1998 Volkswagen Polo petrol smell in car

hi lucy
is it poss you carry a spare can of petrol in the boot & it's become damaged somewhere, as this may explain petrol found under seat, bear in mind that petrol is very highly spirit based & evaporates ever so quickly.
not having much knowledge on vw's i don't know where the fuel tank & associated pipes are located. you could do a simple check yourself, by lifting seat where fuel was found & start engine to see if fuel is squirting out anywhere near, albeit a very fine spray & also at the same time see if you can look underneath car for any leaks.
finally lift bonnet & with engine running look carefully for leaks. do not put your hands in engine compartment whilst engine is running as if you don't know anything about cars you may seriously injure yourself, oh & if you've got long hair, tie it back so it doesn't get caught up when you're bending over looking.
listen love whether or not you find the leak, for your own safety you must insist the garage finds the reason for the smell as it's very dangerous to drive in this condition. as you are probably aware there is two hazards here, FIRE & INHALING FUMES. be careful love & let me know how you get on. regards dj dave.

No, I haven't had a petrol can in the car, the garage asked me that too, but I only bought the car 2 months ago, and I definitely haven't had a petrol can in there.
He asked me if I had overfilled the petrol tank. I don't think I did, but surely even if I had, it wouldn't overflow into the back of the car?!

I don't really know what to do because if they can't find a leak, they can't find a leak!

Very strange, they were pretty confident that there was no leak?

I could smell diesel in my car a while ago and couldn't work out where it had come from. Turns out it I had spilled it on my shoes whilst filling up and didn't realise, this then went into the carpets. Embarrassing but true.

The "puddle" of fuel under the back seat is a bit of a worry. If I were you I'd take it to another garage, or better still get them to come and look at it or collect it. I wouldn't drive it with fuel leaking from somewhere.


Another thought, have you noticed your fuel dropping significantly overnight? could be you've had fuel thieves stealing your petrol and making a mess of it... just a thought.


Good luck with it

hi again lucy
i agree also what cayman suggested, GO TO ANOTHER GARAGE, get that second opinion & don't give up dear, remember it could cost your life if ( god forbid ) the worst happened.
BE A LITTLE TIGER & SINK YOUR TEETH IN LOVE. don't let it ride babes. regards dj dave.

hi lucy
me again, i just need to say it's such a shame that i don't live close to you as i would come & sort it for you myself, but unfortunately i live in essex too far i'm afraid. i came out of the garage trade because i wouldn't cut corners to make jobs get done quicker & make the owners more profit. i still believe in quality over quantity any day. so as i said before dig yer heels in las & don't give up. kindest regards dj dave.

cant help you about the puddle on your back seat !!! are you sure its petrol??? but i had a smell of petrol in my car and discovered that the brather hose that goes into the air filter housing was detatched so the smell of petrol was coming in the air vents!!!! might not be the problem but you never know !!!! good luck