So what could it be? Oil change... no... serpentine belt... no... fuel injection service... no, not

[NoodleBoy]

that either...

So far I've dropped around $250 on my car, trying to find out what the fuck is wrong with the damn thing. It's getting 250 miles to the tank less than what it should be, and after two mechanics working on it the damn thing aint done yet. Now my option is to drop another $95 on a diagnostic at another place (this one is AAA certified, so I hope they won't screw me over), then pay whatever I need to on top of that to get it fixed.

[Orrex]

1. No car repair has ever cost less than $450.00

Nay-sayers may disagree, but they're in denial.

Sadly, that means you still have a way to go...


My hatred of car repairs is greater than I can articulate, so you have my sympathy.

[Kali]

2. um, a leak in the gas tank?

any other symptoms beside an insane loss of milage? Seems if you were burning that much fuel you would be haveing some other signs like overheating or strange exhaust or racing on idle....

[NoodleBoy]

3. there's almost nothing esle. and there's no leak-- the only thing coming off the bottom of my car is

condensation.

[Kali]

4. does the gas guage go down even when you don't drive it?

are you able to let it sit for a few days? What was your mileage before and now?

Are you comfortable with crawling around underneath it? A small gas leak could conceivably evaporate faster than a dripping leak and even a dripping leak evaporates pretty fast although in most cases you should be able to smell it - is it parked on cement or blacktop?

If you are comfortable crawling around under and especially if your mechaninic has not checked for a leak have a look under there - use your nose and fingers too. A slightly oily look anywhere on the tank or any of the tubes running up towart the motor. Also make sure your gas cap is well seated and not leaking vapors. I had a leak near the top of the fill tube and never could find the hole but I sure could smell it. In my case I get such horrible mileage anyway we just stopped filling that tank all the way up so it wouldn't splash out or what ever it was doing that made the van smell like gas for several days.

If you have a hole in the tank somewhere it is real easy to fix with a bit of sand paper and some gas and oil resistant epoxy putty from the auto store. fuel lines are a bit more work - if you aren't experienced or comfortable - have your mechanic check - they can even pressure test the whole system.

[taterguy]

5. If you're crawling under the car use a cigarette lighter to help find the leak

It'll help you spot it faster.

Trust me.

[Richardo]

6. Is your gas cap inaccessible to those outside your car?

You know, the guys with siphon hoses and like that.

[NoodleBoy]

7. yeah, I've tried to pry it open from the outside, you can't. Also,

it's consistent in inefficiency, going the same (too low) amount of miles to half-way and to when the low fuel light turns on, for months.

[Kali]

8. can you be more specific?

could the odometer itself be malfunctioning?