There is a presence of gasoline in the oil which is causing two(2) safety issues. 1. The infiltration of gasoline in the oil can cause the engine to malfunction to the point of seizure which could cause a sudden stop in traffic flow. 2. The noxious gasoline fumes are unbearable in the cabin of the truck causing headaches, nausea, and lightheadedness which could cause an accident while driving and could cause the driver to become disoriented and cause an accident. I took the vehicle to Napleton Honda in Loves Park, Illinois to address the problem, and they, in turn contacted American Honda for guidance. The dealership said the technical arm of American Honda said the fumes and the gasoline infiltration was, "NORMAL. I was contacted by American Honda and they suggested that I get a second opinion from another dealership, which IMHO is moot because they will contact American Honda for guidance and they will be told the exact same thing. The case number with American Honda is: XXX. The vehicle is currently under warranty for approximately one(1) more month. I had the oil analyzed by Blackstone Laboratories and they did, in fact detect gasoline in the oil. I have those results. I talked to the Honda Case Manager and she said that Honda will not/does not accept third party testing. American Honda will not even agree to test the oil themselves to determine if what I'm saying is true. I would sincerely appreciate any assistance since my truck is almost unbearable and certainly unsafe to drive. There are currently no warning or check engine lights on, but a simple oil analysis would, 100% confirm the presence of gasoline in the oil. I have noticed the gasoline odor for approximately 9 months and it has progressively gotten worse. I try to combat the noxious odors and impending motor damage by changing my oil very frequently which is approximately every 500-750 miles with full synthetic oil. Please contact me if you need anything further. Thank you. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMAT
Honda Ridgeline fuel smell problems
17 of the 2,245 owner complaints about the Honda Ridgeline describe gas smell in the cabin, most of them for the 2019 model year.
- owner complaints
- 17
- worst model year
- 2019
- typical mileage
- 12,000
By model year
- 20241
- 20232
- 20201
- 20199
- 20181
- 20172
- 20061
Often reported together
What owners say
Approximately six(6) months ago, my wife and I noticed a very noxious gasoline smell in the cabin of our truck, and upon further investigation determined that the smell was a direct result of gasoline that had infiltrated the oil in the engine. The oil was changed and the used oil smelled very strongly of gasoline. I sent an oil sample to Blackstone Industries to get the oil analyzed, and they, in fact found gasoline in the oil. Honda said that the results were useless because they wouldn't accept third party results. I took my truck to the local Honda dealership (Napleton Honda in Loves Park, IL) to address the problem. They, in turn contracted the Technician Department of American Honda who said the strong gasoline smell was "NORMAL." I have contacted American Honda and they suggested getting a second opinion. The case number is, XXX. At this point a second opinion at another dealership would be useless because they're going to tell me the exact same thing. So, in conclusion, I would like the noxious, dangerous gasoline fume root cause to be identified and repaired. The fumes are making me, my wife, and any passengers nauseous. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Gasoline fumes originating from engine compartment and entering the cabin of vehicle via HVAC. Fumes are thick enough to cause eyes to water, mild respiratory distress (coughing) and clothing to smell of gasoline after exiting the vehicle. Concerns exist about possible fuel leak given how dense the fumes are. Multiple users on social media report similar issues of gasoline fumes from the motor coming into the cabin via HVAC system across the Honda lineup, but mainly users with the 3.5 liter v6 motor. Some point to leaking fuel lines. Of those I found looking for a solution, all said Honda techs either located a fuel leak or were unable to fix. Dealer will be inspecting vehicle at next oil change if not sooner if problem continues to worsen. Issue is intermittent but increasing in incidents over the past three days. With the motor running, vehicle idling in park and HVAC system off, the fumes do not enter the cabin. The moment the HVAC system is turned on, the cabin begins to fill with fuel fumes. Fumes don’t fully disperse from the cabin when driving unless at highway speeds. Vehicle was purchased new from dealer, has never been involved in any incidents or experienced any issues beyond poor drivers side window performance. The check engine light isn’t illuminated nor are any other fault indicators. NOTE: given how many complaints I’m seeing online about this exact issue, I wanted to submit this to see how many others have reported fuel fumes coming from the motor. If it is as widespread as users indicate, I’d hope that multiple reports have been submitted and my report is one more into you launching an investigation. I live on a farm with equipment twice my age. Fuel fumes don’t happen inside the vehicle unless something is wrong, even the oldest trucks on the property with fuel tanks stored behind the drivers seat inside the cabin.
a smell of gas came into the car. fuel pump was the problem as per the dealer. could cause driver to pass out or fire
Over the last several months the vehicle developed a strong fuel odor in the engine compartment after being driven. I took it to the Honda dealer to identify the cause on 8/30/24, they kept the vehicle for 2 days and were unable to find a problem although they also observed the strong fuel smell. Their recommendation was to return with gas tank less than half full so they could check that. Fuel smell is clearly in the engine compartment, so I took the vehicle to my local mechanic who used a camera to localize the smell/leak to the top of the engine. They recommended removal of the manifold to diagnose further and identified a significant leak between the high pressure fuel pump and the injectors. They replace the fuel joint pipe, six injectors, and high pressure fuel pump cover which was saturated in fuel. Two areas of concern. First, there is clearly an unadressed leak problem with the fuel joint pipe. It is mentioned in several places on the federal safety agency site for this Ridgline model and several related model designs. While this vehicle did not catch fire, a significant leak on the high pressure side of the high pressure fuel pump is a clear hazard and should be analyzed to identify the root cause. Second, Honda needs to proactively address this with their dealer technicians. I have no way to verify if they actually disassembled the top of the engine to access the high pressure fuel pump, fuel joint pipe, and injectors, as they told me, but it didn't take long for my local mechanic to identify the issue once they did. Bottom line is this problem is real, occurs frequently enough to appear as an issue reported to the federal safety agency and will not be easily identified by scanning the vehicle codes which is apparently what the dealer standard practice is.
Gas smell coming from under the hood and in the cabin on my 2017 honda ridgeline after it warms up. ( believe this could be a safety issue because of the gas fumes.) I contacted Honda ( manufacturer ) and was told their was no recall for this issue. I took it to the dealer and they were unable to find any leaks but stated the could do a fuel system repair for $626.00 and a direct inject service for $240.00 Truck had no codes or messages come up.
After a recent Fuel Injector service last week, there is a strong smell of gasoline both in and out of my vehicle. Honda Service technicians report they cannot find the issue and there are no Codes reported upon diagnostic check. However the smell remains and fuel gage needle falls closer to E when the vehicle is parked a few days.
After a short trip; usually to shop, I get a gas smell inside the truck when I restart. Honda dealer could not duplicate. The smell sometimes is also under the hood.
Truck has gas smell in cabin and outside the truck sometimes.
Strong engine oil odor after driving and then parking vehicle. Also checked engine oil, has a very strong gasoline smell to engine oil. Dealer claims unable to replicate, however I pointed out the smell to them once I arrived. Dealer mentioned that the smell was normal. They took the vehicle in anyway and claim again that the smell is normal. There are no warning lights or anything to indicate a problem. Smell first noticed around 5600 miles. Vehicle now at 16000 miles and still getting the same result with odor and fuel smell in the oil.
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
- Risk
- Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of the federal safety agency recall numbers 21V‑215 and 20V‑314.
Recall number 23V858000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 CR-V vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
- Risk
- Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V‑314.
Recall number 21V215000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Ridgeline trucks. Exposure to acids, such as from car wash soaps, can result in the fuel pump feed port cracking.
- Risk
- A crack in the fuel pump feed port can allow pressurized fuel to leak out, increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump, if necessary, and install a fuel pump cover, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. The recall number for this recall is Q3V.
Recall number 19V053000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- On certain vehicles, a coil wire inside the fuel pump relay may break, causing the fuel pump to lose power. If the fuel pump becomes inoperative, the engine may not start.
- Risk
- If the fuel pump loses power while driving, the engine could stall without warning, and a crash could occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the fuel pump relay free of charge. The recall began on april 2, 2007. Owners may contact honda at 1‑800‑999‑1009.
Recall number 07V097000 · Recall details
Questions about the Honda Ridgeline fuel smell
Which Honda Ridgeline years have gas smell in the cabin problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2019 (9 complaints), 2017 (2 complaints) and 2023 (2 complaints).
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