Gas smell after very short run?

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Dillon Pyron, Feb 25, 2009.

  1. Dillon Pyron

    Dillon Pyron Guest

    08 Fit. We left it sitting in the dirveway for a while, and I pulled
    it in in the evening. The engine probably ran for 45 seconds, max.
    When I got out, there was the strong smell of unburned gasoline. Was
    this just a startup artifact, or maybe a cold run (the funky little
    blue thermometer was still on)?
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    Hi, I'm Michael Phelps and Olympic Gold isn't the only
    Gold I'm thinking of.

    Hi, I'm Michael Phelps and when I'm on Maui, Wowwie.
     
    Dillon Pyron, Feb 25, 2009
    #1
  2. Could be either the rich mixture typical of startup or it could be a fuel
    leak under the hood when cold. Those fuel leaks can be devilishly hard to
    see, but if you get a repeat of the gasoline smell it is worth sticking your
    head under the hood to see if the smell is stronger there or if it may just
    be from the tailpipe. I had an engine fire from a leaky injecotr once, so I
    take those smells rather seriously now.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Feb 25, 2009
    #2
  3. Dillon Pyron

    Toommy Guest

    Is it a stale egg smile?

    possibly the ct/short journey effect nd poor qulity petrol
     
    Toommy, Feb 26, 2009
    #3
  4. Dillon Pyron

    Woody Guest

    Still under warranty? Talk to your dealer service shop. They should know it
    that is a problem or not.
     
    Woody, Feb 26, 2009
    #4
  5. Dillon Pyron

    jim beam Guest


    oh puhleeeeeeze - is this a chicken little competition?

    when a car starts, you have to dump gas because the motor is not warm,
    thus the fuel doesn't fully vaporize, thus you need excess gas to get
    sufficient vapor density to burn. if you dump gas, then turn the motor
    off? where is the gas now? in the inlet, and /not/ being sucked into
    the motor. so where does it go? it evaporates back out of the air
    intake. thus you smell gas!!!

    so that's all the o.p. is experiencing - a few seconds of excess gas
    because he hasn't warmed the motor. utterly trivial.
     
    jim beam, Feb 26, 2009
    #5
  6. Maybe so, but it still does not rule out a gasoline leak. The risk is too
    great to just shrug it off.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Feb 26, 2009
    #6
  7. Dillon Pyron

    jim beam Guest

    well, the neighbor kid could have been stealing gas too and spilled
    some. or theoretically, the vehicle /could/ have been drilled by one of
    these:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weakly_interacting_massive_particle

    that actually /did/ interact precisely at an injector o-ring, and is
    subsequently just a bomb waiting to explode.

    but somehow i doubt it. just like i doubt fuel leak on a sub-year old
    car made by a manufacturer with an excellent track record on this stuff.
    especially when we're told that the car has been run for less than 60
    seconds and that we know about excess mixture on start-up, etc...

    seriously dude, look at the big picture and assign probabilities.
     
    jim beam, Feb 27, 2009
    #7
  8. Dillon Pyron

    Dave D Guest

    Seriously dude, look at the big picture and assign probabilities, then look
    again and assign possibilities to check when the probabilities aren't the
    cause.....

    DaveD
     
    Dave D, Feb 27, 2009
    #8
  9. I'm most suspecting fuel injector failure - separation at the plastic/metal
    junction. That can occur at any age and mileage, often shows up when cold
    and may stop leaking when warm, and I've seen quite a few in my time...
    including the one that set my Nissan on fire before I could put the new
    injector in. On a nearly new car the possibility of a construction defect
    can't be discounted either; that is why the warranty exists. I am not
    advocating a witch hunt, just due diligence for something that can easily
    send the car up in flames.

    Personally, I would feel less silly looking for a leak than I would looking
    at the charred remains and trying to answer the question, "why didn't you
    check it out?" To each their own.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Feb 27, 2009
    #9
  10. Dillon Pyron

    ACAR Guest

    but not so strong that you were tempted to open the hood and check for
    a fuel leak?
     
    ACAR, Feb 27, 2009
    #10
  11. Dillon Pyron

    Woody Guest

    Since the OP apparently does not have the mechanical knowledge or skills to
    look for the cause of the smell the only real solution is to take it to the
    dealer and have it checked out for safety if nothing else.
     
    Woody, Feb 28, 2009
    #11
  12. Dillon Pyron

    jim beam Guest


    hey, can i have another "tempest in a teakettle" drama queen over here
    please? this one's simply not histrionic enough.
     
    jim beam, Feb 28, 2009
    #12
  13. Dillon Pyron

    jim beam Guest

    yeah, we get torched hondas reported here all the time!



    as reported by the o.p. the following day. oh, wait,...


    try rebooting your machine mike - the facts indicate a logic problem.
     
    jim beam, Feb 28, 2009
    #13
  14. The point is it certainly can happen - there is nothing inherent in Hondas
    that exempt them from the possibility of engine fire. The smell of gas
    (should *never* occur with port injected engines) is a big red flag.
    Something is wrong.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Feb 28, 2009
    #14
  15. Dillon Pyron

    jim beam Guest

    no dude - did you not read what i explained about exactly /why/ it
    occurs after a very short run like this??? true, it shouldn't occur
    after a warmup, and in that case, you /would/ investigate, but after a
    few seconds cold? gas stink is /inevitable/, and for the reasons stated.
     
    jim beam, Feb 28, 2009
    #15
  16. Dillon Pyron

    Dillon Pyron Guest

    Actually, I really suspected you're observation. After all, I have
    been around the block a couple of times. It's just that I've never
    experienced this with modern cars. Of course, this is probably the
    first time in more than a few years that I've only run a car for a few
    seconds.

    And yeah, an 11 month old car? A leak? If the Fit is that shitty,
    maybe I should trade it in on, say, a Suburban. I'm sure they're
    holding their value quite well.
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    Hi, I'm Michael Phelps and Olympic Gold isn't the only
    Gold I'm thinking of.

    Hi, I'm Michael Phelps and when I'm on Maui, Wowwie.
     
    Dillon Pyron, Mar 1, 2009
    #16
  17. Dillon Pyron

    Dillon Pyron Guest

    No. But Mr. Beam has pretty much nailed it, as far as I'm concerned.
    I would think that if it were a leak, I'd smell it by the time I got
    to work. Which, right now, is 1.85 miles away and takes me 5 minutes
    on a good day and 7 minutes on a bad day.
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    Hi, I'm Michael Phelps and Olympic Gold isn't the only
    Gold I'm thinking of.

    Hi, I'm Michael Phelps and when I'm on Maui, Wowwie.
     
    Dillon Pyron, Mar 1, 2009
    #17
  18. Dillon Pyron

    jim beam Guest

    that kind of driving sucks for vehicle life - engine [etc] never gets to
    warm thoroughly [takes about 20 minutes]. you'd do the car [and
    yourself] a favor if you considered doing that commute by bike.
     
    jim beam, Mar 1, 2009
    #18
  19. Nope - and if you give it a try you will notice there is no gas smell unless
    you have a fuel leak. In fact, it makes no difference whether the engine is
    running rich (cold) or is warm. The fuel sprayed into the intake - whatever
    amount - is ingested with every stroke and stops before the engine stops
    turning, meaning the fuel is cleared away and never escapes.

    In the old carburetor days it was common to smell fuel when cold, especially
    if the engine was flooded. The fuel collected in the carb throat, more so
    when cold because of the choke, and the fuel did not stop when the ignition
    was turned off. TBI also injects mighty close to the outside air and can
    produce a gas smell (although not what I would describe as "strong"), but
    not port injection. Lord knows I've changed enough air filters after pulling
    the cold car into the garage to know there is never more than a faint trace
    of gas after the filter is removed, and none before.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Mar 1, 2009
    #19
  20. Dillon Pyron

    jim beam Guest

    not when the engine is cold. wet fuel lines everything south of the
    injectors. and if you start, then stop immediately, it never gets warm
    enough for it to instantly vaporize, therefore it /cannot/ get "cleared
    away".

    then you're either not running on gasoline or you're in denial!
     
    jim beam, Mar 1, 2009
    #20
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