2006 Chevy Cobalt 2.2L, Slow to Start, Gas Smell

by Shaylynn
(Mesa, AZ, USA)

About a 2 months ago I started noticing that my car took longer to start than normal, instead of just a couple cranks it took a couple more. Then a week later I started noticing a strong fuel smell. I never see any fuel on the ground or leaking when the car is on, and I notice it's much stronger when the car is idle. I ran a fuel pressure test and ruled out the fuel pump because I immediately got 40psi, but the pressure started dropping within a few seconds. I don't even get a check engine light on in my car, but I do know it works because it comes on when i first start my car and then goes away. Last night I changed my spark plugs, and could still smell fuel when I test drove it, but figured it took a little for the car to air out. Today when I was driving, I started to smell the strong fuel odor again, and put my face to the A/C vents and could smell it ALOT stronger. I'm starting to wonder if it's my fuel injectors. I'm new at cars and trying to learn as much as I can, any help would be appreciated.

Steve Says,

Thanks for asking me your question. There are quite a few different things that can be causing this problem. Some of the more common ones include oxygen sensors that are not reading correctly and causing the computer to put more fuel into the engine, leaky fuel injectors that are dumping too much fuel into the engine and bad air metering sensor (usually a mass airflow sensor). It definitely sounds like for some reason there is way too much fuel getting into the engine. You probably have noticed a drop in gas mileage as well.

Mass airflow sensors can be cleaned using electrical contact cleaner and you might want to replace the oxygen sensors if they have not been changed in a while. In order to really diagnose this problem it would be better to take it to a repair shop. If, however, you don't want to do that and are pretty good with tools you can ask your question in the box below and you can get diagnostic information and advice along with pictures, diagrams and step by step replacement procedures. You can get advice from Chevy certified technicians. Here is the box: