Petrol smell through vents when stationary

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S3Si

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Think this is a bit of an odd one but here goes.

When the car is stationary or moving at very low speed I get what I can only describe as petrol fumes through the air vents (with aircon on or off). Has anyone else had this / know what might be the cause? I haven't keeled over yet but its a bit worrying!
 
Hi, I had a similar problem with a fuel smell on my A4. In my case I couldn't isolate where the smell was coming form, just that it was present when the car was stationary, not there once I got moving. Turned out to be a tiny crack in the fuel filter, which in the A4 is located on the underside below the driver's side rear passenger door. Called Audi Assist and it was a 20 minute job for them to replace it. Not sure where the fuel filter is located on the S3 but it might be a contender for your prob.
 
Thanks Cadders, its due a trip to the garage soon so will get them to check out the fuel filter. Glad someone else has had a similar issue. Cheers
 
Hey there, sorry to bring up an old post, but it's relevant... :)

I've got the same problem where I have an unburnt fuel smell coming in through the dashboard vents when stationary or moving at slow speeds. Do you think a leak from the fuel filter (near the rear of the car) can get the smell up round to the front of the car?

Is there anywhere in the engine bay which is prone to leaking which could seem like an option? Injectors, regulator, fuel rail, return? I'll replace the fuel filter anyway as its a cheap component and easy to do, but I thought I'd get some opinions out there

Cheers for reading! :)

Alex
 
I have had this, was told its to do with one of the small hoses that connects to/by the left hand side of the inlet manifold, think it might be the u shaped one
 
I got the same thing, havent done anything about it but probably will next time i take it in the garage!
 
Hi I am completely new to forum posting.

Sorry to hijack this old thread but was wondering if anyone found a conclusive solution to the problem which sounds the same as mine?

I bought my first MK1 S3 a few weeks ago, 2001 Grey 210 AMK with 128,000m on the clock. First thing I did was get it to JabbaSport to fit a new thermostat as the car was running cold and fit a new breather pipe as it was split. I asked them to have a good check over the engine so I hope they have replaced all that needs replacing.

I did think the new breather pipe would solve the fuel smell problem but it doesn't appear to have done. Like some of the other posts I get a fuel smell come through the vents when I come to a stand still, but not when the car is moving. This seems to be a common thread when I search google but there seems to be few resolved answers out there.

If I lift the bonnet and have a sniff around there is a fairly strong smell of fuel coming from behind the engine just to the right of the turbo.

Has anyone found any solutions or can share their experiences with this problem?

:s3addict:
 
On my 1.8T AGU there is a box at the back of the left side of the engine bay, looking from the front of the car. There are 3 pipes that go into it which are fuel pipes, make sure that they are pushed in properly as mine cut out once and it was one of these pipes that had come off. I'd say that the S3 has this in the same place, also check the pipes themselves for cracks and also check the injector seals as well. If the outside of the injectors are wet then it will be the seals.
 
had this on my s3, it was one of the plastic pipes running to the carbon canister i beleive that was makind the smell, replaced it with silicone tubing and now its fine :)
 
Hi, any conclusion to this problem.

I've had this problem since i've had the car, but it has'nt bothered me until i see this thread.

I've only got that unburnt fuel smell coming in through the dashboard vents when stationary.

Has anyone else experienced this problem, and managed to resolve it?

Going to try all the other options at the weekend.
 
I had this problem too on my old 2000 model S3. Audi traced it to a faulty breather pipe/hose (£8.16) cost. It was replaced and never had any issues again. I have since sold that particular S3 so i can't look up the part number I'm afraid :-(
 
IOM-S3 said:
had this on my s3, it was one of the plastic pipes running to the carbon canister i beleive that was makind the smell, replaced it with silicone tubing and now its fine :)
Click to expand...

^^^^^
 
IOM-S3 said:
had this on my s3, it was one of the plastic pipes running to the carbon canister i beleive that was makind the smell, replaced it with silicone tubing and now its fine :)
Click to expand...

same issue, fixed with like for like replacement from Audi as I read silicone & petrol are not good
 
thanks for the responses and suggestions guys, will have to have a poke around the engine bay to see if I can see what might be causing it. Will post the solution as soon as I resolve it. Cheers
 
have a look at number 6
2vum3xx.jpg
 
I seemed to have noticed this recently as well, I have changed my fuel regulator pipe with a silicon one as it had snapped off, do you think this could be the issue, all other pipes seem to be ok.
 
Well I think I've found my issue, have found a big old hole in the induction pipe about half way down where another pipe joins into it. I'm guessing that when I come to a standstill the pipe isn't sucking so much so gas escapes from the pipe and makes its way into the vents. Just need to get a new pipe now and see if it solves my issues. Question is now should I get an OEM induction hose or a Forge silicone hose? Does anyone have any experience?

I've attached a link to the images of my faulty pipe for those interested.

Audi S3 pictures by ajbarbour - Photobucket
 
Thanks S3dave. I've just found a second hand oem induction pipe with the full set of associated pipework for £39 delivered on ebay, so this is going to be my cheapest option for now. Will have to look into silicone upgrades in the future. Going a bit off thread now but still connected if anyone else is suffering from bad condensation on the oil cap it maybe linked to the same broken pipe I have just found on my S3. the pipe that is broken on mine is the pipe that creates a vacuum to suck the gases out of the top of the engine and water vapour along with it, there is a plastic valve thing also attached to this pipe and mine was full of gunk presumably because I have no vacuum so it's built up. I'm sure someone on here may give a more accurate technical description of this and how it works.

Tonight has been a good night looks like I may have solved my smelly vents and my problem with excess condensation in the engine in one hit. Hopefully this will also solve my lack of power as I think I'm lacking boost higher up the rev range, who knows maybe 3 birds with 1 stone tonight...fingers crossed.

Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

Thanks for everyones help and suggestions.
 
audi upgrades
I think I've inadvertantly broken my earlier link to the pictures of my faulty pipe so here's the pictures again:

IMG_0403.jpg


IMG_0405.jpg
 
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