Smells like gas?

Hello!

I have a 2002 Subaru WRX sedan. A few weeks ago it got really cold and snowed here, below freezing, which isn't usual for my area. The car handles like a champ in snow, so no problems there.

I spent a few hours sledding with my son, and when I was leaving I started smelling gas.

I had the heat on and pulling air from the outside. The vents were pumping in gas fumes. When I turned the vents to recycled air, the gas smell wasn't increasing - it was only on external air. I thought it might be the car ahead of me, but when I arrived home the car still smelled gassy. Raw gas, not exhaust. A quick test drive showed that again setting to external smelled like gas.

I checked under the hood and saw no visible leaks. A quick inspection under the car revealed no dripping fluids.

The gas smell cleared out and everything is working normally now, but I still think something went wrong and I'd like to know if I'm sitting on a potential problem. I just filled my gas tank, and it is one of the lowest MPGs that I've gotten (just under 19, I'm used to about 20-22).

Anyone have any ideas what might have happened?

Thanks!

How many miles are on your car?
Do they use mix Ethanol in your unleaded fuel?
If there's a problem with your car a Check Engine Light (CEL) will indicate, there's a problem.

It was cold, so your car was probably running a little rich until warm.
Depending on miles,if 100k+ you might need a good tune-up.
Air filter
fuel filter
plugs
wires
upstream H02 sensors.

Thanks for the reply Daniel.

The first owner of the car took really good care of it and rarely drove it. It has 36,000 miles on it. I use premium fuel, but I don't know the ethanol content. The CEL was not on.

I'm not sure exactly what that would smell like, but I don't think it was just running a little rich. This wasn't just a hint of gas. This was a full on raw gas smell, as if I had just spilled a cup of gas. I had to roll the windows down.

Do a visual inspect on injector seals, and fuel pressure regulator.
If there is real problem, it might take a little time to throw a DTC.