I've been having such a good time since I bought this car right before Christmas, but I have noticed some fairly poor gas mileage (@14 mpg) and the odor of gasoline when parked in the garage.
Not a super strong odor, mind you, but noticeable.
The gas mileage thing really pushed me to investigate, though I gas the smell should have first. I have been parking in the garage a couple of weeks like this, and that's always dangerous with gas vapors. Suffice to say I am parked outside tonight.
I isolated the leak to the fuel filter/pump area, under the left side of the car, in front of the rear wheel. There is a black plastic cover there with 3 nuts/bolts....I couldn't get my head under to see very clearly, even with a flashlight.
That plastic cover is moist with gasoline.
I started the car, and I could see it slowly gather into a droplet on the cover, so it is seeping from under there.
The problem is, I don't want to work under the car supported only by the jack that came with the car, and I have no other way to get under it, so now I have to take it somewhere.
I have a feeling it is a dried/cracked rubber fuel line. I found a nice video on youtube showing the same situation. Looks like an easy DIY fix if I could only get the car in the air.
Wonder what this is going to cost me to fix? Parts are cheap, even for an OEM fuel pump and/or fuel filter. A hose and 2 clamps is nothing. Hope they don't try to rip me off to fox this. Not going to the Mercedes dealer, as I know they would be mega expensive. The used car dealer I bought it at has a service department, so I called them and I'm supposed to bring it in to them Monday. I have no warranty with it being a 20 year old car, but I'm hoping they do the right thing and fix it for free since it was definitely leaking when I bought the car. I could smell that fuel odor the first day, but made the mistake of not getting the car checked out by an independent mechanic before I bought it. Kind of purchased it "spur of the moment". There is never a sign of a leak on the ground under the car, probably because gas evaporates quickly and the leak is only active when the car is running. Therefore, believed them when they said the car had no leaks and there was no sign of one on the ground underneath where the car was on their lot.
The joys of a 20 year old car, I guess. Still love it, though.
Not a super strong odor, mind you, but noticeable.
The gas mileage thing really pushed me to investigate, though I gas the smell should have first. I have been parking in the garage a couple of weeks like this, and that's always dangerous with gas vapors. Suffice to say I am parked outside tonight.
I isolated the leak to the fuel filter/pump area, under the left side of the car, in front of the rear wheel. There is a black plastic cover there with 3 nuts/bolts....I couldn't get my head under to see very clearly, even with a flashlight.
That plastic cover is moist with gasoline.
I started the car, and I could see it slowly gather into a droplet on the cover, so it is seeping from under there.
The problem is, I don't want to work under the car supported only by the jack that came with the car, and I have no other way to get under it, so now I have to take it somewhere.
I have a feeling it is a dried/cracked rubber fuel line. I found a nice video on youtube showing the same situation. Looks like an easy DIY fix if I could only get the car in the air.
Wonder what this is going to cost me to fix? Parts are cheap, even for an OEM fuel pump and/or fuel filter. A hose and 2 clamps is nothing. Hope they don't try to rip me off to fox this. Not going to the Mercedes dealer, as I know they would be mega expensive. The used car dealer I bought it at has a service department, so I called them and I'm supposed to bring it in to them Monday. I have no warranty with it being a 20 year old car, but I'm hoping they do the right thing and fix it for free since it was definitely leaking when I bought the car. I could smell that fuel odor the first day, but made the mistake of not getting the car checked out by an independent mechanic before I bought it. Kind of purchased it "spur of the moment". There is never a sign of a leak on the ground under the car, probably because gas evaporates quickly and the leak is only active when the car is running. Therefore, believed them when they said the car had no leaks and there was no sign of one on the ground underneath where the car was on their lot.
The joys of a 20 year old car, I guess. Still love it, though.