gas odor

granny99granny99 Member Posts: 1
edited July 2019 in Chevrolet
What can cause a gas smell after the car has been running and then turned off?
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Answers

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,638
    A leak in the fuel tank itself.

    A leak in the rubber piping or tubing around the gas tank, in some cases due to rusting
    from winter salts. Because these lines stay under pressure after the car is shut off, until
    the leak reduces the pressure and the leak stops, this can drip for a while after car is shut off.

    A carbon cannister at the tank end of the car is supposed to have the gas tank vented
    through it so the carbon captures the fumes. That cannister may be worn out and not
    capturing the fumes. When the car is running the emissions
    system opens the purge valve and pulls air in through the cannister and through the tank
    and on into the engine to be burned. This prevents hydrocarbons from polluting the air as much.

    It helps to stop the car and do some sniffing around the car when there's almost no wind to see
    where the fumes are coming from. If the smell is from under the hood, the leaking may be there
    and of course that's an emergency to have it checked out in case there's a leak in the tubing
    there or on a seal where the tubes connect to other things.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

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