gas fumes after fill up _ Think I found the problem !!!

Sterling · #1 02-14-2007, 10:00 PM

I filled up my 3.0 X5 last night for the 1st time, and afterwards I detected a faint smell of gas in the cabin. Later after parking in the garage my garage started to smell like gas.... I looked underneath and could find no leaks. After a few hours in the garage, the gas smell became so strong that you could start to smell it in the house. So I parked out on the street...... it still smells like gas..... its stronger on the outside so I don't think its leaking inside.

I'm still close to full, as I've only put about 50 miles since filling up....... I've looked online at some of the diagrams of the fuel system, and was wondering if there is a way to access the top of the tank from inside, so I don't have to remove the tank from the vehicle...

anyone ever have this problem and fix it themselves or had it fixed? I found a couple of people that mentioned having the problem but no mention of the fix...

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JV · #2 02-14-2007, 10:16 PM

I think you can get to the fuel sensors by removing the rear seats, but I can't remember. Reason I think that is that I had my sensors replaced under warranty about 10 months ago. Funny thing is that I sometimes smell gas after I park the X but it's not as strong as what you describe.

Sterling · #3 02-14-2007, 10:27 PM

its probably really not that bad I just have a very strong sense of smell, not to mention a small house..... when I work on my other car its pretty common for fumes from the garage to make it into the house as my HVAC unit is in the attic over the garage and the intake vent is just inside the door from the garage so the design of the house makes it worse that it really is.....

SilverBullet · #4 02-14-2007, 10:40 PM

It is very odd to have that strong of a gas smell. Maybe you should have the dealership, or a mechanic check it out.

motordavid · #5 02-14-2007, 11:11 PM

I have an excellent sense of smell and taste and,
we have a garage full of stuff back on the mtn:
3 cars, 4 M'cycles, 2 chain saws, a weed wacker,
a back pack blower, etc., all gas powered.

A gasoline smell is never detected by my sniffer...
the smell of "motors", garage stuff, yes;
I'd get the sucker checked out, soon.

Something is amiss in the fuel container, delivery sys., imo.
GL,mD

phil47 · #6 02-14-2007, 11:33 PM

Could be a problem with the evaporative emissions system (that charcoal canister connected to the fuel tank that captures fuel vapours). It could be a contaminated charcoal canister or a leak in one of the return lines. It could also be a poorly sealing gas cap. Did you keep trying to fill the fuel tank to the top of the fuel filler? That can sometimes foul the charcoal and create that smell.

Sterling · #7 02-14-2007, 11:50 PM

I was thinking about that... I may have tried to top it off... I'm so used to trying to do that with my other cars....... I'm going to pull the back seat tomorrow, and see what I can find.... by design, iven if the charcoal canister is fouled you shouldn't smell any fuel. The whole reasoning behind charcoal canisters is to capture any fumes and reciruculate to the engine intake.... so the vapors get burned when the engine is running. I hope that when I get to the top of the fuel tank I can see a broken hose, or fitting..... something obvious..... I'm a tinkerer by nature and curious too boot...

phil47 · #8 02-15-2007, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sterling

I was thinking about that... I may have tried to top it off... I'm so used to trying to do that with my other cars....... I'm going to pull the back seat tomorrow, and see what I can find.... by design, iven if the charcoal canister is fouled you shouldn't smell any fuel. The whole reasoning behind charcoal canisters is to capture any fumes and reciruculate to the engine intake.... so the vapors get burned when the engine is running. I hope that when I get to the top of the fuel tank I can see a broken hose, or fitting..... something obvious..... I'm a tinkerer by nature and curious too boot...

You're right...you shouldn't smell anything if it is working normally. It is designed to trap fumes, but once it is fouled with liquid fuel, it will no longer trap fumes and so any leaks will become very obvious. This used to be a common problem on my previous SUV...a Nissan Pathfinder (great truck).

X5Flyboy · #9 02-15-2007, 11:57 AM

I'm with all of the above - definitely get it checked out SOON - just saw a burning car the other week - gas leak - it's amazing how fierce cars burn, absolutely totalled

Sterling · #10 02-15-2007, 05:23 PM

I did some detective work and located the previous owner.... talked to him and his wife both.... they had the same thing happen when they 1st got it and the dealer told them it was common..... grrrr it was under the original warranty when it happened. After this, they never filled it up all the way...... so its been like this for about 25K miles..... I do plan on contacting the dealer to see if it was reported under warranty but not fixed.

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