Fuel smell from right rear of 2004 XC90

joelq · Post by **joelq** » 03 Aug 2012, 23:02

Hi all -

Started noticing a fuel smell, and it seems to be stronger on the right rear of the car. I can only smell it outside, and not inside the cabin. I've also noticed the car takes a little longer to start these days, indicating maybe a loss of fuel pressure.

Any ideas on what to check? If it were the fuel pump, would there also be a smell inside the cabin?

Thanks!

EDIT: Smell is stronger from the right rear, and not the left rear as I originally stated. I've edited the original post to reflect this.

Post by **jimmy57** » 04 Aug 2012, 00:17

The first thing to do it to look at the fuel tank to see if you can tell if fuel is leaking down the tanks sides.
The fuel tank is directly under the back seat and is under both sides of the back seat. The fuel pump is on the RH side (passenger side) almost directly under the center of a person sitting in the right rear seat. If fuel has run down there should be a residue trail.
You would not smell it in the car. The floor is sealed well to keep the odor out.
You should call Volvo of Dallas with your 17 digit vehicle id number and have them check the recall status. There is a fuel pump recall affecting some 2003-2005 XC90's. It is a recall for vehicles sold originally in the sunbelt states and extended warranty for ones sold north of that. If you are not original owner the recall info may not have come to you yet.

joelq · Post by **joelq** » 04 Aug 2012, 07:22

Thanks, Jimmy!

I'll be calling the dealer today to check on the recall status. I remember getting a letter for the fuel pump recall years ago and I brought the car in for it, but don't really know if they replaced the pump or not.

Regarding inspecting the tank, I'm assuming this would be from underneath the car? I can put to car on ramps to get under there and check for what you described.

Thanks!

joelq · Post by **joelq** » 04 Aug 2012, 07:50

Update: Just got off the phone with the dealer and he looked up my records. He said my pump was replaced under recall in 2010. Sigh. Anyone know how much these repairs run?

Also, what other possibilities are there? Or is the fuel pump pretty much the clear culprit?

Post by **jimmy57** » 04 Aug 2012, 09:24

You can inspect for fuel drip just by laying next to the car and looking on an XC90 since it has more ground clearance.
It is possible, but unlikely, to have a fuel line leaking unless it is at a fitting.
Did the dealer say if they did the recall?
If it is an external leak related to the fuel pump on a vehicle that has a fuel pump recall I would be pushing Volvo on the repair.
If you look under there and see something that might be road debris damage then that is going to be yours to repair. If the tank has no damage then something is not right for a 2 year old recall-performed fuel pump to leak again. That is my opinion anyway.
How much slower to start and is the slow start as slow hot or cold, overnight and if you are only out of vehicle 20 minutes to grab something in the grocery store?
The pump is probably a $600 job. The rear seat comes out and access covers on both sides in floor are removed. The lines and wiring connectors are disconnected. The retainers for both the pump and the LH fuel sender are removed. The ejector pump is disconnected on left side and a string or wire is attached. The pump unit on RH sde is removed and the ejector pump is fed through to RH side and the wire/string is removed. The new ejector pump is attached to the wire/string and pulled to the LH side and the pump unit is re-installed. Then the ejector pump is reattached to sender and everything connected and put back.
I'm estimating $200 labor, $400 parts. It might be more as the pump may be more.

on edit: When I said "push" the dealer I am referring to saying things like," they had a recall on this and now 2 years later it leaks again. That would seem to me to indicate that either the part is bad or a line was not installed correctly. Wouldn't the manufacturer want to know if a recall replaced fuel pump leaked again in 2 years?" and, " I see there is an extended warranty to 150,000 miles. Will that cover it?

joelq · Post by **joelq** » 04 Aug 2012, 11:39

Thanks, again, Jimmy!

The dealer said the pump was replaced as part of the recall. As for the slow starts, normally, the engine would start immediately regardless of how long it's been sitting. But in the last week, it would take 1-2 seconds to start after the car has been sitting for 9+ hours (while parked at work, for example). It starts normally when sitting for only a few hours.

I just inspected under the car and couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary, although I have to admit not really knowing what "out of the ordinary" means.

At least I didn't see any moisture or greasy residue apart from soot or dirt, except for the below.

The smell seemed to be strongest coming from the area indicated in the arrow below. For reference, this is looking up from under the right passenger area of the car.

And when looking closer, there seems to be an area that seems to be attracting more dirt, as if it were getting moist. See area indicated by arrow below:

Is this a smoking gun? I have an appointment at the dealer first thing Monday, but I'd really prefer to take it to my independent Volvo mechanic, but of course, he can't do recall work. :-/

By the way, what is that oil filter looking thing?

.

jetskifast · Post by **jetskifast** » 04 Aug 2012, 13:00

You are looking at your fuel filter and fuel line.
Might try replacing fuel filter, might have small leak at quick disconnect on fuel filter.

joelq · Post by **joelq** » 06 Aug 2012, 16:39

Just a quick update: I took the car into the dealer this morning and they confirmed that it was the fuel pump, and that it needed to be replaced. I was so pleasantly surprised to hear though that my service rep went ahead and got approval to do the replacement under the recall, even though the pump had already been replaced in 2010 under the recall.

Their quote for parts and labor was $1100. Although I'm sure my independent guy would have charged much less, it's still nice to see Volvo step up and do the work for "free". Thanks, Volvo and Volvo of Dallas!

Post by **jimmy57** » 06 Aug 2012, 17:46

Great!

717Volvo · Post by **717Volvo** » 17 Jul 2014, 17:58

I was also pleasantly surprised to have my Volvo dealer replace the fuel pump on my 2004 XC90 at no cost and with very little hassle. Though they did continue to insist the fuel pump issue was never the subject of a "recall". Whatever, I'm just glad they stepped up and took care of the problem.