11 Subaru Impreza - Hard start / Fuel smell

[saberz]

Good morning all,


I've noticed on our 2011 Subaru Impreza that for the past month there has been a rather strong smell of fuel when starting the car(cold weather) and it intrudes into the cabin, goes away after car is warmed up but I haven't experienced this since the 90's. None of my other rides have ever given off such a big amount of fuel smell. Just wondering what other Subbie owners have experienced, car is going into the dealer next week since we need a loaner for the wife(she drives it).

I also noticed last night when trying to move the car and get it warmed up for my wife that it failed to start 4 times! Would crank it and it kept trying to turn over to no avail. When I did get it started it was bucking/feeling like it wanted to stall out. Tried to rev it slightly and it was bucking even more, letting off the accelerator made it almost stall out again.

After letting it run for about 10 minutes it smoothed out and didn't exhibit that behavior. Wife said she also didn't have a problem later that night starting and driving it home. So that only happened once.

Like I said, I do have it going to the dealer but wanted to know before hand what your thoughts are on what it could potentially be, if you have experienced something similar etc.

Car is a 2011 Subaru Impreza 2.5i with only 4,200 miles. It was at the dealer 3 months ago for its 3k oil change which they used CAM2, and corrected the pressure in one of the tires. Not many miles on the car and it only sits on the weekend due to her only using the car for school during the week.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

That doesnt sound good. Leaky Injector rail or fuel feed? Screwed up vapour recovery. Rodent can chew these things up - many cars here had rodent nests in them. Subaru boxer engines make a nice rodent condo

Also Maybe Oil filter is leaking on the exhaust and causing a burning smell. These engines use a version of VTEC where one valve is idled at low load/ low rpm then the other valve comes into play at highload high rpm (>4K). Hope that didnt get stuck.

 

[PZR2874]

It could be the evap system.

Did they put air pumps (EGR) in the newer Subies for warmup assistance?

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: PZR2874
It could be the evap system.

Did they put air pumps (EGR) in the newer Subies for warmup assistance?


Ive seen EGR setups. how does that work? (Hot exhaust gas gets into combustion to warm it up?) When does is STOP? Might as well make it a turbo if you got EGR.

 

[PZR2874]

If yours is anything like the 06-07's it forces the gasses back in like you had said and the TGV's open up and then close when it's at an acceptable temp.

I didn't realize it was NA, but either way. Couldn't find any info on google that would say it does or doesn't have it but it's on the driver's side of the engine bay and looks like a little turbo (sorta).

 

[saberz]

It is really weird, I did read on a subbie forum for earlier gen subbies (200-2005?) that the charcoal canister/vapor canister in the tank could be over saturated hence not filtering fumes ect.

It's pretty bad, I need to warm up the car fully before doing anything. And I really don't want to expose our 6month old to the fumes either. I took the car to work today to see if it does it again but hasn't really(except the smell).

 

[eljefino]

It could be many things: leaky injector, bad pressure regulator, coolant temp sensor. You "should" have a clear flood mode where if you hold the gas pedal to the floor it will inject less gas; try this if it doesn't start.

If it was flooded and you get it started, 10-20 seconds of running and revving should clear it all out. Hopefully the dealer notices this too and doesn't blow you off. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Rand]

I smell a rich fuel smell from the exhaust on cold startup.
Its slightly stronger than other car's I've had in the past.

Do you smell it after starting or when you are getting into the car?(before starting)

From rereading your post.. I'm guessing you have to crank it for several seconds which is where the fuel smell is coming from.

they need to find the cause of the hard starting.. which will fix the fuel smell most likely

 

[Vikas]

Wow! It is a brand new car. Dealer better bent backward for you to find and fix this problem.

 

[MrCritical]

Are you using Top Tier fuels?

 

[91344George]

Definitely sounds like raw fuel or exhaust gases from the EGR or evaporation system...

Firstly do you top up the gas often after the pump shuts off? If you keep filling the gas tank after the nozzle clicks off you may have damaged the charcoal canister.

Does the fuel smell seem to be "raw" fuel smell or more like a combination of mixed gases and fuel.

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: MrCritical
Are you using Top Tier fuels?


I dont think they are as significant as hyped. Yeah sure maybe they are "cleaner".. but Joe's Fuel Stop meets minimum cleanliness levels so

I dont get it.

 

[91344George]

Originally Posted By: 45ACP
Originally Posted By: MrCritical
Are you using Top Tier fuels?


I dont think they are as significant as hyped. Yeah sure maybe they are "cleaner".. but Joe's Fuel Stop meets minimum cleanliness levels so

I dont get it.



The fact is that the Top Tier brands have been tested by major auto makers to make sure that the gas and detergent are sufficient to prevent carbon desposits and related build up.

many gasolines only have just enough detergents added to PASS EPA requirements ....which unlike top tier does not guarantee to prevent them.

 

[Norm Olt]

Why not just wait until it catches on fire...

 

[MrCritical]

Originally Posted By: Norm Olt
Why not just wait until it catches on fire...


Unless the fire is found to be a result of inferior fuels....

 

[saberz]

Not all the time, but like I had said all my previous cars never exhibited this behavior from all the stations I've filled at. My wife fills up at the same places I do since she travels in the same direction.

Either:
Mobil
7-11/Shell
Valero

Gonna drop it off this Thursday, came across another little hiccup on Sunday. If its cold/overnight I start it up till the windows are de-iced, goto reverse out, takes 3-5 seconds for drive to engage when I put the shifter into Drive. Never did that before either :|

And I can confirm it does it as it did it this morning to(musical cars).

 

[PZR2874]

They had a TSB years ago on the old WRX's because of the evap system you are speaking of, I wouldn't put it past them to have an issue again.

That's what warranties are for. Might just be a defective part.

Subies aren't the cleanest emissions vehicles by any means.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: PZR2874


Subies aren't the cleanest emissions vehicles by any means.


Hey now, my 2012 Legacy is spec'd as a "partial zero emissions vehicle".

The coolest thing with the PZEV rating is there is a TON of components covered by warranty for 15yrs/150Kmi, no matter how many owners the vehicle has had.

Joel

 

[rjundi]

Deja vu back to 2001/2002. Back then the rubber lines were slightly too short and this dreadful smell came into the cabin.

Subaru was a stubborn company refusing to pay for it like all their other muck ups along the way. I think they caved somewhat on the WRX but the Legacy/Forester had this "feature".

 

[saberz]

Well an update, if you can call it that.

Called dealer today to make sure they had a loaner available, they stated they don't have one reserved under my name when I did so late last week(set appointment and asked for a loaner). The took my number and said they would call me back.

15 minutes later the Service manager calls and asks me questions about the previous call(last week for the appointment) and about the issues. Asked me for the guys name i spoke to last week, I didnt know and told him the truth).

He says bring it down, they will make sure I get a loaner. They pulled a 2012 fully loaded Outback from the sales lot as my loaner car(brand new).

Car is mint, this is what I originally wanted before the Bu, but finances wouldn't allow it. It is really nice, drives great. Didn't pop the hood or anything but it feels like it has the 3.6L with CVT.

Later today I get a call back stating they can't replicate anything. So I advised them to keep the car overnight and to start it in the morning and to sit in the cabin.

So
-Hard/Start/Stall couldn't replicate so they can't test it.
-Fuel Smell, they pressure tested and it held pressure for 5 minutes so no leak.

Asked em about the EVAP/Canister thing I didn't get a response really.

Trans delay shifting when cold is "normal" as they stated.