i smell like fuel after driving

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diesel dawn - 27 Jun 2007 21:58 GMT

I just bought a pre-owned '06 VW Jetta TDI, 20,000miles on it. Took
it in for scheduled service and next day drove it for about an hour,
city driving, with windows rolled up, A/C on. Didn't notice any
unusual smell. But when I got home I could smell fuel on my clothes
and in my hair. I'm not crazy, other people smell it on me too. It
is faint, but evident. Took it back in to dealer next day...all they
said was that when they opened hood they smelled fuel, so possibly
when the filter was changed there was a spill that wasn't cleaned up.
So they cleaned it up, and conveniently added some air freshener to
the vents or somewhere so then all I could smell was vanilla.
Lovely. I bitched about that. That smell went away after two days,
and now I am back to having the lovely smell of fuel in my big head of
hair and in my clothes. I had asked at the dealer if there was some
sort of instrument to detect an exhaust or fuel leak within the car
compartment and manager said no. That seems odd, how does one find a
leak? Point is, I cannot smell fuel or anything while I am driving,
but I smell it on me afterwards. Also, my eyes burn a bit after
driving. Anyone have any ideas that I can take to the dealer to get
this fixed once and for all? I love the car, but if being toxic is
normal for it, it will be up for sale...

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samstone@aol.com - 27 Jun 2007 23:30 GMT

>I just bought a pre-owned '06 VW Jetta TDI, 20,000miles on it. Took
>it in for scheduled service and next day drove it for about an hour,
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>this fixed once and for all? I love the car, but if being toxic is
>normal for it, it will be up for sale...

If it didn't make you smell of fuel before they did a filter change.
Well ,, Take it back to them again.

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Matt B. - 28 Jun 2007 02:52 GMT

>That seems odd, how does one find a leak? Point is, I cannot smell fuel or
>anything while I am driving, but I smell it on me afterwards. Also, my
>eyes burn a bit after driving. Anyone have any ideas that I can take to
>the dealer to get this fixed once and for all? I love the car, but if
>being toxic is normal for it, it will be up for sale...

No offense meant but do you REALLY think this is normal? c'mon!

It is not normal for a vehicle to suck in fuel into the cabin air intake and
for it to be atomized upon its occupants. Take it back and demand they fix
it. If it didn't do it before and it does it now, they obviously didn't
tighten something and/or knocked something loose. It is possible that your
cabin air filter also is soaked in fuel now - insist they remove it and
replace it. If it is soaked in fuel or smells like fuel, this is proof that
something is wrong. Not only is this unpleasant but it's directly unsafe as
well. A fuel leak can also be the source of a fire and you do not want
that. Fortunately diesel is a bit less volatile than gasoline but it still
is not something that should be left leaking.

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dave AKA vwdoc1 - 28 Jun 2007 03:29 GMT

I vote a bad seal on the fuel filter or the clamping force needs to be
greater.
I had that problem on an 1989? Jetta diesel with the fuel seeping out of the
filter.
I had to get creative to stop the leak.

Did you look to see if some fuel was leaking?

Signature

later,
dave
(One out of many daves)

>>That seems odd, how does one find a leak? Point is, I cannot smell fuel
>>or anything while I am driving, but I smell it on me afterwards. Also, my
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> you do not want that. Fortunately diesel is a bit less volatile than
> gasoline but it still is not something that should be left leaking.

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Madesio - 28 Jun 2007 03:25 GMT

Hopefully the technician(s) cleaned up under the hood well enough that
if something is indeed leaking, it could be easily pinpointed now. Can
you see anything out of the ordinary if you peer under the hood? Keep
in mind that the fuel lines run on the passenger side of the engine
compartment close to where, yes, you guessed it, the fresh air intake
duct for your climate system is. Take it back to the dealership you
purchased from and tell them your situation as soon as possible.

On another train of thought, the in-tank fuel transfer unit can be
accessed by removing the bottom rear seat cover. It's possible someone
was working back there and left a little fuel mess, or the seal is
damaged?

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Brian Running - 28 Jun 2007 19:00 GMT

> Point is, I cannot smell fuel or anything while I am driving,
> but I smell it on me afterwards. Also, my eyes burn a bit after
> driving. Anyone have any ideas that I can take to the dealer to get
> this fixed once and for all? I love the car, but if being toxic is
> normal for it, it will be up for sale...

When you first open the car in the morning to drive for the first time
that day, do you smell fuel? To get enough fuel on your clothes to be
able to smell it, from the air in the cabin and not from direct contact
with liquid fuel, it would have to be pretty thick in the cabin air, I'd
think. On the other hand, it doesn't take very much of the liquid fuel
on you or your clothes to be able to smell it -- say, after re-fueling
and dripping a little on your shoe or whatever. Also, if a mechanic had
fuel on his clothes and then sat in the driver's seat, it's possible
he'd get enough on the seat to make your clothes smell like it after
also sitting in the seat. For it to come in through the ventilation
system, though, I'd think the odor would be strong in the air as soon as
you opened the door.

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dave AKA vwdoc1 - 29 Jun 2007 05:20 GMT

triple check your exhaust
Maybe it develops a leak when the engine is under a load.

>> Point is, I cannot smell fuel or anything while I am driving,
>> but I smell it on me afterwards. Also, my eyes burn a bit after
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> I'd think the odor would be strong in the air as soon as you opened the
> door.

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Dave - 29 Jun 2007 06:03 GMT

>I just bought a pre-owned '06 VW Jetta TDI, 20,000miles on it. Took
> it in for scheduled service and next day drove it for about an hour,
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> this fixed once and for all? I love the car, but if being toxic is
> normal for it, it will be up for sale...

Just don't take up smoking or provide rides for those that do. Could be a
wake-up you're not ready for.

There's no throughput routing of fuel through the passenger compartment.
Fresh air intake throught the cowl is probably the culprit, but not the
source. Which is forward of that on the car, but aft of the front bumper.
Narrow it down enough?
Dave

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