Smells like gas?

[Darkhog]

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!

[danielsatur]

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.

[Darkhog]

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.

[danielsatur]

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.