Other Fuel System Tank Assembly problems of the 2003 Mercedes Benz E55

While the vehicle was on the highway on a long road trip, there was an increasingly large rattle when the vehicle was under load. Eventually the rattle stopped. Then when I tried to fill up the car with gas, it leaked everywhere causing a massive fire hazard. While this was put under extended warranty for 15 years by Mercedes Benz, a 2003 model is out of warranty by 3 years. This is completely unacceptable as it left me stranded in rural montana on a road trip (I'm from wa) and posed a massive fire hazard in the blazing heat of summer. I had to tow it back on a uhaul to prevent further damage to the car or a potential fire. Even the mechanics at a near-ish (200 miles away from the montana highway I broke down on) were hesitant to even move the car due to fire hazard. This issue should have been recalled for safety reasons or been given a much longer extended warranty. In addition to the shake, now the brakes will not let go when I try put the car in neutral. This would normally be a separate issue, but if it creates a spark next to the fuel issue, it could mean that the car is quite literally a bomb if driven. The whole interior smells like fuel as well. Mercedes seems to admit there is a problem by complying with a class action lawsuit against the fuel tank and adding the warranty but refuses to do a recall or longer extended warranty due to greed. This can cause dangerous situations like my own and even worse ones where the fuel may ignite in the future.

Fuel tank assembly recall.

Strong fuel smell after fill up. Fuel leaking on to top of tank and vapors entering cabin.

Fuel appears to be leaking under seat from gas tank strong smell of gasoline in garage, very concerned about explosion due to fumes.

Filled my just purchased 2003 E55 amg with gasoline on 10/30/14 and drove straight home. After a few minutes my brother told me the garage had a strong gasoline smell. Drove to work the next morning and noticed the smell was extremely strong in the car and left windows down to ventilate. Drove home with windows down and still noticed smell that seemed to be coming from back seat of car. Entered car and "gasoline smell" into internet search to find there is a large scale issue, investigation, and lawsuit. When picking the car up from dealer I noticed the entire rear seat bottom was not attached. Thought it may have been due to an inspection. However, it turns out that the access panel for the fuel sending unit is directly under the seat. After learning this I removed the rear seat to find gasoline on the access panel. Removed the panel to find a puddle of gasoline on top of the tank around the sending unit. Immediately called the dealer and they said to park the car and a tow truck would deliver it to them. Then the dealer called and provided a number for me to call Mercedes Benz USA to arrange a tow truck. Mercedes arranged the tow truck and hauled the just purchased car back to dealer. Dealer is supposed to be checking it on Monday 11/3/14 to let me know the status.

Leaking fuel in car around neck of fuel tank /sending unit.

I have owned the vehicle for over a year now, and ever since the first time I filled up my fuel tank, I noticed a strong fuel smell in the vehicle. So much that I could not be in the car and would have to drive with windows open and sunroof opened so the smell can go away. I took the car to mercedes-benz of wichita, KS and explained my issue and they simply said that the fuel sending unit might be releasing vapor into the cabin and that it would need to be replaced. I asked if it was a recall item and covered by them, they told me no and that it would be an out of pocket expense at over 1000$. I was not able to afford the repairs at the time so I simply did not fill the fuel tank to the top from that point on. On October of 2013 though, I park at a laundry mat facility and go inside. After a couple minutes an employee comes in asking who is the owner of a silver mercedes (my car) stating that it is leaking fuel. I run outside and notice a huge puddle under my rear left side of the car with a steady stream of fuel coming down. I became alarmed and began to find where the leak was coming from. I ended up removing the back lower seat and gained access to the fuel sending unit under the seat and noticed there was fuel everywhere and leaking from the top of the sending unit. I took pics and a video so I can show the dealer the next day. When I showed the service manager the pictures and video, they said "wow, that's bad. Looks like you 're going to need to replace it" once again I asked if that qualified to be replaced at no cost by the dealer since it is a manufacturer flaw and a serious safety concern with possible fire or explosion waiting to occur and they simply said no and would not try to help me with the issue. I have searched this issue on the internet to find numerous other drivers with same issue and the dealer would not help them as well. Something needs to be done.

The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes Benz E55 amg. The contact stated that after refueling, gasoline would leak from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was advised to the contact that the fuel tank was defective. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

Strong fuel smell from the driver's rear side of the car, trunk and inside the car. My wife filled the car with close to full tank due to recent CA gas prices jumping 50c in one week. I have tried to ventilate the vehicle and park outside, but the smell is still very strong. There needs to be recall for the failing tank or sender unit.

In hot weather or when I put more than half tank of gas in my car, I have very strong fuel smell outside the car and fuel drops under the car and smell inside. I've checked with the dealer, they've said that recall on my car was fixed by the previous owner and that's the end of it. But I don't feel safe driving it, since it happen first time, my kids and my wife are nor allowed to drive with me. I only use it myself to go to work and back.

Began noting a strong gas smell inside my vehicle after refueling. On investigation the back seat foam was completely saturated from a leak at the seal on the top of the gas tank under the seat. Resulted in a costly repair bill. At the time I read online of many, many similar situations experienced by other mb amg E55 owners, as well as their frustration that mb was not taking any responsibility for this. Thus, I was forced to pay for the repairs myself. No problem since, although I am hesitant to fill the tank completely as many report a reoccurrence a couple years after their initial repair. Please advise if mb recognizes this apparent defect and issues a recall. Thank you.

Each time I fill the vehicle with gasoline, especially until the tank is full, I have a very strong fuel smell inside the vehicle. This always happens on a full tank, and the less fuel I have the problem seems to go away. Most likely a leak of fuel into the interior of the vehicle. Ref: NHTSA action# pe12001.

Fuel tank and pump assembly required replacement due to massive fuel leak.