I smell gas fumes and am loosing gas but no apparent leaks, what could it be?

Asked by sportbunny Jul 11, 2008 at 02:39 PM about the 1990 Honda Civic DX Hatchback

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

21 Answers

16,745

I agree with Alan, if you smell gas their is a leak somewhere... When are you smelling it? When your driving? When your sitting at a light? These questions might help you with where to start... If you smell it while driving the leak is likely in the engine bay somewhere... If the smell creeps up when you stop moving it could be from below the car... This is by no means a guarantee that the leak is in these places, you'll likely have to spend some time looking for the leak. Remember when you're looking for a leak you need some pressure, so the pump has to be on. Luckily if I remember all US hatchbacks had FI which means higher pressure... This means it should leak anytime the pump is running, bad news is that it may be a fine spray that'll be hard to see and very flammable/explosive, so no smoking while looking for the leak. :-D Hope that helps a little bit...

9 people found this helpful.
115

it could be in the gas lines, dont check only the gas tank, watch all over lines to the engine.

7 people found this helpful.

a leak is very possibale,you also can check your collent temp senser.it tells the computer when thr engine is at operating temp.if bad it will tell the computer the engine is still cold and dump more fuel into tb,it works like the old style carb with the choke not opening ,will use more gas and smell it to.if all is dry under car worth a try.

12 people found this helpful.
120

like straight up gas smell? or just running rich?

5 people found this helpful.
435

if your smelling gas more then likely its a leak somewhere. if its running rich you would smell gas but wouldnt smell like straight gas. just let the car run for a while and keep looking around underneath it. eventually the leak will show up if there is one. its a waste of gas yea. but itll narrow it down to other things

4 people found this helpful.
2,105

charcoal canister could have a crack in it and strong gas fumes will come out of it. on a hot day 32-38 *C 1/16 of a tank of fuel can pass through the canister

9 people found this helpful.
325

Check around the sending unit for the gas gauge on the tank. The seal could be cracked.

10 people found this helpful.
235

check the fuel pump gasket... had the same problem with my 240. apparently when i installed the fuel pump, the o-ring fell inside the gas tank. and i forgot all about it.... but, seriously check the gasket for the o-ring, see if its there... o-ring cost no more than $2. opening the gaskket takes nothing but either a 10mm socket rachet or a screw driver... a 5 min job... based on the pic, the o-ring should be right on the arrow... and all u need to remove is the bolts shown on the top left corner... if you decide to take out the fuel pump, make sure ur car is off, and battery taken off to avoid any sort of static going on... take out the fuel pump slowly and strategically. If you yank it out, the fuel pump bracket'll break... goodluck. byonata

19 people found this helpful.
125

check your gas filler line,( the tube where u fill your car up), i had a car where there was a hole in it and when it was close to full or full it would leak some gas for a little while till the level in the tank dropped from driving, i always got an intense gas smell and loss of fuel level in my guage.

8 people found this helpful.
150

it could be your exhaust, if you let the car sit for a while it could be the older fuel still burning through the system. you may need to do an oil change it could be a number of things please specify on your problem does it smell when you go heavy on the accelerator, when the engine is just running or what???

8 people found this helpful.
150

does the smell come from a specific area in the car or what ???

7 people found this helpful.
35

you maybe running rich. check fuel mixture, pressure regulator, map sensor, mass air flow sensor. check for proper pressure on the fuel rail

3 people found this helpful.
5

could be a leak - but not in efect, liquad - check from tank to engine on where fuel is. even a faulty fuel injector can alow gas to escape.

21,205

Gas naturally evaperates. Your car is equiped with an evaporative canister and evap module to keep the tank pressurized. I would ensure your gas cap is not leaking. Change it, not expensive. If the problem continues, and there is no apparent leak, I would look at the evap system. Everyone is correct. Check the line from the tank and gaskets thoroughly.

5 people found this helpful.
165

agree with this... Could also be a bad ECU. I had that issue with my swap once. Car was running extra rich, car smelled like gas, and I was filling up every two days which is unheard of with a stock swap!

6 people found this helpful.
30

Yeah I have a 93 and I have the same problem. . Spark plugs are covered in like black poder. They've told me is running rich. I've done some work but no results

3 people found this helpful.
15

It's in your evap system. Either the two way valve or the bypass solenoid valve.

1 people found this helpful.
10

I have a 88 civic Lx and it’s leaking gas from above the gas tank

1 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Civic

Looking for a Used Civic in your area?

CarGurus has 3,999 nationwide Civic listings starting at $440.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    ColdinMA
    Reputation
    2,370
  • #2
    Guru9CNGV
    Reputation
    2,110
  • #3
    GuruDMD1V
    Reputation
    2,090
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Honda Accord
50 Great Deals out of 964 listings starting at $2,995
Used Toyota Corolla
129 Great Deals out of 2,267 listings starting at $1,999
Used Toyota Camry
43 Great Deals out of 1,133 listings starting at $4,795
Used Ford Mustang
39 Great Deals out of 1,657 listings starting at $7,999
Used BMW 3 Series
67 Great Deals out of 1,210 listings starting at $2,500
Used Nissan Sentra
70 Great Deals out of 1,864 listings starting at $3,990

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.