Here's a new one (at least to me). I recently bought a 2005 E320 with only 32k miles, which I've verified. Twice now I've had the chance to fill up the gas tank and each time I get the smell of fuel around the outside of the car until I've used enough fuel to get down to around 3/4 of a tank. There is no spillage and there are no obvious leaks. Any thoughts? Thanks.

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Retired NYPD
Retired USMC
Life is good.

might be a tiny leak toward the top and when it gets down past that point it no longer leaks. if its tiny enough toy won't notice spillage as the gasoline will evaporate quickly. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with your model so I can tell you exactly what to check, but that is just my theory.

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1990 190E 3.0L

It's a known problem on the w211 chassis. Do some googling and you will find plenty of discussion - mostly on other MB forums. The smell originates from the fuel pumps/fuel sender/fuel hoses. Fixes vary from replacing some hose, to replacing the two pump/sender units, to replacing the fuel tank.

Remove the rear seat bottom and you will see two access openings to the two pump/sender units. Remove the covers and you can inspect and likely see what is going on to diagnose.

I have this same problem on my E55 wagon right now.