In cold temperatures, there is a strong smell of gasoline in the cabin and in the engine compartment. fuel is leaking but the dealer was unable to locate it when brought in on a warmer day. fuel leaks in cold temperatures is a recurrent problem with this make/model/year as evidence by: similar complaints in subaru forums. similar problems in related models (subaru wrx) this is a danger to health and safety and a recall should be issued. *tr
Strong smell of gasoline upon starting the car in very cold weather. inside and outside the vehicle. only happens when it is cold outside. really gives me a headache and makes me nervous about igniting. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 subaru forester. the contact stated that he could smell gasoline inside the cabin of the vehicle when driving at various speeds. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection and was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified but provided no assistance. the failure mileage was 107,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 subaru forester. the contact stated that there was an overpowering gasoline fuel smell inside and outside of the vehicle. the odor would become stronger when the contact was operating the vehicle at various speeds. the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 116,000.
For as long as i can remember, every time the weather gets below 40 degrees or so, the interior cabin smells like raw gasoline upon starting the car and continuing through several minutes of run time. *tr
There was a very strong gasoline smell inside the car (2004 subaru forester xs) that happened in cold weather during january 2012. it happened again just recently in january 2013. it was so strong it made the driver and passenger have a headache and become nauseous. many other owners have reported the very same thing and have not been successful in getting subaru to at least investigate. subaru has issued a recall for the wrx model, but not for the forester. this is a health and safety risk that should be taken care of by subaru. *tr
Strong fuel odor inside cabin developed when operating on cold mornings; fuel odor typically went away within 15 minutes of starting the car. inspection of fuel lines, filter, etc. revealed no obvious leaks above the intake manifold. dealer quoted approximately $800 to remove intake manifold and inspect. i have had two independent shops attempt to fix this issue over the past 3 years with varying degrees of success; the most recent (2011) removed the intake manifold and replaced all rubber fuel lines under the manifold, but the problem has recurred this fall and winter and at increasingly warm temperatures. now, there is a visible and obvious leak from a fuel line just as it goes under the manifold--inaccessible without removing the manifold. clearly, the problem is with the design of the metal fuel rail to rubber line interface, since this is a common problem in forester xts across several model years. subaru of america issued a recall for this problem on the wrx, but so far has not acknowledged the problem for the forester or forester xt. this is a costly repair and a huge safety issue: the leaking fuel drips directly onto the engine cylinder heads and in some cases (on passenger-side fuel line leaks) is in close proximity to the turbocharger--representing a significant risk of engine fire. the fuel fumes in the cabin are also a health and safety risk which should be dealt with by subaru. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 subaru forester. the contact stated that when the temperature was below 30 degrees, there was a strong gasoline smell inside the vehicle. the contact had not noticed a fuel leak. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 101,000 and the current mileage was 125,000