Fuel smell after long drives

Hello! I have a 2003 Miata and everything about it is just about perfect except for one thing. After long drives, I notice a fuel smell when the cabin fan is blowing. It was worse when I bought the car a year ago, and I have done several remedies since.

Remedies for the fuel smell:

- had the spark plugs replaced

- oil changes

- added several fuel cleaners to the tank

- air intake sensor replacement

The smell has gotten better over the course of time after these measures, but it still happens.

It’s a 2003 Miata with 94000 kilometres on the clock.

Am I crazy if I think that the fuel injectors need a professional cleaning? Is it possible that the o-rings have started to go bad? Would it be smart to direct my mechanic to an injector cleaning and o-ring replacement?

The car has no other issues. Fuel consumption is normal (7.8l/100 on the highway, and sometimes as bad as 10l/100 in the city (I live in Montreal where stop and start traffic can be out of control)).

Posted May 2, 2026, 4:30 AM UTC

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