Raw fuel smell in MT

quoiasdaddy · 01-01-2010, 06:08 PM

Okay I've read the posts on this and I am having this problem every winter. I went to the dealer 2 days ago and asked the service dept what they knew about this problem. The guy looked up my car and said that mine had already been fixed under the recall. However I have owned this car since it had about 25k on it and I have never had it looked at and have smelled fuel each winter for the past couple of years. The car was purchased originally in a city about 4 hours away and I am the second owner. I was told the fuel rail was replaced and that they could look at it again but they would have to remove a bunch of things (what it all was I can't recall right now but it included the intake manifold),all this at my expense. I gave him the F you pal look and said "I'll live with it." However it gets so bad that at times it's almost unbearable. I guess my question is did I get the runaround(I feel that way) or do you really have to take half the damn motor apart to get to a hose or two? I read somewhere you could just tighten down a clamp on a certain fuel delivery hose and be done with it. I believe a hose constricts in the cold weather allowing a small blowby of fuel. Am I way off base? There is no way I'm gonna have the stealership try to screw me for X amount of dollars if this can be fixed relatively easily. I am fairly proficient as a mechanic(I was one in the military for 4 years) so can I fix this? Also when I was in the dealership browsing their merchandise I saw the same Rally Team T-shirt I bought on-line for 20.00 and they were charging 30.00 for it..sheesh. I take that as a guage for what they try to remove from your pocket everytime you take your vehicle to them. I do all my own maintainence on my car(oil,fuel filters,fluid changes, brakes, and modifications). I have 87k on this car and have not had a single mechanical problem except for this stupid fuel smell. If anyone knows how this can be fixed I would appreciate the input. Also I live in MT and never recieved any kind of recall bulletin from SOA. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Nate

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RexyGirl · 01-01-2010, 10:59 PM

Contact SOA with your VIN # (Or PM me with it) and I can tell you if the repair was ever done under warranty. If you had someone else fix it, then there is no way to tell, but you should still be eligible for the recall if your vehicle falls within the VIN guidelines.

As far as how long the repair takes...yes, it is a PITA, considering Subaru pays 2.5 hours to perform the recall. It does require taking the intake manifold off.

That aside, if you are complaining about a raw fuel smell, and the recall applies to your vehicle, the repairs should be done free of charge, no questions asked. I am also under the impression they don't even have to prove the smell. (I'm only going by what I read in the recall...I live in FL, and doubt we will come across this)

MYfirst00 · 01-08-2010, 04:58 PM

More than likely he typed in the wrong VIN (last 6 digits are just like a serial number). Try a different dealer and see what they say.

neko · 01-08-2010, 05:47 PM

yup, get confirmation from SOA that it is or isn't done.

1. If it is done already, then go about solving it on your own. Its pretty easy to find the leaking line sometimes, and a different clamp or 2nd clamp will solve it. This is what happened to my 04 STi when i brought it up here from its former life in sunny AZ to its new life in below freezing ID. The subaru fuel line clamps only go so tight, then they stop, which isn't enuf in the very cold temp sometimes.

2. If it isn't fixed, either go to another dealership you like better (or already don't have bad experiences with), or go back to your local dealer and tell them what SOA said. If they refuse, call SOA and report them. I've done it before as well. My local dealer tried to skate out of doing the ABS reflash on my 03 WRX, even after i'd gave them the letter from SOA, sent to me, with my vin on it, saying it was eligible. They said it was the wrong recall for some other model and refused. I took my complaint to SOA, and within a few hours, the dealer was calling me, telling me they were ready to work on my car.

01-01-2010, 06:08 PM	#1
quoiasdaddy Scooby Specialist Member#: 147711 Join Date: Apr 2007 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Billings,MT Vehicle: 2002 WRX/Stg 2 PSM	Raw fuel smell in MT Okay I've read the posts on this and I am having this problem every winter. I went to the dealer 2 days ago and asked the service dept what they knew about this problem. The guy looked up my car and said that mine had already been fixed under the recall. However I have owned this car since it had about 25k on it and I have never had it looked at and have smelled fuel each winter for the past couple of years. The car was purchased originally in a city about 4 hours away and I am the second owner. I was told the fuel rail was replaced and that they could look at it again but they would have to remove a bunch of things (what it all was I can't recall right now but it included the intake manifold),all this at my expense. I gave him the F you pal look and said "I'll live with it." However it gets so bad that at times it's almost unbearable. I guess my question is did I get the runaround(I feel that way) or do you really have to take half the damn motor apart to get to a hose or two? I read somewhere you could just tighten down a clamp on a certain fuel delivery hose and be done with it. I believe a hose constricts in the cold weather allowing a small blowby of fuel. Am I way off base? There is no way I'm gonna have the stealership try to screw me for X amount of dollars if this can be fixed relatively easily. I am fairly proficient as a mechanic(I was one in the military for 4 years) so can I fix this? Also when I was in the dealership browsing their merchandise I saw the same Rally Team T-shirt I bought on-line for 20.00 and they were charging 30.00 for it..sheesh. I take that as a guage for what they try to remove from your pocket everytime you take your vehicle to them. I do all my own maintainence on my car(oil,fuel filters,fluid changes, brakes, and modifications). I have 87k on this car and have not had a single mechanical problem except for this stupid fuel smell. If anyone knows how this can be fixed I would appreciate the input. Also I live in MT and never recieved any kind of recall bulletin from SOA. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Nate * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

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01-01-2010, 10:59 PM	#2
RexyGirl Scooby Specialist Member#: 63616 Join Date: Jun 2004 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Mastro Subaru, Sanford FL Vehicle: 1996 Volvo 850 Turbo with mods :)	Contact SOA with your VIN # (Or PM me with it) and I can tell you if the repair was ever done under warranty. If you had someone else fix it, then there is no way to tell, but you should still be eligible for the recall if your vehicle falls within the VIN guidelines. As far as how long the repair takes...yes, it is a PITA, considering Subaru pays 2.5 hours to perform the recall. It does require taking the intake manifold off. That aside, if you are complaining about a raw fuel smell, and the recall applies to your vehicle, the repairs should be done free of charge, no questions asked. I am also under the impression they don't even have to prove the smell. (I'm only going by what I read in the recall...I live in FL, and doubt we will come across this)

01-08-2010, 04:58 PM	#3
MYfirst00 Scooby Specialist Member#: 22928 Join Date: Aug 2002 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: Fitchburg, MA Vehicle: 2015 Legacy Limited Lapis Blue	More than likely he typed in the wrong VIN (last 6 digits are just like a serial number). Try a different dealer and see what they say.

01-08-2010, 05:47 PM	#4
neko Scooby Specialist Member#: 46500 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Idaho Vehicle: So many I can't remember anymore.	yup, get confirmation from SOA that it is or isn't done. 1. If it is done already, then go about solving it on your own. Its pretty easy to find the leaking line sometimes, and a different clamp or 2nd clamp will solve it. This is what happened to my 04 STi when i brought it up here from its former life in sunny AZ to its new life in below freezing ID. The subaru fuel line clamps only go so tight, then they stop, which isn't enuf in the very cold temp sometimes. 2. If it isn't fixed, either go to another dealership you like better (or already don't have bad experiences with), or go back to your local dealer and tell them what SOA said. If they refuse, call SOA and report them. I've done it before as well. My local dealer tried to skate out of doing the ABS reflash on my 03 WRX, even after i'd gave them the letter from SOA, sent to me, with my vin on it, saying it was eligible. They said it was the wrong recall for some other model and refused. I took my complaint to SOA, and within a few hours, the dealer was calling me, telling me they were ready to work on my car.