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02-15-2003, 10:51 PM | #126 |
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NESIC
Location: 42.698N 71.135W
Vehicle:2008 Infiniti G35x Volvo XC90-T6 |
Despite Carmart Subaru tightening stuff on my car a few weeks back as part of the 30k service, the fuel smell returned this morning and again this evening (2/13) with the occurance of cold temperatures. It's 3 degrees F outside right now.
Does anyone know if this sort of thing is covered beyond the 30k-miles/3-year warranty? My car has 33k miles right now and I'm concerned that if temperatures don't drop to such cold levels again this winter, I won't see this problem reoccur until next year by which time my warranty has expired. David
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02-17-2003, 12:05 PM | #127 |
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Member#: 32762
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New Hampshire
Vehicle:2002 Impreza WRX Silver |
Defective Fuel Lines-bad design
I would think that the 5 year/50K warrantee on the drivetrain applies here. I would go back to the dealer and demand they contact Subaru about your problem, it is a real problem, Subaru is well aware of it. My car has been at the dealer for just short of 4 weeks, due to "unavailability of parts". I bet they are too busy stuffing all the new builds with the redesigned solution, that they can't keep up with existing owners complaints. The car has to be out in the cold, started up from dead cold, or the dealer won't see/smell the gas. If they check inside the shop, it will probably be sealed well enough because it is warm.
Just between you and me, I have been driving around in a Saturn L200 renter throughout this whole ordeal, and I would never buy one, but now that I have driven something different, I now realize what it's like to have excellent solid brakes and headlighting, and a great heater/defroster system again, and that besides the horsepower from that clattering $24.5K engine, WRX doesn't have much else going for it. This is the worst New england winter I can remember, for a very long time, and this car just is not the "New England Solution" (I'm not sure what car is, maybe a Hummer with optional snow plow and sanding machine). The "clutch Shudder" problem is also very real and Subie is aware, and has a fix for this too, depending on the milage on the car. Ask your dealer about this too. |
02-17-2003, 03:25 PM | #128 |
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Member#: 6816
Join Date: May 2001
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: Cowlumbus, OH
Vehicle:01 yeller wrx 05 triumph tiger |
Yellow wrx with 41k+ miles. been to maine, Minnesota and even
Quebec with this thing. Hadn't happened before. build date: unknown, but early (early clutch issues too) After thinking I was OK, I started getting the raw fuel smell here. sigh. Been down in the -10c range lately. Most snow we've had in years. Going to try the dealer, but Guess I'll be fixing this one myself. Is there a SoA TSB or some kind of buliten on this? Seems like a potential safety issue to me. Ed Last edited by iceweazel; 02-17-2003 at 03:30 PM. |
02-17-2003, 03:37 PM | #129 |
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: L5P's (Atlanta,GA)
Vehicle:2004 FXT OffRoadSubarus.com |
My gas smell is back again. I notice it most during warmup after stopping at a red light. Once it's fully warmed up it goes away. Hopefully this won't be another 10 day visit to the dealer.
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02-17-2003, 03:42 PM | #130 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 32762
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New Hampshire
Vehicle:2002 Impreza WRX Silver |
Fuel Smell
If there is I don't know it, have not asked the dealer. As I said in previous thread, "I smell a cover up", and because this has been a very cold winter, many complaints are popping up. I know that Subaru has the dealer pulling off intake manifold and replacing all the fuel lines and rubber connector hoses with new stuff, meaning something is crapping out with all the temperature cycling that the engine will see from day to day. Personally, I think It must be dangerous, because on mine, it was flowing, not dripping out of a connector hose, and noticeably affecting the gas milage. There is one compaint listed at the National Highway Safety (NHTSA) website (1/22/2003) concerning this exact compaint, and it referred readers to this website. I am just trying to get the word out about my car because I'm pisssed about the whole thing at only 22K miles.
Confront a dealership and see where it takes you, even if it's out of bumper-to-bumper, maybe the emissions warrantee will cover it or something. |
02-17-2003, 08:54 PM | #131 |
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Join Date: May 2001
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MWSOC
Location: Cowlumbus, OH
Vehicle:01 yeller wrx 05 triumph tiger |
So this will be like the Windshields and Clutch/flywheel problem then?
Design new parts and replacement parts and deny there was ever a problem? Nice. Well we'll see what the dealer has to say. Ed |
02-18-2003, 05:31 AM | #132 |
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Member#: 33045
Join Date: Feb 2003
Vehicle:02 wrx |
smell of gas interrupts trip
I was driving my 2002 wrx (21,000 miles) in extreme cold -20f or colder in a very remote area, and got a bad smell of gas in the car. I was in a remote location so had to wait the weekend till dealers opened on Monday morning . I called two & they professed they never heard of such a thing.
When weather was warmer 0 degeees I tied thecar again again and the smell was had gone so I drove it the 100 milles home. I will call my dealer today. This was very annoying as we had to make an unplanned layover of two days and the town had no car rental. I called Subaru roadside assistance and they did offer to tow the car. |
02-18-2003, 06:21 PM | #133 |
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Join Date: Aug 2001
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While your dealer may be unaware of the problem, SOA is very aware of it. The problem is that the metal lines shrink at a different rate than the rubber lines do. When the difference in size becomes significant, gas leaks start. Don't know exactly why it only happens with the lines on the WRX. There are replcaement lines that fixed the problem on my WRX.
Fuel leaking in the engine compartment seems to be a safety hazard, don't understand why there has been no recall. |
02-18-2003, 08:21 PM | #134 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Plains of Eastern Montana
Vehicle:09 GH B+ |
I emailed SOA w/ my concerns on this issue (and referenced this thread). I would encourage everyone else to do the same.
Big Sky |
02-18-2003, 11:09 PM | #135 |
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Location: Bust the deal, face the wheel
Vehicle:2004 WRX World Rally Blue,Moonroof |
BIGSKYWRX
Have you recieved a reply yet? Could you post it here when you do? Thanks.
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02-19-2003, 12:20 PM | #136 |
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Member#: 32762
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New Hampshire
Vehicle:2002 Impreza WRX Silver |
Just got my WRX back today, dealer had it for 27 days, waiting for the hoses/parts, the time to fix it. There is definitely a problem and Subaru knows all about it. They are just waiting for someone in a cold place to pop up with the problem. Tell your dealers to call Subaru. In all this time, they couldn't get the clutch parts to do the clutch fix, and I have to go back when the parts finally show up. I wonder what's next, and at only 22K miles. In a moment of insanity I called the Subie salesperson who sold me the car, told my sad story, and asked if Subaru buys used cars. They said for sure, and said they couldn't give me a dollar more than 16K for it. When you leave your ching, that's where it ends!
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02-19-2003, 02:11 PM | #137 |
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Member#: 20093
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Boston
Vehicle:2002 WRX Sport Wagon Black |
wow I am glad I checked the forum. I smelled the fuel too and thought I was nuts. So I called my dealer today and told them. They said that they have gotten a lot of complaints about this. They said that the fuel lines and clamps from the factory were not good and that they new how to fix it. They are going to check my clutch too!
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02-19-2003, 03:08 PM | #138 | |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 7958
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Plains of Eastern Montana
Vehicle:09 GH B+ |
Re: BIGSKYWRX
Quote:
Big Sky |
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02-20-2003, 01:58 AM | #139 | |
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Seattle, WA
Vehicle:2008 Mazdaspeed3 2006 Wrangler Sport |
I have the fuel leak:
known causes/triggers cold weather location of smell's origin (if known) passenger side fuel rails i think date of manufacture VIN=JF1GD296X2G506764 don't have the build date on hand. any mods to your car exhaust Quote:
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02-20-2003, 09:10 AM | #140 |
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Tri-State
Location: New York
Vehicle:02 WRX Wagon PSM |
I didn't read the whole thread (130+ responses!!) but I get the basic idea becuz I just had my problem taken care of this week.
I had the same gas smell coming thru the vents during start-up on cold days. Went away after warm up....but this weekend the smell got worse. I saw gas leakking from the line....right under the intake hose from the air box to the turbo....there was a clamp right under the bend of the intake and gas was leaking Took it to Subaru the next day and as usual........they couldn't find the leak or see any problem. Luckily when I got there the head mechanic did smell the gas odror so he acknowledged it but they claim they checked ALL fuel lines and found no leaks. They tightened everything up...extra turns on the clamps etc. Fingers are crossed......so far sa good (knock on wood) By the way...only a K&N panel & axle back (for now ) otherwise...bonestock!! |
02-20-2003, 10:30 AM | #141 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 32762
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New Hampshire
Vehicle:2002 Impreza WRX Silver |
To NHLUHR & MYRUREX,
That letter from SOA is a crock of you know what! My dealer had my car for 27 days waiting for new "special" hoses to come from Japan. Either SOA or Subaru JP indicated, to my service guys, that the rubber hoses on both sides (both fuel rails) needed to be changed, requiring the intake manifold, and everything around, near or attached to it to come off, big job I'm sure. I could see a stream of fuel dripping down (exactly as described by MYRUREX) from a short hose/connector under the air snorkel leading to the turbocharger, you can not get at the hose clamps with a screwdriver. The story I hear is that the connecting hoses and metal fuel lines will contract/expand at different rates, and therefore the colder it is, the bigger the leak. Unless the service people leave the car out in the cold, and it has to be pretty cold, and start car up cold, they are not going to see any leak. We had a lot of below zero nights here in New Hampshire since Christmas, and specifically my "gusher" started on January 22nd, during more than a week of extremely cold weather. I can say that I have smelled gasoline during cold starts before this, but never considered that the invincible WRX could have a real flaw! I agree with the letter, you need to leave it at the dealer, and it has to be real cold, or they won't duplicate the problem, and you’re out of luck until next winter. SOA obviously is being careful (or is it elusive) as to how they are answering people's complaints. I have a problem with the car, but my dealership/service department is top notch (Subaru Of Nashua New Hampshire). It's too bad SOA could not be mainlined to this particular thread, and read all the complaints contained at this website alone. I think everyone should go out and make an entry in the complaints section of NHTSA.com, maybe that will stir up the bucket a little. |
02-20-2003, 11:40 AM | #142 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 12074
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Montreal
Vehicle:2002 WRX sedan Midnight Black Pearl |
That letter from SOA is kind of puzzling. I guess its not the same story as with Subaru of Canada, because my dealer (Quebec) told me that they had received a memo regarding this specific issue and the required fix.
Quote:
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02-21-2003, 08:26 PM | #143 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 8269
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: North Mountains, NM
Vehicle:2002 WRX Wagon Silver |
Fuel Leak
known causes/triggers Cold starts
smell's origin: engine around intake manifold. date of mgf: May 02 mods to car: None First post 2/15/03. Post work by Galles Sub, no smell for several days w/ abnormally high temps (for my site 8000' elev., of +20 deg F. Then back big time 2/19 w/ ambient +3 deg F. Tried to duplicate @ 5:30PM, +22 deg F today. No smell. Will try again tomorrow AM (est temp will be -3 to +5 deg F) to see if it does it again. If so off to Garcia Sub. w/ this info. Update tomorrow. NMWRX |
02-22-2003, 12:09 AM | #144 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Plains of Eastern Montana
Vehicle:09 GH B+ |
Here the response I got back from SOA- not very encouraging
Thank you for visiting the Subaru Web site and for your message. We are sorry to learn of the circumstances that prompted your message. Subaru of America, Inc. takes pride in all of the vehicles we produce and take comments such as this one very seriously. We rely on authorized Subaru dealerships to handle technical matters. Your Subaru dealership may want to contact the Subaru dealer technical line for assistance, however, I will forward this information to our product engineers for review. If you wish to contact our Customer/Dealer Services Department and provide further information regarding your concerns, please call us at 1-800-SUBARU-3 (1-800-782-2783) and refer to Case #474859. Best wishes! Juan DeCruz Subaru of America, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------- Big Sky |
02-22-2003, 05:09 PM | #145 |
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Location: Fl33tw00d, PA
Vehicle:2003 Baja 5MT Yellow w/ 220,000 miles |
How much information do you expect to receive via email? Would you like someone to diagnose your WRX over the phone? I wouldnt.
The DEALER fixes your car. Not some customer service rep. |
02-22-2003, 06:10 PM | #146 |
Scooby Specialist
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: L5P's (Atlanta,GA)
Vehicle:2004 FXT OffRoadSubarus.com |
The dealer doesn't always fix the car. I think the engineers need to fix the parts first. My car had the fix, yet I still get a gas smell during warm up when it's cold outside.
Check out this link. http://forums.vmag.com/suvsubaru0200/messages/5093.html Last edited by SuperRuWRX; 02-23-2003 at 07:16 PM. |
02-24-2003, 12:11 PM | #147 |
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: aurora colorado
Vehicle:2002 WRX Sedan W.R. Blue |
I have a stock '02 wrx that is having the same gas smell with cold starts. It was -2 F this morn and i got the gas smell. Glad, but not glad that others have this problem as well.
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02-24-2003, 01:33 PM | #148 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 8269
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: North Mountains, NM
Vehicle:2002 WRX Wagon Silver |
Fuel Leak
Followup 2/21/03 Post:
Ran 2/22 w/ +5 deg F. No smell in car or at engine. Has me stumped. Definitely cold temp related tho. Ran this AM w/ +18 deg F and no smell. Will post if something new comes up. With the problem so intermittent, Subaru cannot be blamed, unless they know the solution and are doing coverup. (Nah) |
02-24-2003, 03:20 PM | #149 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 32762
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New Hampshire
Vehicle:2002 Impreza WRX Silver |
To NMWRX
My 2002 (build date 4/2001) absolutely sprung a NON-STOP leak, (a larger flow of raw gasoline than I was willing to stand around watching, until warm-up, to see if it was going to blow up!) after at least a week of days with sub-zero morning temps 2/22-2/23 January. I have smelled gas before that and ignored it. The hoses that were sent, from Japan, and took the better part of 27 days to do so, were required (according to service manager) to fix the potential problem on both sides of the engine. I don't know how Subaru could not know about a problem, they sent the parts, and because they were not "readily available", I concluded they were not the standard variety. We are going to have sub-zero temps again in NH over the next 2-3 days, and I will see if the dealer really cured the problem. Stay tuned |
02-24-2003, 04:24 PM | #150 |
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Boston
Vehicle:2002 WRX Sport Wagon Black |
Well I just got my car back and the word is that the dealer called Subaru about the gas smell and they were told to replace the "line for under intake (Fuel return line). " Supposedly this will fix it, but I have to wait for the part to come in. I am also getting a new clutch to fix the shuddering problem. All is covered by warrenty and hopefully it will work. I will let you know what happens. Figures its about to get really cold again tonight so it would have been a great night to confirm a fix but maybe it will get cold again next week?
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