Mitch51

My Lexus LS430, 2001, 150,000 miles, is only getting 18-19 miles per gallon. Had another one just like it and it got 20-22 mpg. Car runs fine, no accidents; however 4-5 minutes after parking the car in my garage the gasoline odor is very evident. No stains or puddles on the floor. My shop has recorded code "PO440" numerous times. They did discover a broken injector and replaced that and all the 'O' rings. It was okay for a few days but the same problem is back. They have replaced the vacuum valve, Purge the valve / solenoid, Charcoal Canister Assembly has been replaced, Fuel vent valve replaced, Fuel cap replaced. Same code appears. Now get this; yesterday the the warning light went off but the smell is still there. Does any one have any ideas.

Bocatrip

. I too have had a gas smell after shutting off car for years. Had the vacuum lines gone through the smoke test and all injectors and lines examined closely. No codes come up and unable to find any leak. 2001 with 128000 miles. No puddles or stains. I've been told if it were a high pressure leak it would be evident. I've given up and have learned to live with it.

semar

I had this problem on my old bimmer. Turned out the fuel line had a hairline crack. Location engine rom

Mitch51

The gas tank has been smoked twice, no issue.

911LE

My engine light came on today with 6 stored codes starting with P0440. Turned out the last original vapor line on my engine came off. It was brittle like hard plastic. The lines that cause these codes start from the metal lines on the inside of the drivers side fender and continue to the engine. Pull your engine cover and inspect all of those hoses. One of the lines you are looking for has a green screw cap spliced inline. Replace all of the lines on the engine that size with bulk hose from an auto parts store for about $6.

Bocatrip

. Changed every vapor line with OEM hoses ($35) for neatness. All were hard as rocks. Smell still there.

ls3some

Hello I too had the gasoline smell but only during cold start for a few minutes each morning . Worse if I had front window open. I didn't have exhaust leaks (new y pipe installed previously) and no obvious vacuum leak. Ended up replacing the fuel pressure pulsation damper and the smell is gone. See attached. I used rockauto aftermarket part

Bocatrip

Mine are original with no signs of leaking. Usually when gas leaks from the dampers or injectors, if not visible, a clean or shinny spot will locate seepage. I wasn't going to replace parts unless I actually was able to see any of these signs. You were lucky to locate the leak. The dampers are quite common to leak, but they usually pour out.

Mitch51

Thanks for the update.

Johnhav430

I have tracked fuel economy like a hawk since I was 16, picked it up from my dad. I have learned from experience that the pump does not lie. With my BMW, the fuel economy is exact--it does not show gals consumed, but if one were to divide miles traveled by the mpg reading to get the gallons consumed, it matches the pump, every time.

The Lexus is off where the mpgs are optimistic, by some small amount....maybe the pump says I used .3 gal more and my fill up were 18 gal. < 2% off.

My wife's car made by GM is bad, really bad, it has a gallons consumed, it also has mpgs. Of course these are in sync with the distance traveled. However, it may say 16 gal consumed, and the pump will stop at 13.8. This used to annoy the living **** out of me, so one day I said I'm gonna pump up to gal consumed, and you guessed it, spilled over the side at least .5 gal shy of what it read. My buddy swears his Lincoln is the same. Maybe it's an American car thing (means of extrapolating must be different, as they don't actually meter the fuel flow), like the way they never have a fuel door lock, even on a 100k Caddy. I've heard them say nobody can siphon gas anymore based on the path the fuel takes. Sure, that's fine, but what about someone pouring water in your tank? I noticed the 2017 Pathfinder does not have a lock either, maybe Japanese are finding new ways to cost cut.

Anyhow, from all my travels, when you want to compare mpgs, I find a useful tidbit is avg mph. This is almost like A1C with blood sugar, a way to further check a result. The lower the avg mph, the lower the fuel economy, as it's implied that there is stop and go involved. I rarely can have an avg mph higher than 25. So at this number, my LS430 does 19.x, but I think there's nothing wrong.....only highway it has done nearly 28....so I don't think 18-19 is in itself a problem, unless you're doing all highway...hope you get it sorted out!

Bocatrip

Only? I only calculate MPG with my phone calculator with distance traveled divided by gallons purchased. I have never used any of my cars systems as being even close to accurate. I get with all city driving 13-15 mpg and I'm fine with it. It's a luxury barge and worth the poor mileage by compensating with a great, quiet, comfortable ride.

Tom57

Depends on how you are calculating gallons used for the distance traveled ... Gas pumps set on auto-fill shut off at different points, and shut-off varies depending on which auto volume setting you have the pump handle set at (high, medium or low). Are you topping off (which is not recommended as it may cause charcoal canister and evap emissions problems)?

The mileage remaining and MPG calculator on the LS have been pretty accurate in my '01 and '06's.

Johnhav430

We used to solely buy gas in NJ which is full service. So no top off, they don't do that. When I topped off, it was in PA. BMW 100% accurate. Lexus accurate to 2%, but always optimistic. Wife's car, really off.

I did see a bureau of weights and measure story where stations scam, but I'm talking about 6 yrs on my wifes, 10 yrs on my BMW, so one or two scammers isn't going to do much in the big picture. LS430 since Oct.

Once NJ raised the tax 23 cents, it's no longer cheaper except for premium. So my wife does it herself, sometimes in DE which is cheaper than NJ. I dunno why NJ people put up with what they do. They went from 2nd cheapest in the nation to 7th most expensive.

Pathfinder was off but you know the scam, people rent cars, and fill it up 40 or 50 miles prior to returning, and the only verification is a visual of the gauge. Often a tank can be down 2 gal and the needle still points to F. Human nature I guess.

One time I was that guy with a BMW loaner because they were so rude. I decided I'm not putting any gas at all in the car, let's see if they try to charge me. They didn't, they're too lazy. Last 428i they gave me, the RF had 54 psi in the tire, talk about blowing out....another time I got a brand new X3 with 400 miles, the rear wiper was broken off and in the rear seat, and in the hatch were those prison jeans that hang low and size 12 Converse All Stars...nuts.

kimsey

OP, are you smelling the gas from inside or from outside. I notice my gas smell from inside mostly. I did change the VCV and noticed a slight improvement. I try to inspect the engine while running for a while and can never smell any fumes from the engine.

Does an old charcoal canister cause raw fumes inside the cabin. I should probably replace the two original fuel dampers

05ls430518

iTrader: (1)

about the injectors they could be cracked, or the o ring could be partially gone and cause the fuel smell. I had this happen on another car of mine and there was no cel or anything indicative that it was leaking except the gas smell which could be smelled inside or out of the cabin.