I just purchased a 2007 LS460 with 98,000 on it. During the test drive, I thought I smelled gas during the first few mins of the drive. It went away so I thought I was imagining it or it was something outside.

Fast forward to me taking delivery of the car....I went to the Lexus site to register the VIN as the new owner. What I found was the past owner complained of the same thing about 4 months ago.. The notes show that the tech could not duplicate it, but he found a lot of debris on the cabin air filter. He swapped the filter and labeled it as “could not duplicate”.

Has anyone else ever experienced this? The notes from the previously owner says the longer the car sits, the stronger the smell. Any ideas as to what this could be?

Thanks in advance.

 

Additional Info: I found out that the fuel rail recall was done on the car in 2009.

 

My recommendation would be to pop the hood and take a sniff after the car sits. The fuel lines run along the bottom of the vehicle to the fuel tank near the back. There are access panels in the back seat for the fuel tank. It doesn't sound like it's leaking much. You'll likely need to sniff around inside and outside a few different days to narrow it down. Try to locate the leak or at least narrow down the location. Then with that knowledge have a shop take a closer look. It really helps to point someone in the right direction.

 

Well if you don’t have an evap code, I’d probably rule out pin holes in the tank, filler neck and around the fuel pump. The leaves the engine bay and fuel lines. Flashlight is your friend. Check them out and look for light staining and dust collecting/sticking to one spot on the lines.