Hi All,

I wrote in last week that I had a funny chemical smell in the back seat after I'd been driving the car and let it sit for 1/2 hour.

Well, I needed to refuel and decided on Chevron instead of the "cheapy" stuff, just in case that was a factor. When I was filling the tank, I noticed that the tank fill neck wobbled a bit. I wondered if my gas tank were loose! When I got home I investigated more fully and finally figured out that the rubber gasket around the tank fill neck was completely inside the body of the car, not pulled out around the outside of the body. This allowed vapors from the tank to escape into the body panels, where I think it made it's way to the back seat (I also noticed the smell in the wheel-well storage area on the driver's side of my wagon). Also, my fill neck is not quite round anymore at the outer lip, though the gas cap fits okay, and I never see any signs of fuel slopping out.

So I got the gasket into it's proper place, and haven't had any smells since. I've even been driving extra this week to reduce the amount of gas in the tank, allowing more room for vapors to build up, and still no smell.

Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions!

Jenn