gasoline odor normal?
 

did a search of the forum and couldnt turn up anything on this so thought i'd ask here....anyone else have a gasoline odor that comes from their Z when it's warming up? had the smell ever since i got it new and mostly goes away after warm up, but seems like it's running a little rich. would a tune help with this or is it just something normal for the Z?

Never had this myself.

x2

Not normal

nope - shouldnt have that

Are you "overfilling" your tank; i.e. filling it up to the filler neck?

this happens to me, very occasionally. usually happens when I fill the tank completely, or if it's a really cold start (<40 degrees). disappears in a matter of seconds, and usually happens outside the car. I never get the smell in the cabin.

nope not overfilling at all, happens whether the tank is full or near 1/4 tank, guess its something i'll have to have dealer check out on my next trip down there. any suggestions about what it might be are welcome though

a)does your car have cats?

b) even if it doesnt, cars runs rich at idle. its called open loop. basically what your car does is ignore the signal from the o2 sensor when first turned on. it strictly works from signals based on your maf, and whatever has been pre programmed into the cars ecu to ensure it gets to proper operating temp quicky. that means warming up the cat, coolant, or any other parameters that the ecu is looking for. once those are met then the car goes into closed loop. which means the car then starts talking to the o2 sensor to see what kind of adjustments need to be made to optomize your afr and engines performance.

thats why all vehicles idle higher/rougher and smell like gas more when they first start. that gets exagerated when you remove the cats because any excess fuel that is left unburnt after combustion can no longer be ignited before exiting the tailpipe

no fuel smell here. the last fuel smell i had was back in 2002 with a wrx. fuel line hose clamp was loose. i suggest you take it into the dealer -or- check service manual where the hoses are and check for leaks.

Not normal at all. Hope your car doesn't catch on fire, dude.

I would say only that you maybe try to reset the ecu

From what I understand the ecu learns drvivng habit and so if your a little heavy on the foot? it will be runnig a tad richer and the opposite if your a light foot.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong?

As to the smell of gas, I would suggest you open the hood while warming to have a visual? to find out IF you have a small gas leak causing the smell.

With that at least you'll know if it either is or not leaking and figure it maybe just running rich in which the gas smell is coming from the exhaust.

If it's still under warranty by all means take it in to have it looked at for peace of mind.

the open loop system is also used to warm the cats up to proper operating temps.

thanks everyone for all the suggestions, i'm pretty sure it's as someone suggested that it is just the cats warming up as my exhaust system is stock and the gas smell comes from the exhaust only. just thought it was a little weird is all cause i hadnt heard mention of it on these boards before and my old cobalt didnt make this smell when it was warming up. i am a little heavy on the foot every now and then, but mostly i just drive to and from work about 10 miles so not much chance to get on it.