ones it failed to
"full rich." That could cause both a fuel smell AND reduced overall
mileage (cost me about 2-3 mpg on the highway when mine went out.)

Rick

 

[rd]

On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 19:28:05 -0500, (e-mail address removed) wrote:

I had a similar problem with my '99 OBL. Turned out to be the gas cap
was faulty. My CE light did not go on, but the car failed CT emissions
testing and the gas cap was said to be the problem. After changing the
cap, no more odor and the car passed emissions. It seems the tether
cord that came with the OEM cap was not allowing the cap to seal
properly. The new one does not have the cord, although there is a
punch-out for the cord. I won't attach the old cord for fear of
causing the same problem.
It's a cheap fix if it works.

 

[Manny]

Al said:

My wife's Outback also has a smell of gasoline when it is started when
the outside temp. is less than 30F or so. I found the source, it is from
the exhaust. When the car warms up, the smell disappears

I've had the same exact experience for years, in my 99 LOW. I just
ignore it.
The smell goes away when the car warms up.

- Manuel.