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Smell of gas coming out air vents on 07 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Cibelly Aguiar, Jan 16, 2018.

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  1. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

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    Hello,

    I got this car for my birthday, and it is my first car, so I'm not sure if these are actually alarming.

    It is a 2007 Prius, with 173k miles on it. When I got it, there were a bunch of lights on the dash (airbag, check engine, maintenance required and, TPMS), and I took the case to my brother, who works with cars and know good mechanics in the area where I live (Boston). They fixed all the lights, except the airbag one. The car also had a noise that came from some holes in the exhaust, they fixed it by welding the holes, and since then I was noticing a weird smell (like some kind of burning thing) coming out of the vents with the heater on. I was talking of my brother and he said that it wouldn't be nothing to worry about, probably came from the welding.

    But I kept smelling it and it was a bit of annoying, but everyone kept saying it was nothing. Last Friday my tank was almost empty, and I started the car and as soon as I did it, I smelled gas, but the strong smell was kind fading away after 2 minutes. Then later that day, I filled up my tank and a couple times I started the car up, the sudden smell of gas came from the vents and faded away. (Even with the smell going away, I still smell something on the air vents, but I don't know how to describe it).

    On Sunday, I changed the oil and the cabin filter (the one behind the glove box), the smell kept on going. Now, when I leave the car I even feel that my clothes smell like gas too. When I noticed the smell on Sunday, before changing the oil, I checked for leaks on the exhaust pipe, and it was leaking something, it didn't have a smell or a color, it seemed to be water. I read something about winter and the condensation, that could cause the pipe to expel water. But the thing is that as I was waiting on a parking spot with the motor running and the smell was kinda bad, I turned off the A/C, but it was still leaking (from the end of the pipe, as I said).

    Now every time I go for like a 10 minutes drive, when I get off the car, I smell like gas. Also, there are no lights on the dash.

    What can it be? I know that I should probably go back to the mechanics, but I wanted to have an insight first of what may be wrong with it.

    Thank you so much!
     
    #1 Cibelly Aguiar, Jan 16, 2018
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it is not good to smell gas, and probably not safe. i would get it to a qualified mechanic or dealer asap.
     
    #2 bisco, Jan 16, 2018
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  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The car probably is burning really rich with bad oxygen sensors and bad catalytic converter
     
    #3 JC91006, Jan 16, 2018
  4. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    If your brother worKS on cars and knows good mechanic I would have them look at your car asap.

    Good luck with your new car.
     
    #4 padroo, Jan 16, 2018
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  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Yes if it is gasoline smell then something is very wrong (fuel leak) and needs immediate attention.
    But the cabin air filter can cause other.smells. So we don't know your nose accuracy.
     
    #5 wjtracy, Jan 17, 2018
  6. Kevin_Denver

    Kevin_Denver Active Member

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    Agree with others - first thing to check are the fuel lines under the hood for leaks. A slow leak could explain the smell.

    I would also check the exhaust again, especially close to the engine bay. The engine will run rich in open loop mode when first starting the car, so the exhaust gas at this stage smells more like gas, and then less once the car warms. If you're getting exhaust gases into the air intake for the climate controls, could also explain the smell.
     
    #6 Kevin_Denver, Jan 17, 2018
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  7. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    Check for leaks at the hood. Leaky fuel injectors, and all that.

    There is a seal where the fuel pump sits on in the fuel tank location.

    If that rubber seal becomes weak, it allows fuel vapour in the cabin of the car, and you might think the smell was coming from the vents.

    As long as you don't have a catalytic converter related codes, I won't bother with that component yet. Do the simple checks first.
     
    #7 Dxta, Jan 17, 2018
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  8. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    One thing can happen (rarely but @priuscub here in Virginia had it) is the exhaust manifold can rust through under the hood. usually you hear this as noise under the hood.
     
    #8 wjtracy, Jan 17, 2018
  9. gta_

    gta_ Active Member

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    I had somthing similar to this happening when my replaced spark plugs weren't torqued down properly, they were loose. Exhaust gases were escaping and coming in via the fresh air vent at the cowl. I'd only notice at low speed and taking off at lights. Once they were all tightened correctly, the smell is gone.
     
    #9 gta_, Jan 19, 2018
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  10. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

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    So, there was actually something under the car that was leaking greasing to the exhaust, explaining the smell. The part was replaced, but there's still a bit of smell coming out of the air vents and sticking to my clothes, and I can't find out what is it.
     
    #10 Cibelly Aguiar, Feb 1, 2018
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  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    have you told the people who repaired it?
     
    #11 bisco, Feb 1, 2018
  12. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

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    My mom was talking to me that it could be something with the spark plugs, I talked to the mechanic and he said that they can't be loose, he'll only replace them for $120. Is it worth to pay that amount for it? thanks!
     
    #12 Cibelly Aguiar, Feb 3, 2018
  13. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

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    Yes, I did. They didn't do much about it
     
    #13 Cibelly Aguiar, Feb 3, 2018
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how old are the plugs?
     
    #14 bisco, Feb 4, 2018
  15. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

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    Honestly, I have no clue. But probably more than I month, we bought the car in June last year. We didn't check them since then, and I don't know about the previous owner.
     
    #15 Cibelly Aguiar, Feb 4, 2018
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the plugs only get changed every 120,000 miles.
    log into toyotaowners.com and enter your vin for history of service.
    if your brother works with cars, he should be able to check the tightness of the plugs easily.
     
    #16 bisco, Feb 4, 2018
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  17. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    The price quoted for spark plug change is very reasonable, assuming he is talking about the OEM iridium tipped plugs. They last forever but on a used car you never know what they did. If it was me I'd pull one to see the appearance.
     
    #17 wjtracy, Feb 4, 2018
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  18. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

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    An update on the case: the smell is still there, the mechanic is suspecting it to be the catalytic converter, instead of the spark plugs; but before I even think about spending about $2000 on a new catalytic converter, I'm taking the car to someone else to take a look.

    However, the smell goes away when I turn the A/C to the reverse mode, it goes away instantaneously. When it's not turned on, it's a smell less related to gas smell, but more to ethanol or oil, I don't know how to explain it. Also, I noticed on the screen after resetting it a couple days ago that my range is about 20 MPG, when a couple months ago it was 45/50MPG. Also, it is making a weird noise, like a rough noise when I stop it or have to you use the brakes when I'm parking, etc...

    Any other suggestions? Thank you!
     
    #18 Cibelly Aguiar, Mar 30, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2018
  19. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

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    I logged in to it, but the old owner stopped taking it to the dealer in 2014 I think
     
    #19 Cibelly Aguiar, Mar 30, 2018
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  20. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

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    When I took it to the mechanic I usually take, he said to me that there's "no such thing as spark plugs not torqued down properly", but I think he is just trying to sell me a catalytic converter because it's more expensive lol
     
    #20 Cibelly Aguiar, Mar 30, 2018
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