General Petrol smell

[Beampanda 2]

Hello. Having just bought last week a Panda Dynamic mk2 2011 1242cc with 42k on the clock I went to the petrol station to fill up for the 130 mile return trip. I filled up then tried to fill to the lip so I could get an accurate mpg when I noticed a pool of fuel spreading underneath. Obv I stopped filling and assumed the petrol smell was for that reason. I did not overfill the tank. Now a week later and 250 miles later the slight petrol smell is still there in the rear of the car. Is it likely the hose from tank to filler nozzle has split or is there anything else there like a breather pipe to vent the tank ?
Thanks in anticipation
Michael

 

[varesecrazy]

Filler tube quite likely..

 

[jrkitching]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I filled up then tried to fill to the lip so I could get an accurate mpg

This is something which you absolutely must not do; the handbook has a clear and specific warning against it.

The fuel system needs an airspace of 5-7 litres to work correctly; without this, you risk causing permanent damage to the evaporation control components.

Never fill beyond the second shutoff click of an automatic fuel dispensing pump, and never attempt to dribble fuel in once the shutoff has occurred.

If you are lucky, you will have gotten away with it; just don't do it again. There have been posts in the past where the cost of rectifying the damage has been considerable, perhaps more than the value of a 2011 Panda.

Personally I think Fiat should have repeated the warning with a label inside the filler area.

 

[koalar]

There's a few possibilities

Evap canister is quite likely

The connectors at the bottom are known to fail occasionally

More concerning is it not I good idea to brim fill these cars, liquid in the evap canister causes the carbon beads to break down, they then get washed out and get stuck in the solenoid under the air filter


Smell in the rear, I take it's under the rear seats


Someone did manage to rub a hole through the breather tube by fitting the wrong tyres


Might have to take the rear wheel lining out and resort to a visual inspection first

 

[varesecrazy]

Rodents chewing the pipes isn't unheard of..

 

[Beampanda 2]

Thank you for these replies folks I shall not fill to the lip again, but now will have a look at the pipework. Thank you