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Old 01-06-2004, 06:27 PM   #1
DetroitWRX
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Angry I smell gas when I turn on my heater

Today was one of those bitter cold days and after about 15 min of city driving I started to smell gas from the heater. More when stopped at a light than moving. I look for the obvious fuel filter hose loose or some other leak. I can’t find it. A small is coming from the injectors but it’s both sides and I can’t find a leak of any kind.
Has this happen to anyone or does some people have any more ideas as to what it is.
Thanks,
Rob
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Old 01-06-2004, 06:30 PM   #2
dan avoN7
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yea i get this sometimes also. When my family was in my car a few nights ago at a stoplight they said they could smell exhaust fumes. I thought i might have an exhaust leak but the smell went away when the heater was off.
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Old 01-06-2004, 06:38 PM   #3
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Old 01-06-2004, 07:09 PM   #4
nhluhr
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sounds like the imfamous WRX fuel rail leak...

There is a technical service bulletin on this but it only covers WRXs from early 2002 model year.

I highly recommend the following steps:

-Ask your dealer to fix it
-if they won't, file complaints with NTSB and NHTSA

Subaru loves to issue low-profile "Technical Service Bulletins" instead of Safety Recalls so as to keep their image in the public spotlight, but I would consider this a significant safety problem that NEEDS to be addressed.

I used to get that smell on cold days too, but it went away completely when I swapped to Perrin fuel rails.
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Old 01-06-2004, 07:26 PM   #5
DetroitWRX
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I bought my car in October of 2001 but I will have to check the build date. The problem is that I have 58k on it well past the warranty. If I bring up the TSB will they have to fix it or are TSBs a if it still has a warranty only thing.
Rob
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Old 01-06-2004, 07:29 PM   #6
hotrod
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Default Yes call the dealer

Yes you need to call the dealer. TSB 09-36-03 shows you right were to look.

I got bit by it last night on the way to work (3 deg F). It was bad enough when I stopped at the last traffic light I could see a cloud of fuel vapor coming out of the hood scoop and along the sides of the hood. It looked like steam but was fuel vapor.

I called the dealer and will be dropping my car off for attention on Thursday.

It was a no questions asked, -- just when can you bring it in. By the way they may be having some problems getting the parts so there may be a delay for that part of the resolution.

Look right under the front of the intake manifold and below the air intake pipe. You will see a short section of rubber fuel hose there, and that is where mine is leaking.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=131755
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=479591
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=468217
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=446810

Larry
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Old 01-06-2004, 07:31 PM   #7
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It's funny you bring this up. I'm up in Saginaw and today I got the same smell while sitting at a stoplight. Now the one person said to take it to the dealer, but I have PE injectors and I'm no where near stock. Not to mention I'm out of warranty. Is this something I can still take in to have looked at? And what exactly are they fixing on the cars? Are they replacing rails or what? My car was among early 2002's so I'm pretty sure I'd qualify.
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Old 01-06-2004, 07:34 PM   #8
hotrod
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Default Check the TSB

There is a copy of the TSB in the threads I posted above. It explains they are replacing a section of hose, and a fuel line.

You can probably still get it repaired as it is obviously a safety hazard, and it is a known problem with a TSB on it. Also while leaking it is a huge violation of the emissions performance warrantee which has a much longer life time than the basic mechanical warrantee.

Larry
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Old 01-06-2004, 08:24 PM   #9
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is this a known problem on all wrx's are only early ones. My wrx is a 2003, i guess i will ask them to check it out if im ever by the dealor.
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Old 01-06-2004, 08:27 PM   #10
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I will call up the dealer in the morning. Do we have a list of TSBs? It would be cool to know what else is wrong with the car.
Thanks everyone,
Rob
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Old 01-06-2004, 09:12 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally posted by dan avoN7
is this a known problem on all wrx's are only early ones. My wrx is a 2003, i guess i will ask them to check it out if im ever by the dealor.
Subaru only acknowledges that it's a problem on early 2002 WRX's but I've seen many 2003 owners posting the same complaints. Sounds like a basic design problem to me.

I must reiterate:

This is a terrible safety concern. Although I've not heard of anybody burning in a fiery death because of this, I can think of a few things on my old Mazda and Honda that were far less significant that were counted as Safety Recalls.
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Old 01-07-2004, 10:05 AM   #12
DetroitWRX
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Thumbs down F'n Subaru

Called Hodges Subaru my local dealer and they say it's not a repair covered by Subaru. They said they would call me back with the prices this pisses me off. My car is now not able to drive cuz this morning it happen again. Not being able to drive my car half the year is not an option. The beauty of 4 wheel drive and the joy of not being able to use it without a gas mask.

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Old 01-07-2004, 10:59 AM   #13
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The repair itself is very simple, just time consuming. I had to fix my car when installing a turbo inlet and injectors prompted it to leak. If you upgrade the turbo inlet at the same time it's simple, otherwise you need to pull the intake manifold.
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Old 01-07-2004, 12:21 PM   #14
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Can you explain how To fix it. The dealer told me $350 to fix it. I told him to... well never mind it was not nice.
Rob
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Old 01-07-2004, 01:17 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally posted by KKoepp31
It's funny you bring this up. I'm up in Saginaw and today I got the same smell while sitting at a stoplight. Now the one person said to take it to the dealer, but I have PE injectors and I'm no where near stock. Not to mention I'm out of warranty. Is this something I can still take in to have looked at? And what exactly are they fixing on the cars? Are they replacing rails or what? My car was among early 2002's so I'm pretty sure I'd qualify.
I'm modded, and past the warranty, but my dealer fixed this with no complaining. This is a significant investment in time BTW. Takes about 4 hours of labor to do it right. Have to remove the top of the engine essentially; intercooler, TB, intake manifold etc.
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Old 01-07-2004, 01:26 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally posted by DetroitWRX
Called Hodges Subaru my local dealer and they say it's not a repair covered by Subaru.
Did they tell you why? Did you mention the TSB to them?
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Old 01-07-2004, 01:38 PM   #17
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just had my car towed to the dealer. there was a small pooling of gas on the engine this morning. the dealer verified it was the fuel rail tbs and will be fixing it once parts are ordered.
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Old 01-07-2004, 02:03 PM   #18
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Dam this post surfaces to the top just as my car starts to do the same thing. Very cold her (20 degrees) and I turn on my heater get a very strong smell of gas in the car.. Look under the hood and there is no visable leaks from the filter....
Call my local dealer Herb Gordon Subaru and they say im at 42k even if its the fuel rail and my car is a very early 02 (bought May 01) its not covered... *** This is a safety concern on a known problem not as if I modded the fuel rail and ****ed it up...... Im very pissed. Calling SOA now
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Old 01-07-2004, 02:34 PM   #19
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Just to be clear; the problem is with the soft and hard part of a fuel line, not the fuel rail.
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Old 01-07-2004, 02:44 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally posted by SilverBoosted
Dam this post surfaces to the top just as my car starts to do the same thing. Very cold her (20 degrees) and I turn on my heater get a very strong smell of gas in the car.. Look under the hood and there is no visable leaks from the filter....
Call my local dealer Herb Gordon Subaru and they say im at 42k even if its the fuel rail and my car is a very early 02 (bought May 01) its not covered... *** This is a safety concern on a known problem not as if I modded the fuel rail and ****ed it up...... Im very pissed. Calling SOA now
That's the very similar story unfolding down here in TX. Yes, it is a safety concern, but since some people are out of warranty, it's not the dealership's problem anymore . I can't roll my eyes enough about this... : old single fingered monkey : SOA...
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Old 01-07-2004, 04:04 PM   #21
robvas
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Next up: "My WRX caught on fire"

Subaru will end up having to fix these for free, but it'll take some legal pushing.
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Old 01-07-2004, 04:10 PM   #22
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I just stopped by Thelen's up here in Bay City and they refused to fix the car under warranty since I'm at 42,000 miles. I saw a fellow board members WRX in there for the exact same issue, but I'm pretty sure he still has a warranty. I just don't understand how they can be denying to fix cars that leak gasoline when it's a known defect. Is there anywhere in Michigan that people can get it fixed, even outside the warranty period?
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Old 01-07-2004, 04:16 PM   #23
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sounds to me like u need to do the gasoline test. what u do is get a match or lighter and when ever u smell "gas" light the match and if your car explodes it was gas for sure, if not your fine. i hope this helps
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Old 01-07-2004, 05:31 PM   #24
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Honestly blackie seeing as this is a potentially deadly problem with the car your comment is not warranted/appreciated... We are looking for info on how to resolve this issue......
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Old 01-07-2004, 06:05 PM   #25
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whoa, this just happened to me today. i searched and searched for a leak, as i just changed my fuel filter 2 weeks ago, but found nothing.

mileage 32,300 early production wrx sedan, off to the dealership

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