^^^ yeah thats the thread i have linked in the first post. Im thinking of taking it to Subaru and pay the $45 so i can know for sure that is the problem and then ill go from there.
I had this problem last winter in my 02 wrx, found other people on here that were having the same problem, called SOA they covered all costs! Now the raw fuel smell is back when its cold so I will be calling SOA again to get it taken care of. Don't pay for it SOA is really easy to work with in my experience. I talked to a few people that said the covered half of it. Good Luck...
i believe they are only covering it in 2002's. they claimedto have fixed the problem iin 2003 +, but i just got it for the first time in my 03 which ive had for 4 years already. It was -20 out when it happened tho.
So for whatever reason in conld weather the fuel lines leak at the joints that connect the hard lines to rubber lines. Primarily under the manifold in places that are imposible to get to.... You are no longer smelling the fuel because it is now warm and the rubber is now tighter on the hard line because the increase in temp makes the hard line expand and fit tighter. That is also why the smell goes away after driving for a bit.. I have had two such leaks one last year and one this year. This year was a PITA because I had to pull my turbo inlet hose to get to the damn thing. Either way if you can find the leak (I think there are only 2 hard to soft joints under the manifold) then it is as simple tightening the hose clamps which incidently vibrate loose from the high RPM's produced by the engine. Let me know in a PM if you need further info or whatever but I would lean toward the cold weather leak and try to fix it yourself before paying $45.
Well, my car has had this smell for three winters now.
The first time was at 99,840 miles (only 160 miles left on the warranty). By the time I drove home and back to work the next day, I was out of warranty...I am not kidding! It only did it two or three times that winter.
Last winter it seemed to happen more often. I contacted SOA and they basically said I would have to have a dealer diagnose it and then I'd have to pay $800 out of my pocket and then maybe they might pick up half of it after the fact.
Well this winter I have had the smell almost every single day. I used to smell it only when the car was cold and first started after sitting for a few hours. Now it smells at stoplights and even after driving home (about 48 miles). I just love the idea of raw fuel leaking onto my hot engine near my hot turbo.
So I called SOA today and asked if they have recalled the 02 WRX's or not. Nope. So I asked the guy if they are waiting for a car to burn to the ground or for someone's garage and house to catch fire...he didn't care for that and was rude just the same.
I can't believe they want me to pay $75 to diagnose what I already know the problem is and then have me pay $800 out of my pocket for an OBVIOUSLY DEFECTIVE DESIGN!
How do I know it is an obviously defective design? Becase Subaru came up with a redesign in 2003...
Unreal! I won't buy another Subaru and I recommend to everyone I know not to buy one. I used to love them, but their loyalty to their customers absolutely stinks!
Have an 07 WRX and just threw the CEL, p456. Took it in to Subaru of LV and wanted to charge me $675 to drop gas tank and rear diff +parts. Hope this is the problem, they said it was a rear leak on top of tank, probably the valves. Gonna pick up car and drop tank with my bro. Helps explain gas smell. Oh yeah, out of warranty, 52k.
I have recently encountered this issue in the Australian market. But Subaru Australia and Subaru Docklands isn’t taking in accountability despite the incident as of a result of the fuel line leak recall. On the weekend my car started emanating smoke which drew my attention hence had to pull over park, then upon opening the bonnet the engine Bay Area where the fuel line leak recall had burst into fire. I had to put this out luckily with 1litre of distilled water I had which extinguished the flames before the fire brigade came to my rescue.
