1999 Miata - Gasoline odor inside the car

For the "gas" smell in the car, check the gasket on the top of the tank. My '91 went thru that and that is what cured it. I know you don't have a spare tire in the trunk, but that is the most likely smell that people get when the car has sat for a time. The air in the tire comes out over time and it smell a lot like gasoline inside the car.

Bruce Bing '03 LS

I get an occasional gas smell in my '96. Doesn't seem to be correlated to gas fills.

miker

Check the rubber hose behind the aluminium pannel in the trunk (left side of the car). A rubber hose connects the fill cap with the fueltank and is hold in place with two metal clamps. In my MX-5 one of these had to be tightened to fix this problem.

Werner B.

fueltank

Hey Werner - since, according to my newsreader, you're posting from APRIL 2007, can you give me the winning lottery numbers for the next couple of months? My Miata needs some new shoes before she goes playing at Pocono this year.

Iva & Belle.) '90B Classic Red.) #3 winkin' Miata

Thank you, There is very small amount of gas where the rubber hose connect with the fuel tank. The metal clamp was tight, but I tighten it a bit more. Hard to believe this leaked.

A previous post mentioned a gasket at the top of the tank. Is there one in the 99 models I need to be concerned with? Should the rubber hose be replaced? Should the clamps be replaced?

Thanks,

- Pat

source is not in the engine compartment. > My next assumption was a small leak in the gasoline supply hose. If there > was leak I believe the check engine light would be on, but it isn't. But > wait; what if the gas cap pressure sensor was broken? In an attempt to test > this, I tool the gas cap completely off and drove for about 10 miles. The > check engine light did not turn on. >

i have a 2000 miata, that I bought last year. It has been getting more smelly in the trunk. It smells of gas, but I a) tightened the clamps on the hose to the gas tank. b) inspected for leaks and could not find any. c) looked around but cannot see anything d) smell goes down when i leave the trunk open

any way to suggest what else i can try?

The usual cause is overfilling the tank. Don't fill past the pump's first automatic cutoff.

source is not in the engine compartment. > My next assumption was a small leak in the gasoline supply hose. If there > was leak I believe the check engine light would be on, but it isn't. But > wait; what if the gas cap pressure sensor was broken? In an attempt to test > this, I tool the gas cap completely off and drove for about 10 miles. The > check engine light did not turn on. >

Our 99 also smells like gas. Behind the metal cover on the left side in the trunk below the gas cap, found the filler hose leaking. Tightened the hose clamps but still smelling like gas especialy after a fill up and now have a check engine light coming on indicating that the system is not pressurizing. Still tracing the problem and am considering replacing the hosing next.

My '99 does that, too! I believe it's that big rubber filler tube. I can see a trace of fuel under there when I fill up, and I assume making right turns with anything over a half tank would also cause a small amount to leak out. It only take a tiny amount of gas to make fairly significant fumes, but for me it's kind of like leaky roof syndrome - something I just keep putting off, even though I know those fumes are not particularly healthy to breathe.

Geary

Not to mention highly flammable. Don't fool around with gas leaks!

Get it fixed.