10 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHPetrol smell in 996
Leading reported evidence
Replace expansion rivet
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Leading evidence: 'Replace expansion rivet' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'intermittent and i'm inside the car' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check carpets and rear seats' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I know you have said the fuel cap was changed but it may be worth checking this area again.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
There is no smell from outside the car when the engine is running, although because the problem is intermittent and I'm inside the car when it happens, it is difficult to tell if there is an external smell.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
intermittent and i'm inside the car
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Identified cause
1
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause · Original poster
There is no smell from outside the car when the engine is running, although because the problem is intermittent and I'm inside the car when it happens, it is difficult to tell if there is an external smell.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
10 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Porsche Club GB: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T172408Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Hi
I'd be very grateful if anyone could help me with a problem that has stumped two mechanics.
I own a 2001 996 Carrera 4 Cabriolet. For about 12 months, there has been an occasional petrol smell in the car. At first, it mainly happened when I started the car in the mornings, as if the fumes had been building up somewhere overnight. It also often seemed to happen when I braked or accelerated sharply.
I took the car to my local garage who did the following:
Changed oil
Changed oil, air, fuel and pollen filters
Changed the plugs
This reduced the problem a bit, especially the smell on first starting the car in the morning, but did not deal with it fully.
I then took the car to a specialist Porsche servicer in St Albans, called Jaz Porsche. They ran a full check for leaks but could find none. They then did the following:
Changed fuel tank cap
Changed expansion rivet
Changed bleeder valve
Again this had some impact but didn't solve the problem.
Recently the problem seems to be get slightly worse as the petrol tank empties.
I haven't taken the car to a main dealer as I've always found my local dealer to be pretty useless in fixing faults in the past.
Garry
Garry if JZM can't find a leak I doubt a main dealer will. I take it there is no smell of petrol outside the car or from the engine when running? If there is no leak from the system, could it be that a previous owner has split petrol inside the car? I know it's a long shot but maybe worth checking the carpets and rear seats. Mike
Welcome Garry! Jaz are well respected as Mike says, and I doubt a main dealer would have done better for this type of problem. It sounds to me like it might be a problem with the carbon canister (evaporative system) which is located in the front wing, near the filler neck. Is the smell coming from that area?
I know you have said the fuel cap was changed but it may be worth checking this area again. I sometimes had a smell of petrol but eventually found that it was an almost invisible crack on the rubber seal of an aftermarket cap. Replaced just the seal over a year ago and never had the problem again.
Hi Mike Thanks for your reply. There is no smell from outside the car when the engine is running, although because the problem is intermittent and I'm inside the car when it happens, it is difficult to tell if there is an external smell. I've owned the car since new, so I know that there have been no spillages inside the car. Regards Garry
It's this for sure, shut off all the heater blower vents and the smell will pretty much go away. The canister splits Can't believe this has not been diagnosed by the specialist!!!!
Sounds like a very similar problem that has been dumbfounding my indy (and others) for the last 18 months - its under investigation at the moment, but its an easy one to miss. Has your O2 sensor been throwing errors at all? That's part of the clue set I think. You might also notice a repetitive rising/falling breather tone on idle (and it sort of sounds like a jet spin down when you turn the engine off), plus the idle occasionally hunting/dipping when warm - also part of the symptoms - I hadn't realized significance being a first time owner. Hopefully on the road to recovery! Regards. J
Don't know if you got it resolved, but mine has been - finally - it turned out it was the vent valve at the engine end, not at the tank (carbon cylinder end) - the valve was not operating correctly, seems it was sticking open when the engine got warm - hence hot start and rough idle issues, as well as petrol smell - finally fixed, hallelujah!
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