2002 subaru wrx, smell gas inside vehicle when stopped at light, usually when cool outside. Mechanic checked out car did not find leak at 20k miles. Continued to occur and get worse. Conducted a yahoo search on the internet and found that a common occurance is gas leaks under the intake manifold near the turbo air intake. Subaru canada has a service bulletin on this. My mechanic contacted subaru of america and they did not know of it. I gave the information I found on the internet to my mechanic and he was able to find the leak $200 dollars later. This is a very common and dangerous situation and it appears soa is not aware of it. This gas line, according to my mechanic is high pressure, ~30 psi and a leak or faillure could cause a serious fire.
2002 Subaru WRX fuel system complaints
Page 9 of 11: complaints 221 to 250 of 295, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Fuel leak in engine compartment, fills passenger compartment with gas vapors. Happens when cold, -15 f.
Every day my 2002 subaru wrx has a very strong smell of gasoline in the cabin. At first this effect was only apparent when the weather was cold, but now it happens every time I start the car even in bay area weather of 55 f as long as the engine is cold. This lasts for 20 minutes or so and makes me dizzy. This is a very dangerous condition both in the danger of fuel explosion and also the posibility of toxic effects to the passenger. This is also a violation of the clean air act. I would urgently recommend that a mandatory recall be issued for this problem.*ak owner stated that he was dizzy but didn't req med attention
My 2002 subaru wrx ha sa raw fuel smell when its cold. The dealer say parts are on order. This was a month ago. I'm worried it might catch fire. There is a tsb, but I'm not getting any closer to having the problem checked/fixed.
Fuel leak on intake manifold, causing strong gas oder and potential for fire.
Overwhelming gasoline fuel smell in the interior cabin and engine compartments in extremely cold weather.
Smell of gasoline in car when temperature was below 5 degrees f.
I noticed my 2002 subaru wrx has fuel smell coming into the cabin when I open the vent to allow air from outside. It usually happens when the temperature is around 30f to 40f. I am really concern if it would cause fire in the engine compartment.
Fuel smell in cabin of vehicle on cold days.
My 2002 subaru wrx with 39,000 miles developed a fuel leak in the engine compartment consistent with that described in subaru tsb 09-36-03. The fuel odor entered the passenger cabin through the ventallation system. Temperature on 1/9/2004 was between 0 and 10 degrees farenheit. The car was brought to the dealer on saturday, 1/10/2004. On 1/12/2004 I was quoted a price of >$500 to repair. I asked about any service bulletins and dealer said no tsb existed and they had not seen this issue before. I directed them to tsb in question and they later informed me repair would be covered as a "good faith" repair even though out of warranty. Repair was not completed until 1/29/2004 because part kit was on back order. Residual fuel oder remains in passenger cabin. Hopefully will disappear in time.
Fuel leak in the winter. Known problem. Subaru issued a tsb on the matter but will not fix if car is out of warranty. Fuel comes out of a line and pools up and burns off on the manifold.
Owner of a 02 subaru impreza wrx. Gas smell observed from engine during very cold weather 15-20 deg. Fuel leak from below manifold. Was told by dealer my car is over 36000 miles and is not covered by subaru. I assumed an emissions related problem should be covered for more than 36000 miles. Was given a $650 repair estimate.
I have noticed raw fuel smell coming in from the ventilation ducts when the heater is on during cold weather. The smell weakens when driven but returns when stopped completely. This incident only happens when outside temperature is near freezing or below. I have bought this car as a 2002 model in july of 2001. This may be a fuel leak and I strongly feel that this needs to be replaced asap by subaru. I do not believe this is a wear and tear situation because there are many more wrx owners in the country who has the same problem regardless of mileage on the vehicle.
My 2002 subaru wrx has a strong gasoline odor from under the hood when started in cold weather (under approx. 30 degrees f). The smell eventually goes away as the engine warms up. This happened last winter and this winter. Subaru has issued a tsb about the problem, but my car is out of the bumper-to-bumper warranty period. Also, I can't leave it overnight at a dealership on a cold night (to allow the engine to cool completely) to allow the dealership to see the problem themselves. I am concerned that the leaking fuel might be enough to start a fire. Subaru is aware of the problem, but is only issuing a tsb, and is not always paying for repairs.
Smell of fuel in passenger compartment of 02 subaru wrx on several occasions. Noticeable when first starting the car and running climate control. Dissipates in approximately 15 mins. Also noticeable one night in garage after exiting the car. Has happened approximately 3-4 times this winter. Never occurred before.
Strong smell of fuel in passenger compartment. Has happened on several occasions now under various conditions.
Strong smell of raw gas during engine start-up when cold outside.
Overpowering raw fuel smell in interior cabin in cold weather, suspect leak in engine bay that has recently been brought up as a tsb by subaru.
2002 subaru wrx wagon - strong gasoline odor in car when cold. Dealer advised purge valve was replaced, found subaru tsb 09-36-03 which describes my problem, still have gasoline odor in very cold weather.
Overwhelming fuel smell inside vehicle to the point of my eye's tearing due to the strong smell of fuel and pull the car over to get out and breathe fresh air. Strong even with the hood closed you can smell the fuel standing by the car. Cannot drive vehicle or have children in car. Anti-lock braking system engages prematurely when not needed, causing vehicle to travel over a longer distance than needed.
I own a 2002 subaru wrx. There is a very strong gas odor eminating from the engine compartment and vent during cold weather. I have told the dealership but they want to charge me to look at it. It is my strong feeling that this is a safety issue and should be addressed on their tab.
I have a 2002 subaru impreza wrx which has a strong fuel smell coming through the vents during warm-up/driving in sub-freezing temperatures. However, once the car warms up....the fuel smell goes away until the cars cools off again and the whole thing starts again. I have read the tsb and haven't had time in goto subaru because I have some concerns as to whether it will be taken care of since I am beyond my 3/36 warranty. I took it to them once about a year a ago for the same problem and they smelled it but couldn't find a "leak" so they just tightened all the clamps down. But now it's back and I can see fuel on the solid fuel line under the intake elbow. I am hoping a recall is in order. Thanks the federal safety agency.
My subaru '02 wrx sedan has developed a fuel leak in cold weather. I took it to my dealership (rafferty subaru in newtown square, pa) and they mentioned that there was a service bulletin on fuel leaks in subaru wrx's, and that it would take weeks to get replacement parts to fix it. My complaint is that subaru of america has not issued a recall on this problem. They are essentially allowing customers to drive their cars with fuel leaks and waiting for them to come in in order to fix the problem. This is essentially very dangerous. I knew nothing about the commonality of the problem until I visited the impreza owners web site (www.nasioc.com) and found many, many other people with this exact problem. I am posting here to try to put more attention on this problem before someone gets killed by an engine compartment fire. Thank you, ken rimple.
Gas leak from the passenger side engine bay. Only occurs in cold weather conditions.
Terrible fuel smell in the passenger compartment of my 2002 subaru wrx on cold days.
While driving consumer smelled gas fumes inside the vehicle. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
My car matches the description of issue pe04002. I am filing this since I believe the manufacturer should issue a recall and address this. I have had this issue for the past two winters, but only now became of aware of the tsb through the internet. It concerns me customers have not be proactively contacted nor has there been uniform dealer treatment of this issue. I would like the federal safety agency to investigate the safety impacts of this likely fuel leak.
Since the weather has gotten cold here in michigan (below freezing) there has been a strong smell of raw fuel in the passenger compartment of my 2002 subaru wrx. It is most apparent upon start up. The smell at times will be so strong that it will bring you to the point of vomiting or passing out if you do not open the windows down.
After running the vehicle for about 5 minutes on a cold morning, a strong fuel smell could be detected in cabin and under hood. Fuel vapor/cloud was visible when hood was lifted.
Early 2002 subaru wrx fuel smell(leak) in cold weather - probably as mentioned in subaru tsb 09-36-03 the dealer immediately provided a loaner car at no cost while the car is in the shop. The parts are currently backorder. I hope subaru will cover the cost of this repair even though the warranty mileage has been exceeded since this problem required a re design of the fuel line components.
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