I have a 2000 elantra with about 65k miles. I have recently had some problems with the way it starts. The motor turns over fine (it even has a new battery) but it will not "catch" and start up until after I have allowed the motor to turn over for several seconds. Once it starts there is a gas smell inside the vehicle. I am guessing that the smell is from the excess fuel being pumped into the engine and it not starting right away, but should the smell be in the cabin? I am not getting a check engine light so the car is not detecting a problem? My gas mileage also is a bit low, but the car seems to run the same as always when driving???

Anyone know what this could be?

Have your exhaust manifold checked out. I'm having similar problems, and it's due to a crack in the exhaust manifold. There is a recall which includes all new vehicles (2000 is included), so they should replace the part free of charge.

Have your exhaust manifold checked out. I'm having similar problems, and it's due to a crack in the exhaust manifold. There is a recall which includes all new vehicles (2000 is included), so they should replace the part free of charge.


I checked the recalls on my car and the only one is to replace an MAF sensor that causes the car to stall. Where did you find out about this recall?

I called Hyundai. They said all 99' Models and up are okay'd for the recall.

If this only happens after the car has been sitting for a while or as an example, overnight. hyundai has found that an extended crank time is a result of the fuel pump losing pressure instead of holding, you see their is a check valve inside the fuel pump, this malfuntions and then you have to build pressure up before your car will start......although I am not sure of your fuel smell but hope this helps

Thanks everybody for your info on this. The dealer is going to see if the exhaust manifold needs replacing per their recall. Unfortunately I have a new problem.. This morning when driving my car to work, the heater didn't work. I let it warm up for ten minutes before I left and it blew nothing but cold air. It worked fine yesterday and has always worked quite well. I don't know how this could be related but since I don't know a ton about cars I thought I would throw it out there.

Thanks Again.