Bocatrip

My 01 LS430 with 125,000 miles is serviced regularly.. I own it for 6 years. I have recently noticed that after re parking my car inside my garage after a very short drive and coming out to leave a few hours later, there is a smell of gas in the closed garage. I don't and haven't noticed this smell when the car is parked outside. I will try to investigate further before leaving the garage the next time by lifting the hood and sniffing around to see what side or area the smell is coming from There is nothing on the floor and as mentioned before, no smell while driving or when the car is parked outside. Any ideas????

Bocatrip

Today after parking my car in the garage for a few hours after driving, I noticed the gas smell coming from what I think is the passenger side rear engine area. From a number of posts I've read on this forum, gas leaks can come from the 0 rings on the injectors, the furel pressure regulator ( I believe there are 2) or the canister which I believe is part of the emission system. One habit I have since 6 years of ownership is pumping in gas way past the first click when filling up. I wonder if this is getting gas back into the canister? Does anyone know where this canister is located? That was one theory for an owner as well as a leaking fuel pressure regulator of another. I really don't want to go to Lexus and get raped so I guess I must begin by no longer topping up my gas and stopping at the first click. After that, I'm not sure what my next step will be.

Tom57

Driven LS since 1995. I typically top off after the first click, sometimes all the way up the gas tank filler neck. Never had any such problem. Just my experience.

Bocatrip

Most likely topping up is not my problem. Besides, the canister should be at the rear of the car and the smell comes from the front. One last idea will be to park the car in the garage over night. I'll remove the engine cover and when starting will looking at every injector as well as the fuel pressure dampers at the rear. When cold, leaks can be seen for easily as the heat doesn't get a chance to evaporate the fuel. I need to do everything possible to stay away from the dealership.

LS430FL

Boca, I've taken mine when I had a 430 to Delray Toyota was half the price of JM. My 460 is certified so that's why I go to JM now but if you don't figure it out soon I would get it checked. A possible gas leak is something you don't want to mess around with. Can be very dangerous.

hyperopt

Guys, don't top off your gas tank. It's bad for the evap system. Car designers put in fail-safe system in the evap system for those who foolishly top their tanks but those fail-safe system can only handle so much.

BradTank

+1

As soon as your pump clicks off, stop filling and put away the handle.

I just went through this where my Father in Law was on a road trip and wanted to fill up our car and he does the thing where he keeps going and going with the gas pump. My garage reeked of gasoline for days. And he wanted to argue that it wasn't what he did, it was something wrong with the car.

jjskywlker

Also replace your gas cap. $20 on Amazon for oem.

Bocatrip

After some further investigation for my phantom gas smell, I'm hoping I might be making some progress. I am fairly confident the smell is coming from the engine compartment on the driver's side. I parked my car overnight and noticed no smell upon entering in the morning. I started the car and examined every injector , the fuel pressure dampers, and any fuel line visible in the engine bay. All looked dry. After a short drive, I parked the car back in the garage with door closed and 30 minutes later I noticed the gas smell. I decided to try the sniff test and noticed it more pronounced on the drivers side engine compartment. Nothing at the rear or at gas cap. Then I used 2 wide taped together drinking straws to sniff each injector and any fuel related part I could see. Voila! I noticed at the end of the subassembly where the fuel feeds into the fuel pressure damper, one location on the end of the fuel line that had a distinct fuel smell. I went there again later in the day outside of the garage and with my straws smelled it again. Although I don't see any wet raw fuel, the smell is at the end of this fuel line which is insulated with a double rubber enclosure. I priced the part from Lexus at $101 and plan on replacing all the O rings after removing and reinstalling the fuel pressure dampers. Although I may be wrong, at least I spent a fair amount of time narrowing it down to one specific location rather than leaving it to the Stealership to tell me everything is fine and/or they replaced something it didn't need. To be continued. I'll post any progress I make. A fuel leak is equivalent to an electrical gremlin....can be very hard to diagnose. I hope I'm on the right track.

911LE

Are you talking about the rubber fuel line that connects the lines on the fender to the fuel rail? If that's what you need to replace make sure you use the correct size tubing wrench as the fittings are very tight and easy to strip if you use a normal open ended wrench. The o-rings for the pulsation dampers and fuel rails are actually crush washers made of copper or soft aluminum. Also be aware that the 2 washers on the top and bottom of the fuel rail banjo fitting are different sizes.

Another thing to check for the fuel smell are the fuel vapor hoses on the drivers side of the engine. They are the small rubber lines that attach the hard lines from the charcoal canister to the evap valve and then to the throttle body. Mine were hard, brittle, and cracked at 112k miles. I replaced all of those lines with new bulk "fuel vapor hose" from the parts store for about $4. Don't use regular vacuum hose to replace these.

squeekyM

I had a similar issue with my 02 LS430. The issued turned out to be a faulty fuel pressure pulsation damper; I replaced both along with the necessary gaskets. Here is a related thread started by another member: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-03-ls430.html

Bocatrip

Thanks SqueekyM for your imput. I had checked the dampers numerous times both when the car was warm and cold and there was no evidence of either leaking fuel or any gas smell coming from either one. Only the end of the rear fuel pipe assembly smelled from gas fumes where the rubber connector hooked in the main steel fuel line. You can see the rear fuel assembly in your above link. Considering the replacement of the rear fuel pipe assembly involves a fair amount of labor due to it's hard to reach location, I have decided to replace both dampers with OEM Lexus parts as long as I already have everything apart. I may have to take off the intake manifold to remove the rear fuel pipe assembly as well. The dampers have be known to fail so It's probably a good idea. I hope after all my efforts and expenditure, I have found the source of my gas smell. I am using an independent shop (whose owner I know well and trust). Lexus would charge me major dollars as this can turn into a 3-4 hour job. I'm crossing my fingers. To be continued....

Bocatrip

I have recently picked up a number of parts for what I have been leaning towards as the source of my gas smell. However, I cannot say with total confidence I have absolutely found it. I took my car to a new (to me) Independent shop that has been recommended very highly. It's a mom and pop shop for many years. I told him my entire story and which hose I had purchased to be replaced with miscellaneous parts I bought as well. He came out to look at the area of my concern and told me directly.......the hose in question is absolutely NOT THE SOURCE of the gas smell. He emphasized that the rubber hose attached to the steel gas line is a high pressure hose and if there was even the tinniest leak I would see wet fuel coming out. I have never seen any wet fuel anywhere with engine cold or warm.. He even bent and twisted this hose to show me there couldn't be any leaks. He suggested I go to Lexus and have them do a smoke test to my emissions system which recirculates the vapors from the gas tank, and charcoal filter to numerous vent lines at the front of the engine going back into the intake. . Once I find it (hopefully) I can then return to him or any independent shop to replace any leaking lines, etc. Yes, these vapor lines are all hardened and cracking in different places and should be replaced anyway. I've also noticed the last day or so after not filling the car all the way up with gas, the smell is not there or I haven't noticed it. I plan on doing the diagnostic test at Lexus with the smoke machine and hope they find the leak. Now, if I can fix the culprit, my next mission is to replace close to $300 worth of parts I did not need. Once again... to be continued. PS.....I was also told that these kind of fumes are not combustable as raw fuel leaking. That was somewhat reassuring, but I am still addressing it asap.

Bocatrip

My car now has 130,000+ miles and the fuel smell continues. Nothing wet and no smell after starting for 5 to 10 minutes. Everything appears to be dry, all injectors, dampers, and lines. Yet after driving for 20 minutes or so and parking the car I can smell the fumes. Outside and certainly inside my garage after a day of driving. As this thread mentions, I was told over and over if it is leaking (no matter how small) from a high pressure line.....I would see it!!! High pressure lines just don't smell, they show sign of wetness or shinny or clean spots where they were leaking. I've given up because the cost to spend for even an independent shop to track this down is prohibitive. I love and still want to keep my car, but I don't like the idea of gas smell regardless of it being fumes or raw gas. I've thought of selling but wish I could find a fix...... Very frustrated but know even if I sell, my next car if an LS430 or something else will have it's issues.

jayclapp

After putting up with this problem for nearly a year, maybe now is the time to get an analysis from a Lexus dealer.