UK Volkswagen Forum banner

petrol type smell passenger compartment in Fox

11K views 19 replies 5 participants last post by  Mervington 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
There isn't a Fox forum, so I am posting here. Our car is 1.4 2010, 17k full service history. About 2 weeks ago, we started to get a petrol type smell in the passenger compartment when we got in. The car might have been stationary for an hour or all night. Open the doors for a few minutes, and the smell would go. There was no smell under bonnet, regardless of whether the engine was stopped or running. No smell in spare wheel compartment. Nor was there any smell outside the car. Leave the car for a hour or so - smell returned. I've taken everything out of the car - it has made no difference.

| got the AA man to come on home start. There was no smell in the car when he arrived - my wife had opened it shortly before. He did everything I had, but more thoroughly. Could find nothing.

A large bar of chocolate to anyone who can provide an answer.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Definitely petrol? Could it be diesel? I had this when tramping diesel onto my mats from some careless (!) diesel owner at the pumps. Eventually had to remove the drivers carpet mat and wash it!
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the further replies. I can say with confidence that nothing has been spilt or tramped into the car. You can go round 'smelling' the carpets or upholstery and you won't find the smell. It is in the air.

The fuel pump point could make sense. Yet, if you smell in the area of the back seats, or the boot, the smell is no greater than elsewhere. Unfortunately, I can't start lifting the seats. I suffer from something called Meniere's disease. It causes severe vertigo. If I put my head down, it is almost certain that I will have an attack. It is the reason that I had to stop maintaining and repairing our cars after forty years of doing that. I have an open appointment to take it to our VW dealer, but they are 20 miles away, and I have a chest infection at the moment.

Anyone else with views/experience on the fuel pump point? I think it may be in the same location on other VWs.

Many thanks.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Ok Merv, steady on. The use of "tramping" in my post was only regarding my clumsiness in standing in diesel spills at the pumps......I'm sure you're very careful where you put your feet! I do hope you find the source of your problem as from experience the smell of fumes in the car can be nauseating, and more importantly, possibly dangerous. I suggest you call your not so local dealer when you can and see if they can help.
 
#8 ·
Wasn't getting at you SP!

I had the AA man (Home Start) crawl all over it last week, but he couldn't find a leak. I've emailed the service manager at VW garage this morning. He has already given me an open appointment to take it in. I will as soon as I can get there.

One thing that does occur to me. If it is a problem with the fuel pump, you would think that there might be more smell generated when the engine was running, either with the car stationary or on the road. There isn't.
 
#9 ·
No offence taken Merv! The dealers should always take a keen interest with possible safety issues, so it's good they can see you at your convenience.
The only other thing that may be causing an issue would be the fuel tank breather system at the entry to the tank - if there is one on your vehicle. There may also be a even be an evaporation control valve or similar. Do you brim your tank or just put fuel in as and when?
 
#10 ·
I usually fill the tank, but not to the brim. But it would have been a couple of weeks after I lasted filled it when the smell started. The AA man took away what he could to get at the petrol ingress area in the boot. There was no smell. It has actually been fine here this morning and now. I have all the doors open. I don't actually expect the smell to have gone in the morning, but I can hope...
 
#11 · (Edited)
Common sources of petrol smells on VW's (and other modern petrol engines):

-Faulty evap system: There is a canister in the engine bay that absorbs vapours from the petrol tank. If there is a split hose, crack in the cannister or a fault with the purge solenoid valve you can end up with petrol fumes from the canister / leak being drawn into the cabin via the air blowers.

-Intank pump leak: As previously mentioned the intank pump is usually under the back seat and a cracked housing, failing seal or loose lines from the intank pump can be leaking petrol / fumes into the cabin.

-Broken seal on fuel cap: This can cause a smell of petrol around the fuel cap area that can be drawn into the cabin as you open and close the rear doors. Check there are no breaks in the rubber ring seal on the fuel cap (I had this exact issue)

-Fuel leak: Obviously any fuel leak in any lines in the engine bay or from the intank fuel pump to the engine bay will cause a petrol smell that can again be drawn in via the cabin air blowers.

-Exhaust leak: When cold starting then can be a strong smell of petrol as the catalyst hasn't warmed up - if there is any leaks in the exhaust system it can be dragged into the cabin via the air blowers.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for further comments.

There is no smell when the engine is running whether stationary or on the road. There is never a smell in the engine compartment. When the car doors have been closed for a couple of hours, whether the car has been previously running or not, the smell will have returned. On Sunday we kept the doors open for 5 hours. It was not run at all. I went out to it this morning, opened the door - there was the smell! Distinctly of a petrol nature. I'm hoping to get it to the VW dealer on Wednesday.
 
#13 ·
I took the Fox to the VW dealer yesterday. When I opened the doors to set-off the smell was there. It was only after I had driven about 8 miles, that I started to get a slight waft of it again.

The service manager himself attended to it. He put it on the ramp and checked everything he possibly could. He didn't lift the rear seat - bearing in mind this was free, I could hardly complain. But he said he would have been able to smell it from underneath if there were a problem there. He could find nothing at all wrong. The difficulty is that once the doors have been opened, to get out of the car, the smell goes and it takes an hour or more for it to build up again. I remain convinced it is of a petrol nature, but couldn't provide the opportunity for him to smell it once the doors were opened. Perhaps it is not a 'pure' petrol smell, maybe more like the residue after spraying WD40, except I haven't, and, even if I had, after three weeks it would have gone. The trouble is that once you open the doors, the smell dissipates so quickly that you don't really have chance to consider it.

I am now at a loss.
 
#14 ·
Well at least as far as can be seen the car is safe from a fuel leak point of view. Shame you couldn't have left the car for an hour or so before they had a look.
 
#18 ·
I did, eventually, but it may not help you.

Sometime after the start of this 'effect', I found that a can of WD-40 had become 'hidden' round the back of the spare wheel. It was on its side and had been leaking. The post by SpikyBob provides a similar sort of illustration of what is worth looking for.

I hope that you have success.
 
#17 ·
As the winter season has started - leaky de-icer pump or spray? Just a thought as the o.p. called it a petrol “type” smell......
I had a heady ethanol (?) type vapour in my car after de-icing the windscreen and chucking the leaky pump type container in the door pocket!
 
#20 ·
WD40 the culprit, who'd have thought it? At least it wasn't diesel (*tramped*) on your carpet mats! ;)
As you observed earlier, I referred to a petrol 'type' smell. Having been 'playing' with motor bikes and cars since the 1960s, you get a bit tuned to different smells. This one took me in the direction of petrol, but I wasn't wholly convinced!

Sadly, we have now parted company with the VW. My wife is disabled, and, being a three door car, things were rather heavy. She now has a 4x4 Fiat Panda. It is like a Noddy car. I never thought we would buy a car with two cylinders amounting to less than one litre!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top