Has anyone else have issues with the check engine light and smelling fuel after you've filled up with gas? My check engine light came on in June 2017, took it to the mechanic and they ran diagnostic tests but couldn't find what was causing the code (small eval leak). Every time I fill up the car, you can smell a very heavy gas smell for the first couple of days. I took my car in again in Feb 2018, they ran the tests but couldn't find the issue. I took it in again Sept 2018 (because I have to pass my annual emission test to register my car in Oct), they ran the test and said they found the issue was gas in the charcoal canister. They replaced it, for a cost of $650. Drove the car for three days and the check engine light came on again. Took it back to the shop and this time they said it was the latching mechanism for the fuel tank. Replaced it, for a total of $115. Didn't really drive the car much during the week, but the check engine light came on again. Took it back to the shop for them to figure out what is going on. This time they said the problem was because the charcoal from the first canister had gotten inside the lines and purge value (which is something I replaced when the light first came on because it was an easy fix for me to do myself). So they would need to replace the purge value and the emission lines...for a total of $560. Picked the car up yesterday, filled it up and you can still smell gas fumes while it's parked in the garage. I'm fully expecting the check engine light to come back on. They said the charcoal couldn't have gotten in the fuel tank, but it costs $1300 for a new fuel tank, so I told them not to fix it while they were replacing the lines.

Has anyone else had this issue? What could be causing the issue? It's a 2011 Edge, with 106,000 miles. At this point, I feel like I'm being taken advantage of because I'm a female. Thankfully the shop has only charge me for the parts for the last 2 repairs and hasn't charged me for labor (saving me over $700). They were able to get it to pass emissions, so I'm good to register the car, but I'm concerned with the gas smell since I park my car in the garage and our water heater is stored inside the garage. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

This darn question always comes up when situations like this arise.
If you continue to fill add as much fuel into the tank as you can once the nozzle shuts off, that brings on the problem of flooding the canister.
If you are in the habit of doing this , you now know it is an expensive practice and should consider not doing it anymore.
If this does not apply, only you know.
Something you might consider ,
Places like Autozone and some others will check your vehicle for any codes without charge.
If there is a problem with the Evap system The computer may have a code stored in it . If you can obtain that code(s) from one of those places and post it here , we might be able to offer some suggestions that might provide some info for you to use on you next visit to the repair facility.
It would be unreasonable to attempt to pinpoint the exact cause based on just the code, but should help shine some light on the possible problem.
To help bring you up to speed here, there are 2 valves that have a lot to do with vapor control. One is the purge valve and the other is the vent valve.
Not saying this is the problem at this time, but those valves are controlled by the vehicle's computer and when they malfunction we get codes, check engine light and other problems. There could also be an opening to the atmosphere that is allowing the vapors to escape when they should be contained. It is unfortunate that you are still having the problem, but evidently the shop has been missing the problem with their diagnosis. Evaporative systems can become a little tricky to troubleshoot and require some special equip and knowledge which may be running a little short here.

 

I have always added fuel, to get to an even dollar amount, since I started driving 30 years ago and I've never had this issue with any of the other manufacturers (Chevy, Oldsmobile, Nissan). This is my first Ford and I now know that you can't add fuel once it stops automatically because it causes major issues.

I went to O'Reilly's when the service engine light first came on for them to check it for me. The guy told me to put black tape over the check engine light because it's a known issue that Ford's check engine lights always come on and it's nearly impossible to find out the reason why. The code is P0446 - very small eval leak. Like I mentioned in my first comment, the shop ran the diagnostic tests multiple times (smoke test and all) and could never pinpoint the issue that was causing the code. Finally they said that there was fuel in the charcoal canister, so I had them replace the charcoal canister for a total cost of $635.49. Four days later, the check engine light came back on again (which I suspected it would since I could smell gas fumes in my garage after I filled it up - did not overfill it because I had been told this causes issues). Took it back into the shop, it was still throwing the P0446 code. This time the shop, after speaking with someone from Ford, determined the issue was with the fuel tank filler pipe. They said this is a known issue with Ford and that Ford had actually redesigned the part and had several in stock because it's a common issue. Had them replace the fuel tank filler pipe for a total cost of $114.36; they did not charge me labor so the cost was only for the new part. A couple of weeks later, after driving the vehicle a couple of times, the check engine light came on again. They ran the tests and determined that due to the charcoal canister overfilling prior, it had backed up and charcoal is now in the lines and that is why the service engine light (with the same code) is on. So they said I needed to replace the Canister Purge Solenoid, Canister Vent Solenoid, the Evaporation Control Canister and the Evap Line Assembly. The total cost of the repair was $568.04. I picked up the vehicle on Friday and filled it up with gas (again not added any additional fuel once it stopped automatically). I still smell fuel fumes after I parked it in the garage, which gives me concerns that all the repairs that have already been done has not fixed the issue and now I'll be told that there is a leak in the gas tank, which is a $1300 part cost. The mechanic told me that he's surprised Ford hasn't issued any recalls because of the known issues. I hope you can understand why I'm concerned that I have spent the last month replacing almost the entire system and I'm still smelling fuel (and I anticipate that the service engine light will come back on once I drive it enough times for the drive cycle to be completed) and it appears as if the issue may not be resolved yet.

 

Maybe if we take these things one at a time,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Due to the emission laws all sorts of methods have been devised to control and contain them.
Evaporative emissions are right in there.
Different methods were employed to manage them and those methods go back a few years. Charcoal canisters were around in the 80"s,, but when filling fuel vapors still went out the fill pipe and nozzle. Then vapor recovery came into the picture , then all vapors were to be either contained, burned or recovered. That became the law in most containment areas where smog and pollution were problems. So,,,,,,,,years back you could fill the tank to the tippety top with no problems. Just about ALL vehicles built today must have systems to contain those vapors which are not really that good for us. Hope I explained it well enough so you get the picture.

As I stated in an earlier post , repairing the problems with these systems is complicated to say the least.
Yes, the filler tube can release some of the vapors if it is rusted through and it doesn't take a large hole to release the vapors once the fuel warms up and internal tank pressure builds. The systems have several means of checking the vapor containment functions which vary from manufacturer to manufacturer , but the results MUST be the same ,,no releases. When the system check indicates a pressure OR vacuum loss that exceeds the minimum acceptable, the check engine light will illuminate to notify the operator there is a problem.
Again, I realize you are putting out a lot of $$$ to correct this problem, and it is still not corrected .
Maybe , just maybe, your repair facility is not thoroughly familiar with exactly how your particular vehicle's system does it's checks, that could complicate the problem.
If you can smell the gasoline vapors, there should be a big enough opening to find the source.
Sometimes you can help if you could tell them where the odor is strongest, front, rear or some other place.

 

If they haven't dropped the tank yet , that might be the next step.

There is a fuel tank pressure sensor mounted on the top of the tank and that area may be where the fumes are originating AND the possible cause of the code.Sometimes the mounting will have a leak and it possibly was out of sight for the smoke test. If the code was the only problem there is one path to pursue, but since you can smell the gasoline odor it has to be leaking out somewhere and a possible clue could be it is more noticeable after filling the tank which means the liquid is at the top of the tank.
Let's see what they find.