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Fuel Smell :: Finding & Fixing it?

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20K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  JuneBug  
B
#1 ·
Hi, I recently acquired an older 2000 rav4 as a "gift" a few days ago and I really like it, its small and the perfect size for living in a city.

I have a problem with a fuel smell inside the cabin, I've searched for the past few days both on google and here on this site and I've put together a list of potential places to check as the source of the smell. If anyone can suggest other things or places to check I would really appreciate it.

1. The small hatch for the fuel pump located under the back driver side seat. I saw a video online about changing the fuel pump here, I see that there is both a hatch, a rubber grommet and underneath the hatch is the fuel tank. I'm guessing this is the primary source of the smell, being that when I filled it up the other day I could really smell the fumes of gasoline inside the cabin.

2. The vapor canister? Possibly but this is located in the engine compartment right? I guess if there's a leak there the vapor could seap in through the cabin air intake area above the hood before the windshield?

3. The fuel tank? I've read that the tube connecting the fuel door to the tank can get rusted out and corroded and this is sometimes the source of a fuel smell?

Are there any other places I should be checking? Any other hidden doors under the carpeting leading to any places where a fuel or oil smell could be seeping in from?

thanks,
 
K
#2 ·
The most obvious is the filler pipe from the 'door' to the tank but you have checked that.
There are no other doors or flaps under the carpets, the fuel line is attached by clips and runs under the car, along the drivers side, up to the fuel filter.
The vapour canister on a European car (hopefully yours is the same) has a pipe connected indirectly to the 'E' port on the throttle body, if the pipe can be traced back to the canister and is not damaged then it's not that either.
My guess is that it could be the rubber seals on the fuel injectors,
Failing that, look at the fuel filter, check the connections and follow the fuel line up to the injector rail.
Good luck.
 
B
#3 ·
I'm thinking this might be part of another issue I have with a CEL for error code p0130 which is the o2 sensor, it's going on and off, if the o rings or something is bad with the fuel injectors then the fuel / air mixture would be off right? That would most likely throw the code, would explain the fuel smell and also explain my terrible gas mileage I'm getting, thanks for the info.
 
#5 ·
there is a small pipe that runs from the canister to the bottom of the inlet manifold i have had these crack before which throws the air mixture out but they usualy run a bit jumpy and if the pipe breaks completey the car wont run and pi$$es fuel out, it is a pig to get to but i found that was the issue with on of mine. and its amazing how little fuel it takes to stink out the inside of the cabin o a vehicle :)
 
#6 ·
I had the same problem with a Nissan. Turned out to be cracked and deteriorated fuel lines under the hood.
 
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