Hi all,
I am looking for a bit of advice. My 2003 Mk2 Punto Mia has recently started dripping petrol near the right rear wheel (in the area below the petrol cap). I first noticed this after a fairly longish trip back from the Coventry area back down to Kent, most of which was spent driving through the driving rain on the M1. It seems that once the car comes to a stop, it starts dripping petrol from that area and by the end of a working day, there is a dried patch of petrol on the ground. I've attached a photo to show - it was a bit wet yesterday, but you can see the patch of petrol.
When I first noticed this, I took it down to my local mechanic and he thought it could be one of two things - either the fuel filler neck or the fuel tank. Of the two, the cheaper option to try and remedy this was the fuel filler neck (about £100 for the new part from Fiat, as opposed to the £500 for a new tank). At this point, my petrol level was quite low (maybe a quarter of a tank or a bit less) and had actually stopped dripping at this point. I didn't fill it up before it got repaired, but after the work had been done, it wasn't dripping petrol any more and I assumed all was fine.
However, I filled up on petrol again and a few days later, it seems to be doing the same thing - and potentially at the same level of fuel (around half a tank this time). It's exactly the same issue once again and the new filler neck seems to make no difference. I'm going to get the car back to the mechanic to check this out, but as it's doing exactly the same as what it did before, I feel like it's just the same problem. I think the petrol is reaching a certain point in the tank and then leaking, but before I go for a new tank (probably from a breakers yard, rather than blowing £500+ on a car barely worth twice that), I wanted to see if anyone on here could think of anything else it could be apart from a new tank.
Does this sound like it needs a new fuel tank? Is it possible, for example, that there is simply something loose or it could be another part? If anyone has any opinions or advice, all would be welcome.
Thanks in advance.
I am looking for a bit of advice. My 2003 Mk2 Punto Mia has recently started dripping petrol near the right rear wheel (in the area below the petrol cap). I first noticed this after a fairly longish trip back from the Coventry area back down to Kent, most of which was spent driving through the driving rain on the M1. It seems that once the car comes to a stop, it starts dripping petrol from that area and by the end of a working day, there is a dried patch of petrol on the ground. I've attached a photo to show - it was a bit wet yesterday, but you can see the patch of petrol.
When I first noticed this, I took it down to my local mechanic and he thought it could be one of two things - either the fuel filler neck or the fuel tank. Of the two, the cheaper option to try and remedy this was the fuel filler neck (about £100 for the new part from Fiat, as opposed to the £500 for a new tank). At this point, my petrol level was quite low (maybe a quarter of a tank or a bit less) and had actually stopped dripping at this point. I didn't fill it up before it got repaired, but after the work had been done, it wasn't dripping petrol any more and I assumed all was fine.
However, I filled up on petrol again and a few days later, it seems to be doing the same thing - and potentially at the same level of fuel (around half a tank this time). It's exactly the same issue once again and the new filler neck seems to make no difference. I'm going to get the car back to the mechanic to check this out, but as it's doing exactly the same as what it did before, I feel like it's just the same problem. I think the petrol is reaching a certain point in the tank and then leaking, but before I go for a new tank (probably from a breakers yard, rather than blowing £500+ on a car barely worth twice that), I wanted to see if anyone on here could think of anything else it could be apart from a new tank.
Does this sound like it needs a new fuel tank? Is it possible, for example, that there is simply something loose or it could be another part? If anyone has any opinions or advice, all would be welcome.
Thanks in advance.
