Strong petrol smell in cabin :-o

[Quidam]

Hi all,

As title really, I've noticed in the last a couple of days a really strong smell of petrol when setting off from cold. It clears quickly and I've had a nose under the bonnet but no smell and nothing obvious.

Are there any known or common faults that could cause it, or can anyone suggest what else I sould check before I call in the pros?

It's a 2010 1.4 sport...

Cheers

 

[matthab]

I do get this if I sit idling for a while when cold. Especially when I fill mine with 99momentum

 

[Mark D]

Could be fumes from exhaust on choke coming in.

Sounds silly but is the fuel cap clicked fully on till it torque clicks? partner had this on a corsa and it was because she wasnt fully tightening it after filling up

Lift the rear seats and check the return pipe etc is connected to the fuel pump on the tank.

 

[Quidam]

Thanks for the replies...

I do get this if I sit idling for a while when cold. Especially when I fill mine with 99momentum

So far it's only happened twice, once on Friday after having been left outside the mrs' work all day. Tank was just under 1/4 full. Then it happened last night, having been left outside for a couple of hours. The tank was full at that point. We run it on shell, alternating fills between normal unleaded and optimax.

Could be fumes from exhaust on choke coming in.

Sounds silly but is the fuel cap clicked fully on till it torque clicks? partner had this on a corsa and it was because she wasnt fully tightening it after filling up

Lift the rear seats and check the return pipe etc is connected to the fuel pump on the tank.

That would sort of make sense, on both occasions the engine was cold so the choke would have kicked in but would the exhaust smell of petrol so much (this smelled like pure petrol, but maybe for only a minute or two).

The fuel cap was on til it clicked, for some reason I always get the car when it needs filling up!

I'll have a look under the seat tonight and check everythings attached.


Just hope that, whatever it is, isn't an expensive fix... sods law that it's just a month out of warranty!

R

 

[Quidam]

Brief update, checked the fuel cap (again) and the connections under seat and everythings' fine. Also checked under the bonnet but no petrol smell ligering there, everything seemed dry and the garage floor has no dubious stains.

Will keep an eye on it, it's due a service next week so will ask if they can have a look too.

R

 

[Quidam]

Another update...

Mrs came home tonight and there was an awful smell of petrol so with the engine running I lifted the bonnet and it was stinking! There was also an odd noise coming from the back of the engine, almost like a typewriter rattle. Starting to worry this might be an injector (and hence costly!)

R

 

[gmc1991]

Well my car started with this and is now in process having a new engine witch is a 7 weeks just for engine to come

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Quidam]

Well my car started with this and is now in process having a new engine witch is a 7 weeks just for engine to come

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2

No way! What engine is in yours? Ours is 1.4 16v (not TSI)

 

[gmc1991]

1.4 tsi mate

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Quidam]

Hope you get it sorted out

 

[lucifer666]

I have an idea......

The fuel evaporation system is under the bonnet. It connects to your tank and vents exess gasses out. Because of EU regulations its recycled into your intake manifold and gets burnt by the engine. It dosent operate all the time, its when the ecu decides it wants to. I know in the technical guide for dealer technicians it sais it is switched on if efficiency of the cat drops below a certain level.

And now I tell you why this is my guess. There was a mod released due to a rattle under the bay. Its where the pipes come up from the tank and vibrate and rattle against the housing around it. The fix by seat was a piece of foam which is pushed into the housing stopping the rattle. Maybe the constant rattling allows some of this gas to escape under the bonnet and is sucked into the cabin through the air vents.

So if you look behind the coolant tank attatched to the chassis, there is a plastic rectangular, slightly transparent bracket/housing. If you look at that you will see 2 pipes coming through it. Check connections and see if theres foam in there.

Just an educated guess. Hopfully someone will be good enough to post a pic up. Hope this helps

 

[Quidam]

I have an idea......

The fuel evaporation system is under the bonnet. It connects to your tank and vents exess gasses out. Because of EU regulations its recycled into your intake manifold and gets burnt by the engine. It dosent operate all the time, its when the ecu decides it wants to. I know in the technical guide for dealer technicians it sais it is switched on if efficiency of the cat drops below a certain level.

And now I tell you why this is my guess. There was a mod released due to a rattle under the bay. Its where the pipes come up from the tank and vibrate and rattle against the housing around it. The fix by seat was a piece of foam which is pushed into the housing stopping the rattle. Maybe the constant rattling allows some of this gas to escape under the bonnet and is sucked into the cabin through the air vents.

So if you look behind the coolant tank attatched to the chassis, there is a plastic rectangular, slightly transparent bracket/housing. If you look at that you will see 2 pipes coming through it. Check connections and see if theres foam in there.

Just an educated guess. Hopfully someone will be good enough to post a pic up. Hope this helps

It's an interesting theory, because not long after I got the car I had it checked as on very few occasions I thought the exhaust was rattling against the body/chassis at the front. Nothing was found so perhaps it was the pipes. I think I know the location you mean, I remember seeing something like a plastic bag stuffed into that housing.

Thanks for that info, I'll have another look tonight.

That aside, and I know nothing can be diagnosed without it being seen by the right people, but out of curiosity are you (or anyone else!) aware of any known technical issues with the BXW engine? Unlike our last car, which had (largely accurate!) horror stories on almost every forum imaginable, I can't find any information/complaints/details relating to problems on this model. I'd be interested in reading anything you could share. It might help me decide if I should buy an extended warranty!

Thanks

R

 

[davidmack]

Did anyone ever get to the bottom of this problem?

My 1.2tsi has a light smell of fuel with the air con on sittin idle, when driving there is no smell. Lifted the bonnet and a smell of fuel was there but quickly evaporated.

I dont want to keep driving around if its a serious issue. Its due a service in the middle of September but that seems a long time away to drive about with this issue.

Thanks.

 

[dm222]

Hi all,

As title really, I've noticed in the last a couple of days a really strong smell of petrol when setting off from cold. It clears quickly and I've had a nose under the bonnet but no smell and nothing obvious.

Are there any known or common faults that could cause it, or can anyone suggest what else I sould check before I call in the pros?

It's a 2010 1.4 sport...

Cheers

Mine has a strong smell after a while idling, just not inside the cabin, check your polen filter
1.4 16v here