Questions and Answers

Volkswagen Jetta Just Buzzing Around Q. Hi, I have a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0 liter, automatic transmission with about 40,000 miles. My dilemma is this, I'm currently going to college and I mainly use my car only on the weekends, when I usually travel about an 1½ or 2 hours to get back home, and then the same distance to get back to the university.

A couple of months ago, after making the trip home and turning the car off, I heard a buzzing sound, and it seemed to come from the gas tank area. I opened the gas cap, which seemed to have pressure because it was like a vacuum when I opened it, seems to do this all the time when I open it to put gas in, but it still made the sound.

Every now and then it makes the buzzing sound, but I think it's usually when I drive for that amount of time, but I'm not completely sure. It does go away after a while but I'm not sure how long it takes because I don't want to sit and wait for it because it's not quick to stop. Any ideas as to what it could be?

Thanks,
Robert

A. First off, the vacuum inside the fuel tank is normal. It is part of the EVAP system.

As for the noise, if it's coming from the fuel tank area I would have to say it is the fuel pump making the noise. There is nothing else back there that I can think of that would cause a noise such as you describe. It's possible the fuel pump relay is sticking and allowing the fuel pump to run even after the engine is shut off.

You might try unplugging the fuel pump relay to confirm or deny the fuel pump relay as the problem.