Particularly mine right now, since when I was taking my 17-month-old to daycare this morning, I started smelling gasoline. A lot of gasoline. At the dealership, they tell me 1) it’s unsafe to drive, because 2) the gas tank is cracked, and 3) it’s going to cost me $400 just to diagnose because 4) the crack is on the TOP of the tank, and they’ll have to take the whole thing off.
Fuck, this is going to hurt. Maybe I’ll see if I can get a year’s lease on a car because 1) I’m dirt fucking poor and 2) the car has 157,000 miles on it. I’m seriously not sure it’s worth it to pour money into it at this point.
So, uh, anybody with a recommendation? I’m driving a 2004 Mazda 3 right now. I’d consider another one. I love the gas mileage, and the hatchback is wonderfully designed. I can load tons of stuff into it.
I’m shopping for used cars of a similar vintage this very moment – something small and practical and around $10k. Civics and Corollas sell for a premium because of their reliability, but they still seem like a good option. Elantras and Focuses are much cheaper, since they don’t have as strong of a reputation, but still very reliable. Well, at least certain model years, as the pre-2005 Focuses can be pretty dodgy. I’m test driving a Mazda3 hatchback tomorrow morning. Again they’re reliable as any other car, but IMO a lot more fun and interesting. I’ve always been impressed when I’ve used the Mazda3 zipcars.
Basically that’s my distilled research from a few weeks of window shopping and reading Consumer Reports.
Have you checked out the newer Hyundais? They have a wagon/hatch version of the Elantra that might lease for pretty cheap, and they’ve been getting pretty good marks lately.
Or maybe even a Kia? They have a couple different hatch models, plus the boxier Soul, that don’t seem half-bad. If you want a cheap shorter term lease while you prepare for a longer term investment, these would at least get you around.
Many tanks are plastic now and they can crack. Usually they don’t crack on top. If the shop says they need to pull it to check, they also are unsure. It could be a leak in the lines that go into the tank. In that case, the repair would be much less. I think they were giving you the worst case scenario. If the tank really is cracked on top, which I doubt, then driving with only half a tank or much less will keep the leakage way down.
If the tank is indeed cracked, then the orange trouble light should be on as OBDll should reference a fault code for the pressure sensor in the fuel system. If the trouble light is NOT on, then again I suspect a leak in the line and connections on top of the tank. If the leak is on the pressure line coming out of the tank, the pressure would be high and the leakage substantial. You could also have driveability problems from low fuel pressure. Pressure is less on the return line.
Diagnosis is the key. And for $400, what can you drive? This is not an unexpected expense. With that high mileage, you should have been putting money aside regularly in anticipation of repairs. Driving is never free. Remember the old biker saying, “Ass, grass or cash, no one rides for free.”
Been there. Done that. P0442. Small evap leak. Only, no, it’s a rather large leak, since it was puddling under my car at the shop.
Also, perhaps you’re unfamiliar with our finances. “Putting money aside.” Hahahahahahahahahaha. Ha. If I had $5 to scrape together, it would be a fucking miracle.
There’s a really big risk to driving with a cracked fuel tank, depending on the severity of the crack. Worst-case scenario:
[ul]
[li]Leaking gas fumes can be ignited by a hot exhaust pipe, and boom.[/li][li]The gas can slop out at a hard stop, hit an exhaust pipe, and boom.[/li][li]A minor rear-end tap could rupture the entire tank, and… well, the operative word here is “boom”.[/li][/ul]
And for those who’d chime in saying that an exhaust pipe isn’t hot enough to ignite gasoline, I can say from personal experience that it is.
Ogre, my advice is definitely do not drive around in this car any longer, especially with a kid in the back seat. If you’d rather not invest any more by fixing the tank, then nut up, high thee to a dealership and get the cheapest lease you can while you take your time and figure out what type of car you’d prefer to own long-term, unless you find a smokin’ deal on a car that you know you’d be happy with.
My wife and I have made the mistake of buying two cars under the gun - both times when the car we were giving up was non-functional, and we felt we needed a car right then - and we regretted it both times.
Out of curiosity, do you have any idea what might have caused the crack?
Absolutely no clue. It doesn’t appear to be road damage. Maybe it’s just a blown seam/rust through? Hell if I know. I can’t get the damn place to call me back with the info, either. And no fucking way on this planet I’m taking the risk with my kid sitting essentially directly over the tank.
I have a Jeep with more than 150,000 miles on it that has a gas leak too but might just take it to the junkyard if my mother decides not to get it fixed.
http://www.car-part.com/ shows many gas tanks available for an '04 Mazda3 for as little as $75. Ask for one in “A” condition with no rust - if they’ve cut up the car already they know what shape it’s in.
Swapping a gas tank is a pain to do, but usually doesn’t take much in the way of special tools. If the tank is shot, the tank straps are probably shot too.
Yeah…so I butchered your pretty list. My bad. :smack:
nitpick/
No boom. At least, not from simply splashing fuel onto the exhaust pipe. Maybe there would be a localized flashfire, maybe the entire car would become engulfed in flames. But no boom. This isn’t Hollywood.
I don’t doubt your personal experiences, however I do wonder what other factors were involved which led to you having the “personal experience” that you did. Even the infamous flaming Ford Pinto didn’t go boom. Nor did this here Crown Victoria , despite the video here being labelled “crown victoria explosion”. It’s definitely not a boom. Just turns into a rolling bonfire. Unpleasant, yes. Dangerous, absolutely.
Anyway, thanks for playing the thermodynamics and fuel vapor autoignition game. Note that in this link, the *minimum *temperature to autoignite is listed. This should not be confused with the *actual *temperature at which fuel or fuel vapor would ignite in a specific scenario once other factors are taken into account. Vehicle exhaust can be as hot as 700 degrees F at the manifold, but in most vehicles is several hundred degrees cooler by the time it is near the fuel tank. Read: below the autoignition temperature. Gonna need a spark or something.
Next up, why cellphones can *not *ignite fuel vapor. Unless you rig them to go boom.
/nitpick
On a more serious note, of course it’s not safe to drive around in a car that’s pissing fuel all over the place. If for no other reason than gas being so expensive!
Yes your car *could *become a flaming sled o’ death. But it’s not gonna go boom. I hope you get it fixed soon. Major bummer on the repair bill BTW.
I once had a Chevy Blazer that started leaking gas the night before we were to go on vacation. I unpacked the car, backed it into the street, called a tow truck to take it to the garage and told them to replace it. The gas tank, that is (and I had just filled it up!). We had to go on our trip in my husband’s ancient, rusted out winter rat that had no AC - I don’t know why THAT thing didn’t develop a leaky gas tank
Ok, you got me - I took a bit of dramatic license, boom being much more visceral than “whoof”.
My personal experience was an accident I was in a while ago - I was t-boned by an SUV doing at least 70, and the my car caught fire due to the fumes from the severed fuel lines hitting the exhaust pipes. At least, that was the likely explanation a state trooper had given me.
Luckily, a witness had a fire extinguisher handy and put it out within seconds, or else, boo… ok, fine, “whoof”.
The article focuses on luxury brands but it’s the same for everything. The combination of a weak economy driving up demand for used cars plus several massive supply disruptions (bankruptcy/restructuring of GM and Chrysler, Tsunami) in the car industry have run prices to heights that have not been seen.
Unless you rig them to go boom.
