Hey all,

So I had the gf start the outie but not turn the engine over - someone said that should start the fuel pump? I didn't smell anything under the hood when that happened. She then turned it on (cranked it), and I got a very faint smell this time under the hood, but the tailpipe really had a strong smell of gas. It was -3 today, so is that just a case of it being a rich mixture on startup? Should that go away when the weather heats up (i.e. summer )?

thanks

 

Hey all,

Just want to make sure that this isn't normal before I take the outlander in. It isn't an easy process since the dealership is and hour away and this problem only seems to happen after the car has been off for a very long time (overnight or about 6 hours).

I turn the outie on in the morning and the smell of fuel is strong coming from the tailpipe. This has happened when it was cold out (winter) and it also happens when it is 16 degrees celcius out in the mornings (~62 degrees F)....It only lasts briefly and then is gone.

I have never noticed this before. We had a P0300 code (random misfire) once out of the blue. All they did was reset the code and reset the transmission memory.

Can anyone else confirm a pretty strong smell of fuel out the tailpipe in the mornings. Any chance it is related to the p0300 code??

Thanks for the input.

 

I also have a similar problem with my 2009 Outlander. I always smell something like gas or exhaust fumes when I start my truck, and while idling. It goes away after I start driving. I took it once to a dealership, but they couldn't find any leak in my exhaust system. I'm little sceptical that they probably didn't do a thorough job with the diagnostic.
My fuel mileage has been brutal for the past few months. I'm really stumped at this point.
Thinking of taking it back to the dealership, and get the service manager check it himself rather than some newbie.
Will keep you updated.

 

This is probably due to the fact tha Mitsubishi chose to go over rich on cold start to hasten the lightup of the 3 cat converters.

Have a look at your fuel consumption as soon as you start driving.

it's scarry to see 60l/100km or more. It will rapidely come down to more realistic numbers.
You can check by reseting the numer after a mile or so by doing a long press on the info button (2 second)

 

I'm not very good with automotive technology, let's just say I'm a newbie in this regard.
Yes, I noticed the scary fuel consumption number soon after I start the truck.
However I usually keep track of my fuel mileage by looking at the kms driven after a full tank. I used to get about 400 kms in average before I get the refuel sign on the dashboard. However it has gone considerably down lately to about 320 kms only.
The smell is really strong in the morning if I start my truck after a cold night.