Gas odor smell and acceleration/gears sticking

Tiny
CATY SWOGGER
  • MEMBER
  • 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 123,873 MILES
Yesterday morning I was going to class when I got out of my car I smelled gas, but thought it was another car parked around me. I went home and got ready for work, went to the gas station to fill up, and drove to work. When I got to work I noticed the smell of gas once again and now assumed it was coming from my car. When I left work that afternoon, I checked for a gas puddle under the car. The ground was dry. I then drove five minutes home and checked when I parked my car if I could see any fresh gas leaking. Nothing. Just a faint odor. That night I parked my car in the garage and by the morning the garage and basement (the garage man door goes into the basement) smelled of gasoline. Still no evidence of gas leaking. I drove to school once again this morning with the smell of gas. On my way home from school, my car was having a hard time accelerating. It didn't want to shift past 3.5 RPM and once it did it would drop down to 2.5 RPM like a car normally should. I went to brake when coming to a red light and when I pushed on the brake the car slowed slightly, but then lunged forward and the RPM gauge hit 3-3.5 RPM before allowing me to slow down. When I accelerated in the past a faint "tisking" sound could be heard when the windows were down, but I had assumed that was normal car sounds. All of the above has happened very quickly in a matter of less than twenty four hours. Please help!
Wednesday, April 24th, 2019 AT 8:29 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,755 POSTS
Welcome to 2CarPros.

Since you smell gas but don't see any leaks, I have to suspect there is a leak in the EVAP (evaporative emissions system).

You said there was a faint odor. Can you tell me aprox where it was coming from? Was it the rear of the vehicle, side, front? Also, I need to know if the check engine light is on.

I attached a picture of the EVAP system hose routing schematic. It could be one of these hoses leaking. It won't leak raw gas, but you will get fumes. See if the diagram helps you. Each component on the diagram is numbered. Here is a list of what each thing is:

1 - EVAP Canister Purge Solenoid Valve
2 - EVAP Canister
3 - Fluid Level Vent Valve
4 - Vapor Re-circulation tube
5 - Fuel Fill Neck and Fill Cap
6 - Fuel Tank
7 - EVAP Canister Vent Valve
8 - Vent Hose/Pipe
9 - EVAP Vapor tube
10 - EVAP Purge tube
11 - EVAP Service Port or Service Access Connector

__________________________

You may also want to check and confirm fuel pressure isn't too high indicating a bad regulator. Here is a link that shows how it is done:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-fuel-system-pressure-and-regulator

Here are the specs for your vehicle. If you do this, let me know what you find.

FUEL PRESSURE

Fuel Pressure (Key ON, Engine OFF) .................... 345-414 kPa (50-60 psi)

Should not decrease more than .................... 34 kPa (5 psi) in 1 minute.

Let me know about the check engine light.

Joe
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Wednesday, April 24th, 2019 AT 7:27 PM

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