A common question for mechanics is “Why does my car smell like gas?” The answer to this question often lies in the oil. There are three basic causes of a gasoline smell coming from your engine: low-quality fuel, an exhaust leak, or dirty motor oil. All three can be dangerous and should be addressed by a mechanic as soon as possible. here we have explained each cause:
Low-quality fuel
If your car smells like gasoline, it could be because of low-quality fuel. When the gas purchased from a station is of poor quality, it tends to have more contaminants leftover in it. There are many instances where you can see this happening just by looking at your gas tank. If you notice that there is a layer of bubbles at the bottom or if the liquid looks almost like a gel, then it’s more than likely contaminated with NGLs and will smell like fuel as well.
A good way to test whether or not your gas is causing a smell inside your car is to use a diesel-powered vehicle instead. This way, if the smell disappears after switching vehicles then you know that low-quality gasoline was most likely to blame. In order to rid yourself of this problem, have your fuel filter replaced immediately by a mechanic or switch to a different gas station entirely.
Exhaust leak
Another possible cause for gasoline smelling exhaust is an exhaust leak. An exhaust leak occurs when some of the gases being burned inside your engine are escaping through any cracks in the cylinder head, manifolds, gaskets, or other components that are part of the normal path of gas flow. This usually happens because of either age on the parts or excessive amounts of heat on them due to something like improper installation. Sometimes you won’t even notice there’s an exhaust leak until it starts causing problems with your smelly car. Not only will it make it hard for you to breathe while driving around but it can also cause a massive drop in fuel economy.
In addition, an exhaust leak can damage your catalytic converter and cost you hundreds of dollars to repair down the road.
Dirty motor oil
Another possible reason why there might be gasoline fumes coming from under the hood is because of dirty motor oil. Over time, this thick liquid that’s designed to keep things lubricated inside the engine has a tendency to collect particles that shouldn’t be allowed near hot areas like your pistons and cylinders (aka combustion chambers). Oil contamination such as this usually happens when there’s a problem with the oil drain plug, fill cap gasket or filter. Even if there isn’t any damage to your car, the oil should be changed around every 3 months or 5,000 miles to avoid buildup and problems during normal use.
Usually changing your motor oil will also help eliminate gasoline smells as well because it gets rid of all those particles that shouldn’t be near your pistons and other combustion components. Unfortunately, this fix isn’t as simple as just throwing in some top-quality gas – you’ll need an oil change first before you can continue using your vehicle.