Yesterday, my wife and I drove for a couple hours. Twice I had to brake reasonably hard and my wife said she smelled gas. She recently had Covid and doesn't have her smell completely back. I didn't lose my sense of smell and I smelled something, but I can't say for sure it was gas.
I read somewhere on here that if you have a fuel leak at the pump, sender or filler, you might smell fuel after braking because it will slosh hard to the leak spot. Today, I removed the tank cover and took the car for a drive. I hit the brake hard and jumped out to check the top of the tank. I couldn't see any wetness.
One thing that has me puzzled is the AC was on max. So even if the fuel leaked, I don't see why it should smell immediately. The outside air should not be coming in. Do you think my outside air valve is not closing tight? Is that a common failure? (I know it closes some)
The other idea I came up with is the accumulator leaking in the frame and that fuel sloshing forward on braking. Is that possible? I have recently had a couple hard starting issues. (That's why I suspect the accumulator.)
Any other ideas?