Thought you guys might want to see this.

(The following information first appeared in the November 2004 TechTIPS Newsletter, page 2.)

With the winter season approaching, we want to remind you of the information contained in Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 09-36-03 dated 4/1/03. This TSB deals with a fuel smell that may occur in very cold weather on 2002 Model Year WRX models. A typical customer complaint is a slight fuel odor that can be noticed on very cold mornings at start up. The odor dissipates as the engine warms up and is gone after a short period of time.

Rarely can this be duplicated at the dealer without leaving the car overnight in similar weather conditions. Even if you have inspected the system and cannot find any issue that would cause a fuel smell, follow the Service Bulletin instructions based only on a customer complaint fitting this description.

 

So, if you smell fuel like this, what should you do? Is it a problem?

 

From what it sounds like it's not a problem it's just something that they noticed.

 

Just don't smoke in the car, right?

 

Suby flambe!

 

This is a problem well-known for a long time, big thread on NASIOC-
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131755
AFAIK Subaru's policy on the TSB repair is it will only be done free under the 3/36 warranty, if you are past that you will be charged for the work. It is rather labor-intensive since the intake manifold has to be removed to get to the lines that need to be replaced.
Every year about this time, when it starts getting cold, the posts begin appearing from people experiencing this problem. The reports have diminished somewhat since many of the cars with the leak have been fixed either under the TSB or independently by their owners.
Typically the leak only occurs at very low temperatures, in the teens or below. The smell may be very strong and in some cases a small puddle of fuel will be visible on the engine block on the passenger side, toward the rear of the engine under the inlet hose.

 

I have had this happen to my car. I was at Sugarbowl a couple of years ago and the car had sat in an icy wind all day. I started the car to warm it up while we were packing at the end of the day and the smell of gasoline filled the car. It was coming from the passenger side fuel rail.

I took it to the dealer and they claimed that there was no such TSB and that the fuel tank was probably at fault - despite where I could smell the fuel. Anyway, they tightened everything from the gas tank to the injectors and I haven't had the problem since. It cost me $80 though 'cos they couldn't reproduce the problem.

 

FWIW, my fuel smell happened as warm as 25ish Farenheit. I was initially refused warranty service because I was outside of the 3/36. They finally did a "good faith" warranty repair after I threatened to sue SOA for not honoring the 4/50 emissions warranty required in California. I'm pretty sure a fuel leak is not allowed under CA smog laws. SOA's handling of this problem has really made me think long and hard about buying another Subaru. Hopefully when it comes time to replace my WRX, there will be more awd cars on the market.

 

You may be SOL with SOA. The smog warranty covers components that impact smog regs. on you car for 50k miles (I think the info is in the warranty/service book that accompanies the owner's manual). With 74k miles, you will probably have a hard time getting this done on a warranty. No harm trying though - good luck.

 

weird, i just noticed my car doing it too. i have a friend with a 02 WRX also, and he was complaining about it. we are both over 55k, the dealer wouldn't even talk to me about the clutch judder problem, i know we are SOL on this one too.

 

I brought my car in last year for this problem and they supposedly performed the TSB. Well on a frigid day this year (the only one that was cold enough) I smelled the fuel again. So I'll be bringing mine back. Hopefully they will do it again for me.

 

Yep - CA smog warranty is for 4 years/50K, iirc. And SOA said they were doing it as a good faith gesture, being careful not to admit fault or explicitly say it was covered under any type of warranty.

 

5 degrees here in NJ this morning, and only about 20 for the high. I got in, started the car and smelled it. Got better as I drove (warmed up). So...is this something people can live with (no damage to car, etc.), since it only happens on rare occasions? Why does it go away...metal expands, etc. as engine warmes & 'seals' itself? I'd like to avoid going to the dealer if it's only going to happen a few times a year. I guess I'll have to see what happens over the next few days. It's supposed to get back to the 50's towards the end of the week.
Thank you everyone!