Fuel leak in my W205 C200, just 1 year old car!

[dagger]

Dear fellow W205 owners, 

Just to keep you guys noted about my recent experience, with a terrible fuel leak.

It started about 2 weeks back, that i notice the presence of fuel (by smell) almost each morning. As i had to rush daily to send the family to school and work.. i only could check after the end of the first commute.

Opening up the hood, there is no more fuel smell, used torch to shine onto the undertray and its dry... so i left as it is.

just over the weekend, since i had more time in the morning, i started the car, popped the hood and decided to check.... 

i started to smell the same fuel smell again... so started to shine my torch at the undertray.... i could see a puddle (which i initially tot it was water residue)....

Just a min into the engine warming up, i start to see dripping! i immediately headed down to the workshop and have them check the car.

Again, because the car has fully warmed up, there was no more leak! trays were just slightly wet and nearly dried up.

Workshop then noticed the fuel stains around the high pressure fuel pump, and told me to leave the car overnight so they can check the next morning when the engine is cold again.

True enough, they found the source of the leak. the factory clamp on the fuel return hose was not tight enough.

After inspecting the hose, they said the hose was good, just the factory clamp wasnt tight enough. So they added another clamp and this fixed the fuel leak. 

I will monitor for the next few days to see if its really resolved.

 

If you encounter the same issue where you cold start your car, and you smell presence of fuel, please do check for leaks, it can be as simple as checking if your undertray is wet or damp. I have checked that the a/c water drain will not drip at that same spot where the fuel leak is. I attached some pics to show you the leak, and the source of the fuel leak.

As there is no modifications made to the fuel delivery of the car, i consider this a production defect from the factory. My car is purchased from PI, and even the PI told me this is not considered as wear and tear, and they will warrant the change of parts if needed.

Hope this helps any bros, as fuel leak is a very highly dangerous situation we will want to avoid!

 

IMG_3590.MOV

[tbone]

Thank you for sharing.

[rickosw]

Thank Bro for sharing

 

[dagger]

so here's the quick update after collecting my car.

First attached pic with the fuel leak circled in red, is on the stock clamp. Unfortunately the vid file is too large to upload, but basically on startup, the hose immediately got wet and covered with leaking fuel.

The issue is not from the hose but from the clamp which is not tight enough.

So the workshop replaced this with the screw type clamp. fired up the car and no more leaks.

simple fix and lucky to avoid any further issues like accidental fires...

will continue to monitor for the coming days.... hopefully this is the end of this particular issue.  *fingers crossed*

[Prestigious]

Hi, dagger. How is the fuel leak? Has it been resolved?

[fabiantan]

Thanks for sharing!! I am going to send mine to agent next week... I have this petrol smell every morning after more then 12 hours of parking...

[dagger]

On 3/19/2019 at 4:30 PM, Prestigious said:

Hi, dagger. How is the fuel leak? Has it been resolved?

yes, all is good. been monitoring since March 4th, no fuel smell in engine bay.

Had the car sitting for a whole week as well, restarted (no fuel smell)..... after a short drive, still no fuel smell... so all is good!

[Prestigious]

On 3/25/2019 at 9:22 AM, dagger said:

yes, all is good. been monitoring since March 4th, no fuel smell in engine bay.

Had the car sitting for a whole week as well, restarted (no fuel smell)..... after a short drive, still no fuel smell... so all is good!

That's great!

[holleworth]

C350E .I have a petrol smell in the mornings when starting.I took the car to a MB approved service agent and was told that it was a pipe fault that leaked in cold weather.No pipes in stock because America had a recall for this fault.The pipe now in stock and I will take my C350E next week. No recall GB?

[joecamel]

Had the same issue but my car's leak was from the fuel tank area. Brought it to CNc, they claimed was seepage from the fuel pump and changed it under warranty. Gas mileage improved by 10%. Also happened on my friend's w205 too.

Guess it's a common problem.

[Babolat]

I also smell petrol occasionally.

It's especially strong when the auto-fuel cut off is activated when I move off.

Maybe I should also go check it out.

 

[Babolat]

On 3/4/2019 at 11:56 AM, dagger said:

Dear fellow W205 owners, 

Just to keep you guys noted about my recent experience, with a terrible fuel leak.

It started about 2 weeks back, that i notice the presence of fuel (by smell) almost each morning. As i had to rush daily to send the family to school and work.. i only could check after the end of the first commute.

Opening up the hood, there is no more fuel smell, used torch to shine onto the undertray and its dry... so i left as it is.

just over the weekend, since i had more time in the morning, i started the car, popped the hood and decided to check.... 

i started to smell the same fuel smell again... so started to shine my torch at the undertray.... i could see a puddle (which i initially tot it was water residue)....

Just a min into the engine warming up, i start to see dripping! i immediately headed down to the workshop and have them check the car.

Again, because the car has fully warmed up, there was no more leak! trays were just slightly wet and nearly dried up.

Workshop then noticed the fuel stains around the high pressure fuel pump, and told me to leave the car overnight so they can check the next morning when the engine is cold again.

True enough, they found the source of the leak. the factory clamp on the fuel return hose was not tight enough.

After inspecting the hose, they said the hose was good, just the factory clamp wasnt tight enough. So they added another clamp and this fixed the fuel leak. 

I will monitor for the next few days to see if its really resolved.

 

If you encounter the same issue where you cold start your car, and you smell presence of fuel, please do check for leaks, it can be as simple as checking if your undertray is wet or damp. I have checked that the a/c water drain will not drip at that same spot where the fuel leak is. I attached some pics to show you the leak, and the source of the fuel leak.

As there is no modifications made to the fuel delivery of the car, i consider this a production defect from the factory. My car is purchased from PI, and even the PI told me this is not considered as wear and tear, and they will warrant the change of parts if needed.

Hope this helps any bros, as fuel leak is a very highly dangerous situation we will want to avoid!

 

IMG_3590.MOV 75.4 MB · 16 downloads

Hmmmm.....why does yours look so different from mine?

I took a close up photo of where you circled.

Mine has a knot and secured with zip tie.....if it's fuel line, how does the petrol flow through? haha....

[dagger]

On 12/30/2019 at 3:24 PM, Babolat said:

Hmmmm.....why does yours look so different from mine?

I took a close up photo of where you circled.

Mine has a knot and secured with zip tie.....if it's fuel line, how does the petrol flow through? haha....

The last photo where i circled shows where the high pressure fuel pump is, which the metal cover sits over. The hoses can be located below.

The one you circled with the zip tie, thats the electrical connector to the pump.

[Babolat]

haha.....okay.

Pardon my ignorance!!

[mercdec]

This forum was a big help as I’m having virtually the same issue. The annoying thing is, is that I have taken the car back under warranty TWICE and because it was ‘ok upon test’ they’ve said it’s fine...but it’s still not ok.

now if that red arrow is indicating where you spotted the leak or where the pipes are then SNAP, I’m having the same issue 

[Nc300]

Hi I have a c300 2016 and this is the same issue I have , I find it so frustrating that they haven’t accepted this in Gb as a manufacturing fault , and want o charge me £347 for the labour and parts ... I drove the car 5k miles this year and had it all of 10 months 

[joecamel]

Had a fuel leak too at 18 months, cnc called it seepage.  Got it fixed under warranty 

Gas mileage significantly improved after repair 

[Unar]

I was facing the same issue in my w205 2015 model and it was soo annoying because when ever I would take the car to workshop they would say it’s perfectly fine no fuel leak but thanks for the share I would follow the same steps thanks again.

[dagger]

On 3/7/2021 at 3:36 AM, Unar said:

I was facing the same issue in my w205 2015 model and it was soo annoying because when ever I would take the car to workshop they would say it’s perfectly fine no fuel leak but thanks for the share I would follow the same steps thanks again.

 

[Reflection]

Does this problem affect a certain batch of cars, or all W205s?  I'm collecting a 2016 C180 this week, so I'm keeping an eye on this.

[dagger]

On 3/10/2021 at 11:11 AM, Reflection said:

Does this problem affect a certain batch of cars, or all W205s?  I'm collecting a 2016 C180 this week, so I'm keeping an eye on this.

it can happen to just about any car that runs on direct fuel injection (having a high pressure fuel pump in the engine bay). 

Just occasionally at cold start, open up the bonnet and check (through smell) if there is presence of fuel.

Good checking habits (just like checking oil and coolant levels, temps) will ensure a good running and healthy vehicle.

[Reflection]

On 3/15/2021 at 12:23 PM, dagger said:

it can happen to just about any car that runs on direct fuel injection (having a high pressure fuel pump in the engine bay). 

Just occasionally at cold start, open up the bonnet and check (through smell) if there is presence of fuel.

Good checking habits (just like checking oil and coolant levels, temps) will ensure a good running and healthy vehicle.

Thanks dagger!

I was spoiled by my 2012 Jetta Twincharged.  No hiccups over the 8ysr/110,000km we had it, apart from the usual wear and tear.  I'll be sure to take a good sniff every now and then! We've had the car since Saturday, and the W205 is a much nicer place to be.

[Wee Vee]

Experienced fuel smell in car cabin and also high fuel consumption at around 14-15L per 100km. Follow dagger guides and check for any sign of leaks and true enough to observed leaks on the engine bay as shown in this thread. Went down to Fix Auto Sg at Soon Lee St and the boss Ah Keong managed to identify the leaking point after waiting for 3-4hours for the engine to cool down. After engine cool down, i just run the engine and the leaks was observed from the other end of the high pressure pump hose (opposite end of dagger's leaking hose). Ordered 2 fuel hose and got the fuel hoses change out. Now all is back to normal. Shall monitor for another week and update again. 

[Wee Vee]

On 3/4/2019 at 11:56 AM, dagger said:

Dear fellow W205 owners, 

Just to keep you guys noted about my recent experience, with a terrible fuel leak.

It started about 2 weeks back, that i notice the presence of fuel (by smell) almost each morning. As i had to rush daily to send the family to school and work.. i only could check after the end of the first commute.

Opening up the hood, there is no more fuel smell, used torch to shine onto the undertray and its dry... so i left as it is.

just over the weekend, since i had more time in the morning, i started the car, popped the hood and decided to check.... 

i started to smell the same fuel smell again... so started to shine my torch at the undertray.... i could see a puddle (which i initially tot it was water residue)....

Just a min into the engine warming up, i start to see dripping! i immediately headed down to the workshop and have them check the car.

Again, because the car has fully warmed up, there was no more leak! trays were just slightly wet and nearly dried up.

Workshop then noticed the fuel stains around the high pressure fuel pump, and told me to leave the car overnight so they can check the next morning when the engine is cold again.

True enough, they found the source of the leak. the factory clamp on the fuel return hose was not tight enough.

After inspecting the hose, they said the hose was good, just the factory clamp wasnt tight enough. So they added another clamp and this fixed the fuel leak. 

I will monitor for the next few days to see if its really resolved.

 

If you encounter the same issue where you cold start your car, and you smell presence of fuel, please do check for leaks, it can be as simple as checking if your undertray is wet or damp. I have checked that the a/c water drain will not drip at that same spot where the fuel leak is. I attached some pics to show you the leak, and the source of the fuel leak.

As there is no modifications made to the fuel delivery of the car, i consider this a production defect from the factory. My car is purchased from PI, and even the PI told me this is not considered as wear and tear, and they will warrant the change of parts if needed.

Hope this helps any bros, as fuel leak is a very highly dangerous situation we will want to avoid!

 

IMG_3590.MOV 75.4 MB · 42 downloads

Thanks for sharing! It helps!

[okok]

My W205 got the same fuel leakage problem few months ago. car mileage 6300km. car age 3yr 8mth. Went to CnC and paid $350 to fix.