Hello, since I purchased this vehicle, I have been having issues with fuel vapor smell and stuttering while accelerating after about 2 hours of driving. After it sits overnight, it’s gone until I drive about 2 hours again. No topping off or overfilling. This occurs regardless of gas level or outside temperature. Toyota has been unable to find anything since the check engine light never went on. Now, it has progressed to a slight burning with a hint of sulphur smell, on top of the fuel vapor and stuttering. According to Toyota, this is normal. But over the last 23 years, I have owned 14 different Toyota models, and only the rav4 has done this. It has caused headaches, dizziness, nausea, and wheezing. Is this really normal for a rav4??
2022 RAV4 limited fuel vapor smell and stuttering
GarciaRav22
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I didn't encounter the odor today. Traveled like 25 miles today. If I fill up gas on next Monday or Tuesday and no odor, what does it mean? Can the dealer diagnose it within the day?
Any answer would be sheer speculation or a guess on my part. You have a fuel odor that comes and goes. Fuel is weeping or seeping someheres or at the least gas vapor is escaping your gas tank or EVAP system.
Beg to disagree.
1. There is no mention in the TSB of any visible indication of a fuel leak. No mention of moisture on the fuel connections to the pump. No mention of residue on the fuel connections from gasoline that has evaporated. No dripping or puddling of fuel. No mention of "drenching the engine compartment in a bath of gasoline". No mention of possible fires. Figure 1 of the TSB clearly shows that the diagnosis consists of a gasoline smell at the connection to the fuel pump.
2. If there was any possibility of a leak that could cause a fire, certainly the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) would order an immediate recall of the possibly affected vehicles. Toyota has no part in the decision of ordering a recall.
3. I have seen no reports in the press of any car bursting to flames due to a leak of the high pressure fuel pump. Certainly with the millions of possibly affected cars world wide (Avalon, Sienna, Tacoma, RAV4, Venza, Camry), there would be some reports in the press if this leak was a serious fire hazard. (So it is not like the DC to DC converter problem where there have been fires reported).
Thus we can conclude the leak is very, very, small, just a seep as I said, and only detected by smell and not visually. Any seep so small will evaporate quickly before it can catch fire from any ignition source.
The sky is not falling.
Let me understand this. You only smelled the gas odor once for a short time and not since? Smelled in the passenger compartment and not in the engine bay?
Could have come from a passing car and entered your car via the A/C system. Could have been a drip of gas from another car. Could have just been fumes, blown by the wind from across town. We can speculate on a thousand sources of your smell. I don't deny you smelled something but the source is unknown.
We have oil refineries here in Salt Lake City, right beside I15, and I smell fumes from them almost every time I drive past them. (Sorry to say we don't have the pollution emission standards for large industries that California has).
My opinion is if you don't smell gas while the engine is running, right at the fuel connectors to the high pressure fuel pump as shown in the TSB, you don't have a problem. The high pressure fuel pump is easy to get to: just pop off the top plastic cover to the engine and the pump is right there.
The manufacturer can have a "voluntary recall." Toyota and the rest rarely do it because it generates bad press and hurts sales. The NHTSA only ORDERS an "involuntary" recall if a certain model of vehicle has a documented history of several deaths, serious injuries, or accidents directly and proximately caused by a defect. The NHTSA usually takes a long time to order recalls--they are NEVER immediate. Look how long it took for the Ford Explorers and their tires to be recalled after the many horrible roll over deaths.
You should be aware that gasoline will NOT ignite UNLESS it has evaporated and is in a vapor state in a proper ratio mixed with the air-- a stoichiometric ratio. Liquid gas itself is not that flammable--but it is the "Boundary Layer" of vapor sitting above the liquid gas that flash ignites. Thus when gas leaks or weeps in the engine compartment it becomes briefly dangerous when the vapor mixture is correct for ignition and you may simply not visually see evidence of that continuous leak from the high pressure fuel pump. When the engine is hot and running, liquid gas evaporates quick--so you won't see it from a pinhole leak... BUT that's when it's most dangerous and flammable. When the engine is off and cold you might see a stain or feel with your finger an actual film of gas--but the direct injector high pressure pump is not working when the engine is off so it may not be leaking when the engine is off.
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Probably this info can help you to identify problem.
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Hi FKHeath, The petrol smell I noticed on the 30th of October was a brief occurrence, lasting around a minute while driving. Yes, we detected it inside the car cabin. I didn't smell it since then. After driving on the motorway for 30 minutes, I checked the engine compartment, and there was no odour. Later, I will leave the engine running and open the engine cover to see if there is a petrol odour near the fuel connectors to the high-pressure fuel pump. If there is no smell, then I don't have an issue. If there is odour I will bring to the dealer asap.
Thank you for your insights.
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Thank you Tazio and Skinny Guy for your insights also. I'm learning a lot from this forum. A lot of people here are very helpful ever since my inquiry on my bad mpg. I even learned pulse and glide and coasting which actually worked. I just hope that I don't have an issue in the fuel pump and everything is normal with my beloved rav4.
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By the way, apart from smelling the fuel pump with the engine cover open, are there any tools or diagnostic scanners that the dealership can employ to determine if there is indeed a leak? I read here that in a dealership in the US, they dismissed it as normal and declined further action and he eventually sold his Rav4 hybrid. It seems that Toyota dealerships are consistent in their approach regardless of the country.
Since the leak is at the connectors to the HP fuel pump, there is no scanners or equipment that can be used. The smell test is all that the TSB says to do.
Here in the US, the natural gas companies have a very sensitive "sniffer" they use to detect leaks. But then natural gas has an odor added to it since raw natural gas, mainly methane, has no odor. I don't know if the sniffer detects the gas or the odor.
The high pressure pump probably ONLY leaks when it is running which is ONLY when the engine is running and the pump is spun by a camshaft. There is a test you can easily do (the dealer won't do it) to find a weep or small seep of fuel at the connectors or coming from the body of the pump--just put tissue or toilet paper touching the connectors and pump and start the engine. You will SEE the dampening on the white, fine paper no matter how small that leak is and it won't quickly dry up and disappear.
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When conducting the tissue test, I will push start, I will wait until EV changes to ICE. Do I need to press the accelerator or let it idle?
Thanks Tazio.
Just let it idle. The high pressure pump will operate when the ICE first starts -- that and the direct injectors are what makes the loud clatter when the engine first starts. The high pressure pump will continue to pump as long as the ICE is running but the direct injectors will only operate intermittently when the ECM tells them to.
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Thank you Tazio. Will do.
YES.
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I just did it one cycle. Started with EV then ice and back to EV. Is this okay or I do it 2 or 3 cycles?
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