Other Fuel System Tank Assembly Problems of Mercedes Benz E55 - part 1

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.

See all problems of the 2003 Mercedes Benz E55 🔎.

Very strong fuel odor when half tank or more of gas. Cannot park in garage or will smell entire garage with fuel odor. Also had this problem with my previous car which was a 2004 mercedes e500.

See all problems of the 2004 Mercedes Benz E55 🔎.

Fuel tank assembly recall.

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

Gasoline smell interior of the car. Gets worse with full gas tank. We have had it in the mercedes dealer 3 times for the problem and it is not fixed.

See all problems of the 2005 Mercedes Benz E55 🔎.

Every time I fill the gas tank. It starts smelling like gas inside the vehicle specially in the rear. And even when you approach the car from behind you can smell the gas odor. If I can be helped here with this situation. I don't feel safe driving my car with a full tank.

Smells of fuel both inside and outside of the car when the car is 3/4 or full tank. . (fuel tank sending unit).

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

I bought this car from pure motors in sacramento CA. With a empty fuel tank. I took to a gas station less than a quarter mile from the dealer. I filled it up and my wife drove it home about 15 miles away from the dealership. She pulled up in the driveway and told me how bad the gas oder was and that she had to put the window down to keep from passing out. I immediately called Mercedes Benz roadside assistance. They sent a tow truck out and took it to the Mercedes Benz dealership in rocklin. Ca. After the dealer look at the car they told me I needed a new gas tank. They said it was on back order and would take a week to get one. That was 02/25/2015, it's now 05/06/2015. No word from mercedes as to when they will get it. I received a email letter from an attorney that Mercedes Benz USA llc would cover the issue but all I get from them are wasted words, the run around. The letter from mb USA llc was signed by ralph s. Fisher the general manager of the customer assistance center.

There is as strong smell of gasoline that permeates throughout the car and trunk. The gas tank was just replaced 4 weeks ago and the smell has not decreased at all. That cost was in excess of $1,800.

See all problems of the 2006 Mercedes Benz E55 🔎.

I have a 2004 Mercedes Benz E55 amg ,im the second orner of the car bought it on December 2012 with with ododmeter reading 118,000 during that time. I hardly used this vehicle because I have couple of daily driver car. Couple of month ago I smells a strong gas smell inside the car and engine check was on. Iwent ot my mechanic to check it and he cannot find where si it coming from. So I took home my car and didnt drive it for awhile. I only use it occasionally and until the smells is no longer coming. Yesterday , November 22,2014 , iused the car for work and everything seems normal. On my way home I went to fill up the gas full tank ,when I look at thwe other side of my car ,from driver side rear passenger area ,I saw a pool of gas coming form that area underneath the passenger rear seat area but coming from the metal lid of the car. Its kind of strong and the gasoline guy need to apply some chemicals on the surface of the tank where park my car during fill ups. Its kind of strong dripped and I decided to tow it to my mechanic on midnight. I do not want to drive it home because it might catch fire because its near the exhaust under the passenger rear seat. I went online while waiting for the towing truck and realized that there is a similar cases like this on this model,there is a recall for this car and im not sure if the original owner experience this before. What kind of assistance I can get from your agency to make sure this issue is taking care of. Its not very safe for me to use this car with this conditions and im sure Mercedes Benz will do charge arm and legs for this faulty design for this model year. Please let me know how to handle this problem and how can I get this fix through recall issues that NHTSA has issued for this model. Looking forward to hear from your agency . Thank you.

A strong smell of gas was in the car. Took to dealer and they had to replace tanks and emitters. Gas had gotten in the seats as well and they had to be replaced. The smell was so strong that it made me and wife sick.

Topped the gas tank with gasoline on 11/02/14, only to find the smell of gasoline inside the vehicle. Later that same day my wife and kid noticed the smell as well and that made it a concern for me to find the problem. After a sniff test, I located a strong gasoline smell emitting from under the rear driver side seat. I detached the rear seat cushion and the cover plate that conceals the fuel sender unit. When I removed the cover plate, gasoline was sitting atop of the fuel sender unit and around the gas tank- fuel sender connection area. At this time the smell of gasoline was very strong and with the electrical wires that feed power to the fuel pressure sensor which sits atop/connected to the fuel sender unit makes for a very explosive situation. After drying the gasoline, I noticed a large number of small hair line cracks all around the top of the fuel sender unit. In the process of pricing fuel sender unit for replacement.

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.

Tl-the contact owns a 2006 Mercedes Benz e 55. The contact stated that fuel fumes emitted in an around the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician diagnosed that the fuel tank needed to be replaced. The vehicle has been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000. Pam.

Filled up gas tank, when I pulled it into the garage I had a very strong gas smell coming from the drivers rear side wheel well. Car was brought in today, I was told that I have a leaking fuel sending unit on the passengers side and it need to be replaced. Cost is $1050 includes labor and parts.

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

A few weeks after purchasing a 2004 Mercedes Benz E55 I noticed an occasional fuel smell from outside the vehicle while parked in the garage. Over the past year it has progressively gotten worse, fuel appears to be pooling on top of the fuel tank directly under the drivers side rear seat where there is an access panel. I have removed the panel and noticed the fuel on top of the tank. Looking under the vehicle I can see where fuel has been running off the bottom of the tank onto the ground right next to the exhaust system. This is a major safety concern of mine and I am afraid to drive the vehicle. Mercedes wants thousands of dollars to replace the fuel tank and this is unacceptable to me. This is a very dangerous situation as well as nauseating to drive the car.

I filled the car with fuel and drove it home and parked it in the garage. The next morning when I went into the garage there was a very strong odor of gasoline fumes. The fumes were not in the passenger compartment, but rather, outside the car. After driving the car for a while and using about 1/8th tank of gasoline, the odor was no longer present. The repair shop has determine that the fuel sending unit must be replaced. I think mercedes did a recall for this problem earlier.

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.

Filled up my gas tank yesterday. Since then I have been smelling very very strong odors of fuel inside and outside the car. . I believe my issue is related to NHTSA investigation : pe12001.

Started smelling fuel had 1/2 tank and thought something was wrong so I stopped to fill tank. Smell was so strong after tank was full I couldnt breathe and didnt leave station for over an hour. I thought car might explode. I finally found issue cause on a forum bad fuel senders. I cant believe mercedes told me its not covered under emission warranty. Im thinking of suing them because I know that the emissions warranty is not expired.

Leaking fuel from top of drivers side tank. Flow of fuel allows it to come in contact with hot exhaust system. Fire risk very possible.

Started to smell gas fumes in the garage after driving. Condition worsened quickly within weeks and filled my garage with fumes where my home water heater is placed. Did research saw there was a recall for the fuel sending unit fuel leaks out of the sending unit and complaints that mb replaced the unit with the same faulty unit so the condition will reappear. . . . Very dangerous. This causes fault codes, the engine does not get gasoline and sputters and cuts out. I had to move the car outside because of the fire/explosion potential. Took car to dealership, they advised the recall had been performed once already and would look at the car. Dealer sent this email qoute unqoute: "both sender units for the fuel system are both leaking from where it exits the tank. They require replacing this is very dangerous if neglected. Parts and labor is $1946. 08 parts are special order and I can have the vehicle done Wednesday. Please email me back so we can get the car back to you as soon as possible. " obviously, no mention of recall or the ability to work with me. Here is my response: mb recall campaign #2008-020001 from 2008.

Ref: NHTSA action# pe12001 started to smell gas inside car while driving. Wasn't sure where it was coming from. Also noticed strong smell from outside the car. Next morning drove the car again but smell only came back after driving for short period. I also started to see a pattern on hot days, not sure if related but was thinking it was only on hot day and when tank is full. At this point I'm unsure as I know get the gas smell randomly even when gas tank is not full and non warm days. Car is becoming a worry to drive and will nor put any of my family in it. Smell is obnoxiously strong at time on inside of car.

Filled gas tank late in the evening, and returned home. Car sat overnight and had strong smell of gasoline in morning. Opened all doors, looked underneath car and found no fuel leak. Aired the car for several minutes and then drove to work. During the one hour drive, the smell began to get worse. I opened windows partially, but could not open wide due to rain. I developed a headache before arrival. Left car parked at work all day in underground garage. The odor was again strong in the evening. I aired the interior as much as possible before driving home. Again, after nearly one hour, I developed a headache and felt squeamish inside the car. I was able to stop and get out of the vehicle for about 15 minutes to regain all senses so that I could safely drive home. The car now sits in my garage with the back seat removed trying to get the smell of gas out of the vehicle. I have now read many other similar complaints from others with same model vehicle. I realize there are not tens of thousands of these vehicles on the road; I am sure that if there were more vehicles with this problem there would be several severe accidents. I try to take good care of my vehicles and this problem appears to be the fault of the manufacturer or parts supplier. This problem should not happen and it is dangerous.

About two weeks ago there was a faint smell of gasoline inside the car then early last week on a short trip <2miles the smell of fuel became so strong that is was overwhelming and nauseating and I had to return home. After some internet research I pulled the back seat and covers and both fuel units on top of the tank had large puddles of gasoline on top of them. Please help get this safety issue fixed.

Im writing in reference to the NHTSA action # pe12001. I bought my vehicle on the 23 of December 2012. I can honestly say I fell in love with this car. With that being said I have never filled the fuel tank of this car until 6-9-2013. The reason being I have a 1998 Ford f150 that I drive as well. I mostly drive the E55 on weekends but its in and around my neighborhood. My father jus came back from the philippines a couple days ago so he needs my truck to get around while he's visiting. So yesterday I found I needed to drive the E55 daily while my father's in town so I filled up the tank to the car. I put in shell 91 and waited for the pump to stop. Once stopped I removed fueler and inserted into its holster. Note I did not top off for I never felt the need to in any car I have driven. I proceeded straight home and parked car in my garage, closed the garage door and went in the house. The E55 was in there for the rest of the day and night. And then this morning as I went into garage to go to work I was jus taken back by the fuel smell in the entire garage. So I opened the garage to air out and checked under the car for a puddle of fuel but found nothing. The smell is much stronger near the rear of the car. I drove off even with the windows down to jus rid the smell as it entered the cabin as I stepped in the car too. No problems driving to work but as I parked in reverse I can smell fuel as the wind kicked it towards my window. I parked and got out and smelled around the back and still smelled fuel. So as im worried throughout the day at work I went into my benzworld forum and found alot of the same complaints as me especially on the w211's. So as I read on the more worried I got because my kids ride in this car and I dont want them around it anymore especially with this problem goin on. Please help us with this problem.

Over the past couple of days I have experienced a continued overwhelming fuel odor coming from both the interior and exterior of the car. Upon further inspection, fuel is pooling on top of the driver's side fuel tank/ sending unit, leaking into the interior (enough to soak the carpet)!.

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.

Gas smell in car so went to shop for inspection. Found gas tank would not hold vacuum and that it was leaking with gas pooling around tank below rear seat. I understand there may be a class action suit regarding this issue and would like to find out how to recover the over $4000 in expenses to repair my gas tank. A gas tank should not leak and need replacing.

The contact owns a 2005 Mercedes Benz E55. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph, a strong of odor fuel emitted inside of the vehicle. Additionally, fuel leaked onto the ground continuously. The failure occurred after refueling. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The technician informed the contact that the fuel tank would need to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

Vehicle exhibits strong gas smell outside rear right side and now most recently under the hood,,, fuel sending units under the rear seat are dry w/ no visible fuel or pooling of fuel,,, problem is very prevalent after fill up,,, in fact I typically don't top off the tank b/c of this issue,,, vehicle did have warranty work for defective gas tank issues at approx 30,000, I did not notice the problem then but there was a trouble light on the dash and the dealer said the problem was fuel related,,,.

Tl-the contact owns a 2005 Mercedes Benz E55. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being inspected, it was noticed that there was an internal fuel leak and also fuel was visible on the ground. The fuel odor emitted inside and outside of the vehicle. The technician stated both fuel tank sender units would need to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000. Mah.

I have a very strong fuel smell when I fill my gas tank past 1/2 a tank. I also notice when I visit the gas station and add fuel I will sometimes get a stumble and loss of power, almost like the engine wants to shut off. It is very concerning to me as I feel the fuel smell can be dangerous and possibly catch fire. I also think that there might be a related concern of once in awhile the car will not start, like if it is out of gas.