1996 Lexus ES 300 96 Strong fuel smell

MISSIBLAZER

MEMBER
1996 LEXUS ES 300
250,000 MILES

My car has a strong fuel smell when started inside and outside. Strong enough that my neighbors have made comments. I'm using gas extremely fast and it runs fine when the a/c is off but loses power after stopping at lights or anywhere. I have to turn the a/c off to pull out. The engine light stays on all the time but flashes when it loses power. I also have to give it a little gas to get it started. I don't have time or money to guess what the problem is but would like to know what I may be looking at to fix it.

2 Replies

CJ MEDEVAC

MECHANIC
11,005 POSTS

I MAY NOT BE THE ONE TO HELP YOU HERE WITH.I'M SORTA A PRE-COMPUTER KINDA VEHICLE GUY (JEEP CJs)

THE OLE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS THERE TO ALERT YOU THAT THE COMPUTER HAS SENSED A PROBLEM THE ENGINE AND SOMETIMES OTHER STUFF

IT IS CAPABLE OF SENSING MAYBE HUNDREDS OF PROBLEMS!

SO LETS SAY MAYBE 2 MONTHS AGO IT SENSED YOUR GAS CAP WAS LOOSE (JUST AN EXAMPLE)

WHO'S TO SAY IT DIDN'T PICK UP ON A MAJOR ENGINE PROBLEM A WEEK AGO. THE LIGHT IS ON, RIGHT?

THERE IS ONLY ONE LIGHT. BUT MANY, MANY CODES THAT COULD BE MAKING IT LIGHT UP

FOR INSTANCE, A FELLER WAS HAVING PROBLEMS, I ASKED IF HIS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. HIS RESPONSE WAS IT HAD BEEN ON FOREVER BECAUSE OF THE GAS CAP.I CODED HIM ANYWAY. THERE WERE 9 ADDITIONAL CODES, WHEN THEY WERE ADDRESSED, HIS CAR RAN FINE

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO EXACTLY!

MOST POPULAR AUTO PARTS STORES WILL SCAN YOU SYSTEM. USUALLY IT'S A FREE SERVICE!

TAKE PEN AND PAPER. THE CODE NUMBERS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE EXPLANATIONS

WRITE DOWN EXACTLY WHAT THE CODE NUMBERS ARE. DUMB EXAMPLES ARE P0442, P0167

GET 'EM ALL

THE PARTS STORE GUY MAY GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS OR HIS OPINION AS TO WHAT MAY BE WRONG (HE MAY BE RIGHT) CODES CAN BE INTERPRETED IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THIS IS THE REASON FOR WANTING THE EXACT NUMBERS. NOT WHAT "HE" THINKS COULD BE WRONG

YOU CAN TAKE EACH CODE, ONE AT A TIME, AND TACK IT ON THE END OF THIS

OBD-CODES. COM/

MOST OF THE TIME A GOOD EXPLANATION IS GIVEN ALONG WITH "POSSIBLE CAUSES" AND "POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS"

GET CODED. NOW. WHILE IT WILL DRIVE

YOUR TURN

THE MEDIC