Fuel Hoses Lines/piping And Fittings Problems of Subaru Forester - part 2

During a very cold day I felt very strong gasoline smell right after start in my 2002 Subaru Forester s. I looked in the engine compartment and I saw gasoline o one of the rubber hoses connecting 2 fuel lines. The smell disappeared after the engine warmed up, but reappeared after the car stayed outside for a couple of hours. The car did the same thing a few years ago during very cold temperatures. At that time, the mechanic at the dealership tightened the clamps holding the rubber hose. Rubber hose.

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The issue is in regard to my 2001 Subaru Forester, when the weather cools off to bellow 0, a strong smell of gasoline develops inside the passenger cabin. I have small kids and aside from a possibility of and engine fire am also worried about impact of breathing the strong gasoline fumes in the cabin. From other Subaru owners feedback (see bellow from Subaru blog), this appears to be widespread on the Forester models up to 2003 and even in other Subaru models, the Subaru dealer and other mechanics have indicated the possibiliy of fuel hose shrinkage during cold weather as the cause for some fuel leaks in the engine compartment and replacement can be expensive without guaranteeing it will correct the condition. Whatever the reason may be, this is not an isolated case which I think warrants a full investigation to determine the defect and find a correction to be paid by Subaru. I count on you for some help on this. Thank you.

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Fuel line failed, leaking fuel in engine compartment.

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On Monday night, 5 Feb. 2007, when I parked my car in the garage it smelled strongly of gasoline. I checked under the hood and the odor seemed to be coming from the passenger side of the engine compartment. I did not see any gasoline leaking. The strength of the odor seems to be related to the cold weather (15-20 deg. F). That Monday was the first time that I had ever noticed the smell of gasoline emanating from the engine compartment. The odor was so intense that I decided to park the car outside as a precaution. I drove the car Tuesday morning and parked it in the garage and it smelled of gas again. As the outside temperature has increased, the intensity of the smell has decreased. During very cold weather small amounts of gasoline seemed to be leaking from one of the fuel lines or escaping from the engine. On 9 February, I brought the car to dealer (heritage Subaru, owings mills, MD) service department and asked them to investigate the cause of the gasoline smell. The dealer replaced three short rubber fuel hoses (p/n 807707130) from the engine compartment. The replaced hoses showed no sign of wear, holes, cuts, abrasions etc. , but the dealer service representative indicated that fuel had permeated the hose material allowing fumes and possibly small amounts of fuel to escape. This problem appears to be a defect in material or design since the car is only 3. 5 years old and the replaced hoses show no signs of wear (I. E. , old and new hoses appear on the outside to be identical). I have the old hoses and can provide them for inspection.

Driving 40 mph another driver pointed out problem. Pulled over & noticed smoke from under the hood. Flames started shooting out. Fire department called & put out flames. Fire chief said fire orignated from fuel lines. Flames had engulfed vehicle in minutes. Vehicle totaled.

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2000 Subaru Forester with fuel problems. Customer states that the dealer said the rust was not covered under warranty. Dealer also told him that rust is a common problem. He would like to be reimbursed and believes Subaru needs to put out a recall. The consumer stated the engine light first activated due to a vacuum/pressure problem within the fuel system. The gas cap was replaced; however the problem continued. A further inspection revealed that the gas filler pipe had completely rusted through. In addition, the fuel lines had also been subjected to severe corrosion causing the rubber tubing to pull away from the gas filler pipe. It was discovered that the upper portion of the pipe assembly had a large deposit of sand and salt covering the rust. The area was covered by a plastic shroud. The consumer believed a more corrosion resistant material should have been used, possibly made of stainless steel.

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