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Gasoline leak! Help!

11795 Views 35 Replies 16 Participants Last post by  DodgeCares
Came out to my 2011 Challenger SE this evening to find this...



That's all gasoline on the ground there... I've done my best to crawl under and find a specific leak, but I could not. But the cabin is nauseating with the strong smell of gas.

I filled it up this morning, but there was nothing unusual about the process...

Anyone else have a fuel leak? Where specifically are the tanks located? Anything I can do?

This sucks. Had to be on a Friday afternoon... I could get it to the dealer, but they won't even bother looking at it until Monday morning.
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The tank(s) are located under the back seat I believe. My guess is you have a seal or o-ring leaking and it's now showing since you filled it up.
It appears to be leaking from the right/passenger side. Have an appointment in the morning with the nearest stealership. Hate taking it to the dealer.

Is the fuel tank part of the power train?
Don't know but I doubt it. I think there's a pump that pumps gas from the drivers side over to the passenger side, not sure if it's all inside the tank or runs across the top and has external fittings.
Just looked at the service manual, the pump and regulator go into the top of both sides along with hoses connecting them. You've got a seal or hose leaking. Unfortunately some of that stuff is by component and can't be changed individually I think.
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Challenger was towed, but what a mess getting that arranged. Called Chrysler Roadside Assistance at 7:12PM, and spoke with Daniel. He informed me we'd have to call 911 to clear the scene. He asked if I wanted to call 911, or if he should... Of course I wanted him to do it; I wasn't about to be hit with a fraudulent 911 call charge.

So he dialed 911 with me on the line and the dispatcher was quite confused, but she eventually agreed to send the local fire dep't out to the site. Fire truck arrived about 15 minutes later, and the fire fighters had never had to so anything like this, and one of the gentleman involved was clearly not a rookie. They look at where it had been leaking, and then said, "not much we can do here" and left.

Then I could finally arrange a tow truck through Chrysler Roadside Assistance. The text me at 7:35AM that Relief Net Road Service is to arrive at 8:35PM. At 8:02PM, I get another text saying now Pro Tow Towing will arrive at 9:31PM.

At 9:45PM, Pro Tow had still not arrived, so I called Roadside Assistance again, and didn't get the name of this representative, but he placed me on hold for approx. 15 minutes only to come back and let me know that Pro Tow had never agreed to the contract, so they weren't coming. He arranged a new towing contract. And again, Relief Net Road Service's info is texted to me only to again change a few minutes later to Pro Tow (again)...

Not wanting to play that game, I called up Roadside assistance and this time spoke to Amy, who supposedly canceled the Pro Tow and set me up with TW Towing... This time, however, I never get a confirmation text about TW Towing, and at 11:21PM, Pro Tow shows up.

So it took over four hours, four calls to Chrysler Roadside Assistance, and a call to 911 to get my car towed five miles from my house.

Yesterday morning, I was informed the passenger side fuel pump is cracked, and the part will be in Monday. Fingers crossed that fixes the problem. With as much fuel as leaked out onto everything, I hope they can eliminate the fuel smell. Very strong through the cabin.
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Leaking gas and involving a tow truck is a mess due to a possible fire hazzard. At least you know what the problem is, probably take a little while for the gas smell inside to dissipate.
Matt, so sorry for all your problems, especially with those tow trucks. That should be an eye opener for the rest of us. Good luck, maybe some other members can chime in about how to get the odor out of your car. Not sure what I would do.
That really really sucks. Good luck on the gas smell, I have no idea how to get rid of it other than let it dissipate.
It will be tricky eliminating that gasoline odor from the cabin. Ask your dealership service manager to replace the cabin filters. But I doubt if that alone will get rid of a heavy fuel odor. You may also want to consider either buying or renting an ozone machine, a device that generates ozone and is very effective at completely destroying odors. Ozone machines are used by many detailers to eliminate various strong odors from car interiors. Or you could hire a detailer who employs an ozone machine to do the job for you.
UUGGHH!!! What a mess.....so sorry you have to deal with this. Bad enough you have a mysterious gas leak, but the cabin smell and the trip to the dealership would have me in fits. Keep us posted!!!
Glad you got it isolated. First I've heard of your issue come up. Don't worry about the smell, it will go away once it evaporates.
I have had baby puke smell in my car, and I pretty much covered the floors in baking soda, and that got rid of the smell. Then I just vacuumed it up.
i agree with the baking soda, gas smell will evaporate ! in time, I have the same car !! it could be any one of us !! Sorry ! If this happens to me I wont tell the tow co. about the fuel
Got the Challenger back today. There is not a way to describe the smell without seeming hyperbolic. It's as if you're smelling the nozzle of the gas pump. I barely could drive it home, and I'm still dealing with the nausea more than four hours later from the fumes.

I've removed the floor mats, the cargo mat in the back, the rear seat bottom, and the plastic cap/cover for the fuel pumps that are under the seat, as well as the cabin filter; they are all sitting in my garage now. All soft surfaces except the headliner are coated with baking soda.

I'll try to let it just air out (both doors and trunk open) tomorrow, vacuum all he baking soda and wipe down every area I can reach with a mild dilution of Adam's All Purpose Cleaner. When finished, a new layer of baking soda will go everywhere. Hopefully I can keep the door open for a good few hours tomorrow.

I don't want to rush to judgment, but I cannot imagine this smell dissipating...

I feel I need to give the car a week to air out, but if it's still wretchedly stinky next Monday, I'll have to contact Chrysler and see what (if anything) they can do.
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Couldn't wait a week. Chrysler was contacted today and the vehicle is back a the dealer. They are leaving it open (door and trunk) overnight, and they've blown out the inside and underside of the vehicle with compressed air. They'll shampoo and seat and carpets tomorrow and we'll see how it's doing after 24+ hours of airing out and a cleaning.
Couldn't wait a week. Chrysler was contacted today and the vehicle is back a the dealer. They are leaving it open (door and trunk) overnight, and they've blown out the inside and underside of the vehicle with compressed air. They'll shampoo and seat and carpets tomorrow and we'll see how it's doing after 24+ hours of airing out and a cleaning.
I wouldn't be able to take it either........would have done the same thing!
Let us know how it turns out.
If the smell is still strong after you get I back try a rental store for an ozonator machine that pulls odors out of things.
Update:

The dealer brought in an ozone generator and let it run overnight, and it lessened the smell, but by no means removed it.

They then did a deep hot water cleaning/extraction on the carpets and seats (which now look amazingly new again), and it lessened the smell, but by no means removed it.

Next, they're bringing in a company called EnviroSweep (specializing in Hazmat cleanups) to determine the best next course of action (as it still smells too strongly to drive)...

I'm now at least in a loaner car (Chrysler 200 with the Pentastar 3.6L), so at least I can get around while they continue working on this.
Was the under carriage and tank all scrubbed down.
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