So since getting my Maxima i could smell petrol when im driving with the windows or sunroof open. Its not exhaust fumes but the pure smell like the smell of a petrol station.

Anyway i wasnt sure where it was coming from. The smell doesnt come through the vents.

I was putting petrol in today and noticed a small hole below the fuel cap in the metal. It is a few millimeters wide.

Could this be the cause? The car smells of petrol even when its parked and it doesnt matter how fast i go with the windows open, i can still smell fuel.




I dont have a picture so here is a 10 second sketch

 

thats the vent hole - its not your problem. You may have a fuel hose leak in the engine compartment. Start the car , open the hood. Take a flashlight and look under at the fuel rails and the hoses connected to them.

 

are there any puddles under the front and rear of the car. check your fuel lines under the car and under the hood.Check to see if theres any moisture around your injecters and check the filler neck.Does smell gas when the car is full,empty, half tank, what.

 

There are no puddles under the car. And fuel economy is normal. I cant see anything dripping from the car either.

The smell is there no matter how full the tank is.

 

wasn't the dreaded rust recall related to a fuel smell in the cabin?

i would also check under the rear seat where the fuel pump access plate is located to make sure it's all good and tight, and you could also probably sniff around there to see if it's coming in there.

to checking engine compartment fuel lines AND the fuel lines running the length of the car underneath.

 

Check also the fuel filler pipe mets the tank. That was where my fuel smell was coming from.

 

also look at the rubber vent hose that goes into the filler neck inside the neck, not that little tiny one you drew. My rubber hose had a slash in it, so i had to replace it. Sadly i couldn't get any hos the right size, so i had to use a smaller size with two straight fittings to connect to two lengths of the larger OE hose. Now it's airtight and blows out a ton of vapor when i open the cap to fill up. Which leads me to think my charcoal canister isn't disposing of the fumes well enough but that's not as big of a concern for me.

 

Lastly, take out the back seat and take out the fuel pump to check the gasket. I bought a Maxima with the same problem you described and unlike another 3rd gen with bad hose/filler neck problem I've owned, the gasket around the fuel pump was bowed in and allowed vapors to leak. Any Nissan dealership will have that gasket in stock.