Gas Smell

[stumped]

I sometimes smell gas in the garage after the car has been sitting for several hours. It's not there every day but seems to be getting more frequent. There is no gas dripping on the floor.

I took the car to an independent shop who has previously worked on the car & they cannot see any leaks. They said the gas tank may be rusted on the top & would have to remove the tank in order to inspect. Obviously I'd rather not pay them a couple hundred bucks & have the tank turn out to be OK.

I had the oil changed last week & asked them to look for a gas leak since they could easily see under the car. They did not see any fuel leaks but the asst mgr said it smelled like gas when he walked past the open hood.

I looked at whatever fuel lines I could when I got home but did not see any leaks or wet spots. I replaced the gas cap today just in case it was not sealing properly & casing a problem.

Is there any part of the EVAP system that fails the most that I should be looking at?

[Darwin686]

Well I have a question for you. When you start the car does it fire up loud and hard and then settle down?

There are three things that need to be checked. If you have a hole in your gas tank then you will smell gas have the fuel pressure checked. If it is erratic then you more than likely have a hole in your gas tank as it cannot maintain proper pressure. If that is not the case have your cold start injector checked it could be malfunctioning and causing the smell that you are experiencing. Look at your fuel filter too to make sure there are no cracks or holes!

Good luck!

[stumped]

The car starts & runs just fine. The last couple days there has been no smell, including the day before I installed a new gas cap.

Where is the cold start injector located?

[camrytacoma2006]

I have the same problem and it’s driving me crazy. Gas smell fills the garage for a few days and then its gone only to return a week later, and the smell is really strong. Don’t know what it is. I have checked all of my lawn equipment (mower, trimmer, edger, blower ect.) but there is no visible leak anywhere around the equipment or the car. How could the smell be so strong and show no leaks? Going to thoroughly check the car tomorrow. I will post something if I ever find a solution.

[MR2Jedi]

Check the in and out lines on your charcoal canister.(EVAP)

[camrytacoma2006]

Originally Posted by MR2Jedi

Check the in and out lines on your charcoal canister.(EVAP)

Sounds like a good place to start. I took the camry, and my old lawn aerator out of the garage and will see if the smell is there in the morning. If it doesn’t smell then its one of the two and I pray that its just the lawn aerator.

[stumped]

I was reading the maintenance schedule & it stated to replace the fuel tank gas cap seal at 50K miles, IIRC. Of course the Toyota dealer said this part was not available, and they wanted something like $25 or $30 for a cap. So I bought a gas cap from Advance Auto Parts for about $7 and have not had the smell return since then. That was a couple weeks ago.

I was thinking I have not heard for quite some time the sound of vapors escaping when I removed the cap. This made me think perhaps there was a rust hole on top of the tank. Then I read about the gas cap seal. The last time I filled up I listened as I slowly loosened the new cap and heard the pffft sound again. So it appears the system is sealed & I'm presuming it just needed a new seal/cap.

Based on that, perhaps you might want to try a new gas cap. Let us know if that solves your problem.

[scarney1988]

Any shop could give a good inspection using a smoke machine. It pumps smoke into the fuel containment area and if it escapes, it shows the source of the leak. Probably a gas cap. Inspect the inside of filler neck where the gasket comes to rest in the filler neck.

Good luck