Yesterday was the coldest day of the year so far (the high was 10F), and I had a very strong gasoline smell inside the cabin. I know that this topic has been beat to death in a couple of other threads, but I just wanted to share something that I hadn't seen addressed. I just called my Subaru dealership to ask about the problem, and the man in the service department I spoke to said that all I needed to do was switch to a lower octane gas. He said not to go any higher than 87. I just recently found a gas station in my area with 93.5 octane, and have only had 2 full tanks of it. I had been using 91 octane (the norm in my area) since I bought the car (a year and a half ago). I switched to 93.5 two weeks ago. Yesterday was the first time I had ever encountered this smell. I told him that I knew about the TSB for this problem, and he said that he would look at it, but to try a lower grade fuel first.

3 questions:

1. Would going from 91 to 93.5 octane make that much of a difference?

2. Should I go down to 87 octane or try 91 again?

3. Are there any harmful effects (affects?) of going down to 87 octane (besides decreased performance)?

 

Do not use fuel rated at less than 91 R+M/2 octane in your WRX. The Owners Manual specifically states this, unless fuel with this octane or higher is not available. That service person is FOS. You may have a real fuel leak. This might be the reason:

Why does my WRX smell like gas?.

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

my dealer said there were revised fuel tubes and lines one 30mm longer and the other shorter. mine was just repaired under warranty. this problem is know to occur under 14 degrees.

 

TSB

 

Great post VRWRX - you saved me hours under a wet car. First time I've noticed this. The smell occurs when I stop only and goes away about a minute after accelerating - and it's strong. Guessing a fuel pressure buildup upon stopping or that fresh air dilutes it while driving. Either way, something is wrong. Hopefully Subaru will consider warranty repair on a WRX with 66k miles - I'll report back, if only to bump this post to the top.

 

Ha - just called the local dealer and service rep said there's no way to fix it. Said "it's got to do with the gasoline molecules shrinking and escaping through the exhaust." Anyway, I'll call back later and get someone who knows - apparently I got the guy covering the phones at lunchtime.

 

Hey, my car is at Huffines Subaru in Lewisville, TX right now to get this problem fixed. It is going to cost $405 + tax to get fixed. The parts total comes to $107.63...the remainder being labor (removing the intake manifold is time consuming). I called to SOA to see about them picking up the tab (b/c i think it is mfg defect)...the guy didn't sound too optimistic...told me to have the service manager talk to a SOA district rep. We'll see what happens.

Micah

 

I called a different dealer after I got off the phone with jackass, and the guy I talked to knew exactly what I was talking about. He knew about the TSB and even described exactly what needs to be done. He just told me to bring it in and he would take care of me. He wasn't too impressed with the advice from the other dealership either. It sounds like it will be done under warranty. I'm going to bring it in soon. I'll give an update when it's done. It has warmed up here since, and the smell has gone away, but I'm still going to bring it in.

Does anyone know why it only happens in extreme cold?

 

Shrinkage. Happens to the best of us.

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Wingless Wonder
[B] Shrinkage. Happens to the best of us.

HAHA!

 

Carlsen Subaru here just checked by motor code on that service bulletin and I was not in the range that needed repair. They were prepared to fix it as a preventative measure.

You guys have the worst dealers ever. Get on the phone to 1-800-SUBARU3 and give 'em hell.

 

My dealer talked to the SOA rep and he said he'd pick up half the cost of repair since my warranty went out only 5K ago. I was pretty pleased to hear this.

 

Nice. That's good news.

 

yes, definitely good news for the ol' wallet!:banana:

I thought i'd try the dancing banana icon, however, now that i look at it i don't think i'm that excited. hehe

 

You guys are the best - I just got off the phone with my clueless dealer service department (Colonial in Danbury CT) after experiencing the gas small in 5 degree weather on my early 2002 WRX Wagon and of course, they never heard of it. This dealer ALWAYS tells me they will do nothing until they can duplicate the problem - as if diagnotics and/or reviewing service bulletins weren't part of being a mechanic and it simply drives me nuts - what do they think, I am just lonely and enjoy coming to visit them? Any way, i-club documentation such as what Peaty provides here also helped me finally get them to repair the infamous clutch grinding noise of early 2002 and now will almost certainly help me get this fuel issue fixed too. I love you guys!!! (in a manly way of course).

P.S. I am at 37000 - will this be under my 60k warranty for sure? Any advice on avoiding that whole issue?