Scotty, I have a 2007 Lexus ES350 with around 180,000 miles. When I first start the car in the morning, it smells fairly strongly of gas for a few minutes. Other than that it runs like dream. Any thoughts on what might cause this ?
Check your evap system.
Hmmm... I've never had the check engine light come on, or any other symptoms one might expect from evap issues.
Gas smell is a symptom. The check engine light will only illuminate when a problem reaches a critical level. It might be worth scanning for codes, and checking live data items such as fuel trims. (I have personally experienced a pending evap system code with no check engine light.)
You have gasoline vapors escaping from somewhere and 17-year old evap system hoses and components would have to be considered prime suspects. If evap is ruled out then you would need to start looking for gasoline vapors escaping elsewhere.
Hmmm... I've never had the check engine light come on, or any other symptoms one might expect from evap issues.