The Stinky Option Package

May 18, 2005 7:03 AM

I've got a 2003 Mazda Protege5...which, over the past 3 weeks or so, has developed a noticeable fuel odor in the cabin.

I brought it to the dealership (which is also my garage) and asked them to check the fuel system and whatnot for any sort of leaks...and they found nothing. Couldn't find any problems.

But the smell is still there.

My observations:
- it only occurs when I run the vents (defrost, air, AC...from both recycled air and external air). If the vents are at "0" there is no smell...turn it up to "1" and the smell occurs.
- it only occurs when i'm idling (at a stop light, for instance)
- i've noticed no other symptoms (nothing like faster drop in fuel level, performance issues, check engine light, etc)...just the slight, yet noticeable, smell
- I don't smell it outside the car at all (and only inside when the car is running)

Any ideas? I was kind of disheartened when my shop found nothing. I imagine breathing in fuel vapors isn't the best thing in the world for me.

posted by tpl1212 to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

Could it be the Anti-freeze in your window washer?
posted by john-paul at 7:09 AM on May 18, 2005

Best answer: Have a mechanic use an emissions tester to find the gas leak. The emissions tester is designed to detect unburned hydrocarbons (which is what gasoline is) in the exhaust. But there's no reason you can't use it to "sniff out" unburned gasoline under the hood, too.

Have your mechanic poke around the engine compartment with the emission tester's probe. When the he sees the levels of hydrocarbons shoot up, he'll know he found the leak.
posted by HuronBob at 7:10 AM on May 18, 2005

Is it possible that it is coming from your floor mats? Maybe you stepped in spilled fuel at a service station. It would start to smell inside the car as the vents were blowing on the mats (and the vents blow faster when you drive, slower when idling).
posted by blackkar at 7:11 AM on May 18, 2005

Response by poster: John-paul - I don't think it's the washer fluid (though, I have noticed when I clean my windows while driving, the fluid tends to smell like vodka...sort of)

blackkar - actually, I hadn't thought of checking the floor mats...I will do that (though, I imagine if it were on my floor mats it would smell even while I sat in my car without running the engine)
posted by tpl1212 at 7:16 AM on May 18, 2005

Call Click and Clack
posted by misterbrandt at 8:16 AM on May 18, 2005

Or try their bulletin board.
posted by Doohickie at 8:27 AM on May 18, 2005

And if you're under warrantee, be a pain in the ass at the dealership. New cars are expensive and you're entitled to service in recognition of that fact. Doing so over something like a funny noise might make you a jerk but over something that could be killing brain cells seems perfectly reasonable to me.

If nothing else, take it in and make sure they document the problem; if it does officially undiagnosed until outside the warr period that puts you in a good position to demand they cover it.
posted by phearlez at 8:35 AM on May 18, 2005

I had your experience - especially when running the heater, but not the AC in a Dodge. Our mechanic dismissed my complaint of raw gasoline odor in my car until the day the odor followed me from the garage into the house. I felt like a walking fire hazard. My husband then phoned the mechanic who said do not start that car, have it hauled here. He then replaced the leaking hose that caused the problem.
posted by Cranberry at 1:30 PM on May 18, 2005