Started the vehicle and traveled maybe about 50 feet. Noticed loss of power steering. This was due to the engine stalling out. The vehicle would not start and there was a strong odor of fuel fumes in the vehicle cabin. Exited the vehicle and observed a large puddle of oil running downhill from the vehicle. The puddle also smelled of gasoline. I had the vehicle towed to a repair shop. The issue was determined to be a cracked oil filter housing assembly and the clip on the fuel return line had failed causing fuel to be sprayed onto the engine. The repair cost will be just over $800. It is fortunate that the engine was still cold and that the loss of oil caused the engine to shut off. If the engine had been hot enough to ignite the fuel, this could have had tragic results with a potential loss of my family's life. The oil filter housing assembly is a known issue with the Pentastar V6 3.6L engine. Chrysler so far has failed to take responsibility for this issue. I recently had to have repairs due to a faulty fuel pump relay. There appears to be related Chrysler TIPM recalls on almost every other model but the 2013 Town and Country. This issue appears to cause the vehicle to not start or allow the fuel pump to remain running after the vehicle is shut down. My Town and Country would not start and it produced strong fuel fumes. As noted, there are multiple safety issues noted with this model of vehicle that remain unresolved. It is a 2013 model but the issues are ones that have existed since the production of the vehicle and Chrysler has yet to assume responsibility. I will add a copy of the repair invoice shortly.
Chrysler Town and Country fuel smell problems
51 of the 13,494 owner complaints about the Chrysler Town and Country describe gas smell in the cabin, most of them for the 1996 model year.
- owner complaints
- 51
- worst model year
- 1996
- typical repair cost reported
- $800
- typical mileage
- 77,010
By model year
Often reported together
Fuel leak 9Fuel pump 4Stalling 3Check engine light 3Won't start 2Wipers 2Knocking 2Whining noise 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an abnormal sound was heard coming from the vehicle, and a fuel odor was detected. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the serpentine belt had fractured and severed the fuel line, causing fuel to spill onto the engine. The mechanic replaced the serpentine belt and trimmed the fuel line; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the mechanic, and the mechanic bent the clamps on the serpentine belt and reattached the belt. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
I am having a cylinder 2 misfire with 90k miles on vehicle. Vehicle is clearly missing at idle with heavy shaking and strong odor of exhaust fumes. I have replaced spark plugs and new ignition coils with no changes. I have also replaced the oil filter housing that had a severe leak before this problem.
At approximately 105,000 miles I began noticing a strong smell of gasoline both inside & outside the vehicle- running or not. At about the same time I noticed a big drop in fuel efficiency. We are now getting an average of 10 mpg. The norm is an average of 19 mpg. The vehicle starts fine & there are no check lights on. I believe the acceleration is also slower now. Our family is the original owner & the vehicle has never been in an accident. Common sense tells us this is a very serious safety issue. There seem to be many others with this same issue & it's disappointing to find nothing is being done about it. We are a one car family & we have no choice but to drive this vehicle.
Strong fuel smell through the heating / defrost / air-conditioning system when stopped / stationary. This is a continuous problem.
There is gasoline leaking from under the car in the area of the gas tank/lines. There is also a strong gasoline smell inside vehicle. I notice the smell more when the vehicle is stationary and obviously the leak on the ground when parked. I don't know what to take a picture of exactly, if you want I can send you a picture of a stain on the ground.
The car will sometimes cut off after fueling and snells if gas fumes. The service engine light came on and tge car would not pull in drive later car will not engage in the reverse gear. Car has been sitting for almost 2 months since thus happened. The car not pulling was while driving had to be towed home.
Purchased van used from a toyota dealership in may of 2010. Reported within days to dealership that van had a stutter when at idle. They gave it a tune up but it did not resolve the issue. Warranty purchased with van did not cover the fuel system. Stuttering continued and became worse as the years went by. Van began to die when idling, especially if turning left which put us in danger a number of times. Also, we smelled fuel. We replaced the tank in 2013. However, our mechanic informed us at the time that it had a design flaw and the same issues would occur in a matter of time. Tank was fine for two years. Within a month of the warranty expiring it began to stutter at idle again. It helps to not fill the tank completely. However, it smells of fuel and continues to stutter at idle. We will not spend another $1500 to replace the tank as with the design flaw the issue will just reoccur. Chrysler needs to recall the gas tank and create a design free of faults.
Severe gasoline odor from under the whole car. Noticed the gasoline leak from the side of the gasoline tank where the white plastic connector was welded to a black plastic gas tank.. We noticed the gasoline odor while we are in a house. Gasoline was leaking from the gasket between the gas tank and white plastic attachment assembly.
I believe my issues started when my battery was dead after being shut off upon my arrival to work, within 3 1/2 hours. Battery was charged and started and made it home. 3 days later, without any notification of an issue through the onboard computer notification system, vehicle would not start. Tries to turn over, and did start after a lot of different efforts about 7-8 times(by fully depressing gas pedal when it would turn over to start and maintain rpms 3-4000 for a minimum of 5-10 seconds) and now will not start at all. After last attempts to start, and vehicle not running, you can still hear the fuel pump operating and smell of gasoline. Battery drain was noticed with 24 hours, and dead with in 2 days. When vehicle had started and able to drive a short distance, it would shut off while driving, or shut off upon stopping for a sign or red light. This is dangerous situation, as I am trying to take my 4 year old daughter and teen age son to school when this happened. I have been without a vehicle for over a month now, as this started 8/18/2016. Have lost work time and put my job in jeopardy, as I am in sales and need my transportation. I do not have the time to be running back and forth to dealers to only find out they know nothing to fix this recurring problem with their chrysler vehicles, nor the thousands of dollars to spend on them trying to "guess" at what the issue is. Vehicles should be fixed if chrysler actually knows what will fix it, or buyout the vehicle plus 5+% so people can replace this awful vehicle. In the meantime, gm financial still expects monthly payment on a vehicle that is worthless.
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly
- What is wrong
- On certain mini vans, the fuel tank control valve weld joint could separate resulting in a possible fuel leak.
- Risk
- Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source can result in an underbody fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the fuel tank and replace it if necessary. Owner notification began october 28, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact daimlerchrysler at 1‑800‑853‑1403.
Recall number 02V274000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: fuel injection system
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: mini vans built with 3.3l and 3.8l engines have fuel rails with nitrole rubber o-ring seals that can degrade over time. Fuel leakage from the underhood fuel injection fuel rail could result, increasing the likelihood of a vehicle fire.
- Risk
- Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source can result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a seal on the vehicle fuel rails to prevent external leakage of fuel from the fuel rail crossover tube, should the existing o-rings continue to degrade. Owner notification began on january 25, 2002. Due to the large quantity of vehicles involved in this campaign, the owner notification will be phased over the next several months. However, if a vehicle is leaking fuel from the o-rings, the vehicle should be taken into a dealer to have this repaired as soon as possible. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact daimlerchrysler at 1‑800‑853‑1403.
Recall number 00V268000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: minivans. Fuel can leak from the fuel tank at the interface of the fuel pump module attachment.
- Risk
- If a fuel leak occurs in the presence of an ignition source, a fire could occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the fuel pump module attaching nut with a nut that includes tighter design tolerances. The sealing o-ring will also be replaced.
Recall number 99V216000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly: filler pipe and cap
- What is wrong
- A static electric charge can build up on the ungrounded metal section of the fuel filler tube.
- Risk
- This condition could cause a spark to occur when fueling the vehicle and possibly ignite the fuel vapors.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a ground strap for the fuel filler tube.
Recall number 96V002000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- What is wrong
- The fuel tank rollover valve can allow fuel to pass into the vapor canister resulting in the potential for fuel leakage.
- Risk
- Fuel leakage increases the potential for a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the fuel tank filler tube with a filler tube that has an additional rollover valve. The associated rollover valve vapor hoses will be rerouted.
Recall number 95V236000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline
- What is wrong
- Fuel tank flanges were not bent as required to allow the specified clearance for the fuel tank mounting straps and fuel lines at the tank.
- Risk
- The unbent flanges to the fuel tank will damage themounting straps and/or fuel lines. The damaged mounting straps may break causingthe tank to drop and the damaged fuel line will leak fuel. In either case a firecould result if the spilled fuel is exposed to an ignition source.
- Remedy
- Repair the flange by bending to the correct angle; replace damaged fuel lines and mounting straps.
Recall number 92V147000 · Recall details
Questions about the Chrysler Town and Country fuel smell
Which Chrysler Town and Country years have gas smell in the cabin problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1996 (15 complaints), 2002 (6 complaints) and 2005 (5 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix gas smell in the cabin on the Chrysler Town and Country?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $800 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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