Started to occasionally smell a brief gasoline odor inside the car. During a recent service underneath the car, an area of leakage was discovered at the front bottom of the fuel tank. The mechanic took off the cover behind the passenger seat to expose the fuel pump and found gasoline leaking around the fuel line connectors onto the top surface of the pump.

I found out that the leak is a common problem with the fuel pump on my Z3M (along with many other common issues). A Facebook group I belong to had many members with the same issue at the same mileage/age. The fuel pump plastic develops microcracks or porosity in the hose connection fittings which leak like mine did. I tried it many times with the same results. I would dry off the fittings and pump, turn it on and see fuel start to come out of the connector/fitting interface area and drip down to the bottom of the pump where it would pool up (photos attached).

This is not a nice situation the have happen on any car. I wonder how many other Z3s are running around with the leakage going on unbeknownst to the owner or how many fires have occurred. Should have been a safety recall. The solution was to replace the pump.