On january 24th, 2014 at approximately 10:00am, my wife and I got inside my subaru forester. I started the vehicle and turned on the heater, when we both smell a strong smell of gasoline. We immediately decided to take car to the dealer, since the fumes where so overwhelming we drove with the windows open. Lucky for us the dealer is a 15 minutes ride, but with the windows down and no heat to minimize the situation and the weather below 20 degrees is kind of hard. We finally made it to the dealer. The service technician told us that when the weather is below 30 degrees the fuel lines shrink, causing fuel to leak. I was taken back to know this kind of hazard was not recall by the manufacturer and that other folks are having the same problem on their subaru forester. I further learned the repairs were estimated at over $1,300.00, because they needed to replace all the fuel lines in order to stop the leak. It seems this is issue happen to vehicles from 2000-2003 based on recall (subaru recall no. Wvk-21it). I believe this is a serious safety issue that has the potential to be fatal. The vehicle in this condition is a fire hazard and due to the strong fumes that can overwhelm a person to lose conscience while driving. The bottom line is that the car is not drivable under this condition. I believed that the cost of repairs should be a burden of the manufacturer and not of the owner per the resolution of the mentioned earlier by subaru's recall. As is indicative of the same problem. It will seem to me that this is a situation worthy of an investigation from dot, or is it going to wait until there is a fatality, and we go back to saying "I told you so".
2005 Subaru Forester fuel system complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 22 of 22, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The morning of jan 24, 2014 my wife and I came started the car and noticed a strong gasoline smells when we started the car, turn on the heater and drove away. I immediately drove it the dealer, because the fumes whete so strong that we had the windows open without heat to minimize the smell, otherwise we could have easyli be overcome by the gas fumes. The dealer said that the fuel lines shrink due to the cold below 30 degree's thus leaking raw fuel whenever the vehicle is runing. As you can imagine this is a serious safety hazard that need to be investigated by your agency before it turns into a fatality. Furthermore, it seem that previous subaru models had this issue and a recall was issued (subaru recall no. Wvk-21it) I was advised by the dealer that to repair thi problem will cost an estimate of $1,340.00, which is ridiculous knowing and most likely that this is a defective(s) fuel hoses. I guess I am very lucky that no fire started. I hope that you will look into this and get back to me with a reasonable explanation, since this is a serious safety issue.
It had been cold, below freezing in the mid west, most of the time I would recirculate the cabin air, but every time when I bring in fresh air from outside to clear the moisture, I experienced a strong odor of raw gas coming in through the air vents. Then I noticed fuel was actually leaking in the engine compartment, one section of the rubber hose was damp as a result of fuel dripping over it.
Fuel leak located near the fuel rail only apparent while vehicle is cold, once it warms up it appears to go away .
Car has raw fuel/gas smell on cold starts when idling. Fumes can be noticed both outside and inside the vehicle. Occurs only when the outside air temperature is below 30 degrees fahrenheit. Fumes disappear once the engine reaches normal operating temperature. Fuel line leak(s) are occurring under the manifold where the screws to tighten can not be reached. Subaru dealer has informed me that the cost to repair for parts and labor would be $750 as the manifold needs to be removed in order to make the needed repair. I have driven cars to 180k and 155k in the same geographical footprint and have never had a fuel line leak. This is a common problem for subaru and needs to be recalled like they did on the 02-03 wrx!!! This is a major life safety issue. I'm going to subaru north america to see if they will pay a portion of the repair.
When it is below 20 degrees f and the vehicle is stopped, there is a very strong odor of gasoline in the passenger compartment, indicating a leak near the cabin air intake. Similar problems have been reported by other forrester xt owners on various web sites (see www.subaruforrester.org for example).
Strong gasoline smell in the cabin of the vehicle when temperature drops below 30f. No smell when engine riches normal working temperature. No smell in the warm weather. Possible issue rubber fuel lines. Car is not to old to have rubber parts defected.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 subaru forester. The contact stated that a strong gasoline odor was in the interior cabin of the vehicle. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the fuel lines failed. The vehicle was not taken to a mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 44,260.
Strong raw fuel smell inside and outside vehicle during cold weather. Fuel smell strong enough to cause nausea and dizziness if windows remained closed. Parked vehicle outside of garage until smell dissipated for fear of accidental ignition. Noticed that smell usually diminishes or completely dissipates when vehicle reaches normal operating temperature. Detected over several years during cold weather conditions (below 50 degrees). Wa subaru dealer in february 2012 determined the rubber fuel lines under the intake manifold were leaking and replaced all seven. So far, this has corrected the condition.
Temperature dropped below 20*f and the smell of raw fuel became strong inside the vehicle. Smell continued to happen on successive days below ~25*f, regardless of engine temperature. Fuel smell was apparent in engine bay on passenger side but the source was unidentifiable. Vehicle was taken to dealer for inspection; dealer "found signs of fuel seepage past hose clamps on fuel hoses under intake." repair estimate including parts came to $663. Vehicle has not been repaired at this time and we will be contacting soa about possible reimbursement under their good will policy.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 subaru forester. He stated that he received a recall notice for a generic check valve in the fuel tank. After the dealer removed the check valve, the contact was concerned that there could be a possible explosion in the fuel tank. He called the manufacturer and advised them of his concerns but was told that if he wanted the check valve to be re-installed, it would have to be done at his expense. The current and failure mileage was 49,485. Updated 05/24/10 *bf updated 06/04/10
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 subaru forester. The contact stated there is a strong fuel smell when the heat is turned on in her vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that they will replace the fuel rail assembly at the contact expense. There are no recalls or warranties on this problem. The failure mileage was 77,029. Updated 02/17/10. *lj updated 02/18/10
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