Smell of gas thru vents. Also smell it outside car when off...

welcome!

we have heard this a number of times, but i don't recall any solutions. is it a raw gasoline smell, or exhaust?

 

Welcome to Prius Chat .

Have you popped the hood and taken a look around the fuel rail? Any moisture there? If you put the fan on recirc, do you smell it?

Keep us posted .

 

It could be fumes from the rail like he said or something spilled on to the cowl and your fresh air is on or the fuel tank is constantly venting.

 

Have any service done recently. Not completely tight spark plugs was once letting some vapor through on another car.

 

she said she told the dealer and they can't find anything.

 

The smell of gasoline is distinct, but a tiny leak is hard to find. I had thought mine was actually from the gas stations I had passed at first, but it was getting consistent. I replaced the spark plugs recently, so retightened them. There was no sign of a leak around them, but the smell went away after that.

The Sonic had a coolant leak that was so small that only happened while the system was under pressure, and the leaked fluid boiled off, leaving no trace. It is easier for a volatile liquid like gasoline to leak and remain hidden.

A UV dye is used to find coolant and refrigerant leaks. Can the same be done for fuel systems?

 

Take the spark plugs out and check the seats for rust and the plugs themselves for rust. Changing the spark plug can remedy this but could be other things. Spark plugs are the cheapest fix so far.

 

shouldn't a dealer be able to figure that out?

 

Yeah, if they have competent service department. Even then, they might want to charge time to diagnosis the less obvious.

 

Being competent means charging and testing to avoid liability. I dont remember me taking my job to work for free or anyone else. "Oh hey yeah we will look at your vehicle and we have volunteers to do it for nothing" ,....said no one ever.

 

Did you charge Toyota for diagnosing issues that could have been under warranty? I've never had to pay a dealer to look at issues or concerns while a car was under warranty.

Back to the OP, is the smell all the time or only occasional?

 

Yes its called warranty Operational Codes for doing my job which we charge Toyota to pay me. Explain to me in your expertise how a 2005 Prius, which is what we were talking about, still has its factory warranty? And why you mad bra?

 

Not mad at all. Just wondering how the system worked.

 

Alright then. I try not to get too defensive about how you guys perceive mechanics. Its just that type of industry and I get questioned and eye rolls abounds when I try and educate folks about certain things. People and I mean customers are just weird because you all think the warranty work is a free for all where the world is your oyster and the sky is the limit on issues that are at times real and we strive to look for, or you guys find something online and boom off to get it checked out when nothing is wrong at all and then there are just anxious overzealous folks who make stuff up in their head because something just doesnt click with whatever is bugging them.
Just like people there are good and bad. Skilled energetic and lazy good for nothings. Not looking for excuses or sympathy but when you act like I work for free and because we look and suffer by not making money because warranty does pay but it pays almost less than half. Look at your vehicles headliner. That thing is never really looked at and you could care less as it is clean but there is wiring running through it, lights installed in it and it is delicate as well and gets dirty easily. I did a headliner because a customer thought we got it dirty and I was tasked to do it. It pays almost 8 hours to change customer pay. I did it quickly in 4 hours. I got paid 1.1 to do it. So when search for these issues there are not specific Op codes for every little thing. And when we find it, it might be simple and that is what we get paid for unless we ask for time from Toyota. Wonder why we dont kill ourselves for a these issues when sometimes it is caused by the customer or lack of maintenance.
Plus that gas smell, spark plug thing is an oddity. Most fuel smells come from one system. If the spark plugs have a tiny leak and it evaporates before we can see it but we can smell it then I challenge you to go for it. Without a 5 gas analyzer or eliminating parts one at a time it would be near impossible. Sometimes competency and experience happen by chance when we take an educated guess and "try" something. At times it is warranty and it is helpful to you guys. At other times it is at the customers risk and pocket book and that is where at least a quarter of automotive mechanics bad reps and dealerships bad experiences come from.
Your doctor mind you works on two models of people with small and large differences. They do tests and charge up the wahoo. Not a lot of people object because of their well being, they have insurance, or "its procedure" and you see the doctor for all of 5 minutes sometimes. Mechanics work on thousands of models with new systems every year to four years. You can also get insurance which is an extended warranty but it only covers so much. People love their cars but abuse them because they are still machines and they are bought for a purpose. Customers care enough about their car to complain about little issues but then go on forums with infinite ignorant people to try and work on systems that are never meant for public means to be worked on.
I come here to help and I meet so many snobs that look down on mechanics because we dont always win and find certain concerns. I help and comment. If you guys need anything I am your source and at your disposal. Shit I went on a rant. LOL.

 

recognition is the first step in recovery.

 

Please expound on how one gets paid 1.1 when doing an 8 hour job in 4 hours, is it just basic math?

dealer hourly= 120 per
mechanic hourly = 30 per

30 x 4 hrs = 120

 

Warranty Time is different. This tells me you guys are not actually hip to the fact how your technicians get paid and what goes on at the dealership. This site is incredibly self absorbed for having so many "Senior" members that are not educated about anything but whats been on forums. Tell one of the staff members to get a hold of me so I can get rid of this profile. I was looking to help and be heard as an actual subject matter expert but apparently you can see the sky is blue and I can tell members the sky is blue and one of you ignorant members will talk down to not just me but others on this site.

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Personally I have no clue how a dealership works, besides actually loving the one I choose to frequent.

I didn't really finish the math enough, as it was me guessing on what was being offered. Let me try this again.

Customer billable is 8 hrs @ 120 per hour (this was me guessing the dealers hourly rate).
Dealer pays a trained mechanic around $30 per hour (here again guessing, have no clue).
Dealer is willing to pay said mechanic to do an 8 hr job in 4 hours (not sure if I have that right, again).
Mechanic is finally paid for four (4) hours at $30 per hour, or $120 (around the going dealer labor rate, or 1.1 hours as mentioned above)

Sorry for any confusion in my basic math skills, just trying to understand how it all works from the inside of a dealership.