BAD smell of petrol

[mainy]

I've got a SERIOUS smell of petrol coming from my car

I first noticed it last night after refuelling when I parked it up for the night in the garage but I thought that as I had just been to the petrol station I had driven over some spilt fuel

Anyway I went into the garage this morning and there was no smell so didnt think any more about it until I went out on a site visit from work this PM. I was stopped at a set of lights and could really smell petrol badly

I stopped at my destination and checked the car over for any obvious signs but nothing and then headed back to the office with the car still smelling of petrol.

It was very dark when I left so I couldn't see any obvious signs of fuel leaks so got in and drove the 2 miles home (still with a smell of petrol)

I parked it up in the garage and the smell was still there, I went into the house and you could still smell the fuel when sitting in the kitchen which has a utility room and 2 doors between itself and the garage.

Anyway at this point I took fright and decided to move the car onto the drive outside incase the car went up. Believe me I even had second thoughts about using the garage door opener incase of a spark

I've checked the car over and can find no obvious signs of petrol leaking anywhere but the smell is REALLY bad. I've managed to trace the strongest smell to the LHS of the engine block under the bonnet but thats as much as I have discovered.

Has anyone any thoughts or experienced this before ? Its a complete PITA as I've a lot on this week and weekend but at them moment I dont feel too confident about starting the car up or driving it incase it goes up

What would everyone do ? VW assistance in the morning or drive it to the dealer first thing ?

TIA

Mainy

[UBM]

If it is that bad you did the right thing moving it into the open where there is ventilation.

I would not p155 about and call VW assist to come and have a look - thats what you pay premium price for a car for!

[PabloPablo]

If it's that bad, I'd phone the dealer and ask them to look at it right away. They should be able to find it quickly, although fixing it might need a bit of work. I think the fuel pipes come up on the LHS of the engine bay, so it could be a leaky fuel filter.

I've got the same problem at the moment - the smell is coming from the LHS of the engine bay. It's not as strong as yours, but noticeable in the car and when I get out.

Can't see any obvious signs to indicate where it's coming from, but then it's been too dark to look properly - a poke about under the lid at the weekend with a lighted match (or maybe a torch would be better) should be revealing. I'll post back here if I find the cause.

[mainy]

Update

Not good news, the car is still at the dealers. They will be stripping down the engine tomorrow to find the exact fault with the car. They seem to think that there's a problem with the injectors

Anyway they say its unlikely I'll get my car back before Friday which is not ideal as I'm on holiday this week and was planning on giving it a bit of TLC in the waxing department

[mainy]

Oh I forgot to add that they said that it was safe to drive even with the smell of petrol If I wanted to use it this week - yeah right

[PabloPablo]

Are you in Scotland, Mainy? I'm in Glasgow and need to book a first service. The nearest stealer is Verve in Rutherglen - any experience of them or anyone else?

[mainy]

Sorry Pablo I'm up in the NE so I've no experience of their service department.

I tried to buy a car off them earlier this year but thats a different story

[mainy]

Well thats now a week VW have had my car

Called into the dealers for an update to be told that they have diagnosed faulty injector seals and that they have ordered the parts which would be here today.

Fingers crossed I'll get the car back before tomorrow night