Overflowed Gas Tank While Filling Up

[jjobev]

Last Friday I filled up my 2002 yukon XL and sat in the car while it was filling up because I had my mom with me. The overflow shutoff on the gas pump didn't work and the next thing I knew I had a woman knocking on my window because gas was overflowing out of the tank. We cleaned it up and pushed the car away from the spill and it started without incident. However, I can't get rid of the smell of gas. I've driven it in rain, taken it through car wash, gone to a high powered pressure wash car wash,sprayed with febreeze and can't seem to get rid of it. I can smell gas when I approach the car and it also smells inside. I have rubber mats in the car so thought I may have gotten gas on the mats but don't smell anything there. I can't pinpoint where the smell is coming from.

I'm trying to figure out if there is a mechanical issue caused by overflowing that is leading to the smell that needs to be repaired or if it is something that I'll have to wait out and it will eventually go away? Any thoughts (aside from giving me a hard time for getting back in my car while filling up) would be appreciated.

 

[livingez_123]

it will go away with time. had it happen to mine when I filled it too full one time, had the gas small for a few days.

 

[08grey]

Citrus majic odor absorber. They have them in the car washes. Must be citrus majic brand not the knock off.

 

[jjobev]

I see online there is a citrus absorber and a citruls eliminator. Do I want the absorber?

 

[08grey]

The absorber. The citrus is kinda strong so if you don't like orange get the Clean linen

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

okay there is a sensor in the fuel pumping station that shuts it off that has notyhing to do with your car i know this becuase i used to have a 74 blazer with that larger neck back when they had leaded gas when ever i gassed at a mobile gas station and some others it would trigger that automatic shut off every two seconds i had to barely put the tip in and squeeze the trigger just a little to fill up

i do alotta side work landscaping and the mix i use for my equipment tipped over on its side and i drove around for a couple hours while i dumped half my mix (2gallons) all of the back cargo area i has to take that rubber matt out hose it and let it dry several times and then steam clean it twice with my bissel to get the smell out the smell was still there but after a couple weeks it was gone comepletely

 

[jjobev]

It has been over a week now and I've tried Febreeze and have had the citrus absorber in since Wednesday. I can't say I can tell a difference. I don't think there was any gas inside of the vehicle. I can still smell gas around the gas cap and it seems like it is fumes I'm smelling inside rather than a spill. I've tried driving with the windows down and think that actually makes it worse. The smell gets stronger then. Is there anything I could have damaged that is causing the smell to remain? Or do I just need to be patient and the smell will eventually go away?

 

[08grey]

Gas must have spilled down the filler neck and somewhere else. I can't imagine it not dried up by now. I've changed plenty a fuel pump and spilled gas all over the tank but when it would dry the smell would dissipate. The fact that it gets worse with the window open and it smells like fumes has me thinking you should start looking at mechanical components.

We had a mustang in the shop the other day. We smelt fumes and thought it was a bad filler neck. Indeed the neck was bad and the fumes got better once changed. After we looked further there was a small leak at the back of the fuel rail behind the supercharger that's probably been leaking for a while but we had no reason to look there.

Crank the ignition from off to start. To turn on the fuel pump. Do this several times to build up pressure. If the smell gets worse look around to see if you can determine its origin. You would benefit from Another nose to help.

 

[jjobev]

Ok, thank you for the info. If it doesn't get better this week I will take to the shop next week. However, let me ask a different unrelated but possibly related question.

About 5 years ago I think I had the fuel pump replaced because the car was idling rough and the shop said it was because it wasn't gettnig the right amount of fuel and air (I think it was the fuel pump but could be wrong in my memory and it could have been something with the air intake??). Ever since then when the AC runs hard I smell like I've been cutting the grass/working in a shop when I leave the car. I've also smelled the smell of gas fumes if I turn the car on and the AC was left to on. I've taken it back to the shop that did the replacement as well as to a dealer last summer and they can't find anything wrong and look at my like I'm crazy. I can smell the smell on my clothes and could smell it on my son after riding around one day with the AC blasting. I think it does it too with the heat, but was out of the country for the past 2 years and the vehicle was with my father so haven't had a chance to test that yet. I really noticed it this summer when blowing AC and my wife can smell it the second I walk in the door.

I'm wondering if there could be some relationship between these two issues and that the fact that I still smell the overflow could be an indicator of the previous smell issue I had.

The dealer said they checked every possible cause and couldnt find anything.

 

[WHITEOUT]

okay there is a sensor in the fuel pumping station that shuts it off that has notyhing to do with your car i know this becuase i used to have a 74 blazer with that larger neck back when they had leaded gas when ever i gassed at a mobile gas station and some others it would trigger that automatic shut off every two seconds i had to barely put the tip in and squeeze the trigger just a little to fill up

i do alotta side work landscaping and the mix i use for my equipment tipped over on its side and i drove around for a couple hours while i dumped half my mix (2gallons) all of the back cargo area i has to take that rubber matt out hose it and let it dry several times and then steam clean it twice with my bissel to get the smell out the smell was still there but after a couple weeks it was gone comepletely

Sorry I had a long night