2000 MITSUBISHI CARIBBEAN VEHICLE User Comment / Complaint

I parked my vehicle after arriving from work in my carport. several minutes later my daughter noticed the smell of gasoline and proceeded to check my vehicle and the other cars in the carport and determined the smell to be coming from my vehicle. not seeing any visible leak from the vehicle,i decided to check it the following morning. after looking for the leak the following morning and not being able to find it, i decided to use the vehicle again as i was called for work. i again checked for the leak at my place of work with the help of co-workers but the odor had faded somewhat and it was difficult to pinpoint it's source. i finally took it to the mechanic the following day for this problem and a brake job. when the vehicle was raised and the work on the brakes had begun,a look at the gas tank revealed a moist area behind it's metal shield. upon further inspection and removal of the shield,a crack was noted in a weld joint on the bottom of the tank and fuel was leaking from it. i instructed the mechanic to replace it with a used one from a junker as these tanks are very expensive. i have secured the old tank for inspection if warranted. the tank is in good condition and had not been abused or damaged in any way by any accident or otherwise. luckily no damage,fire ,explosion or injury occurred because of this incident but the potential was there. my worry now is that the replacement tank might fail the same way and maybe the next time i won't be so lucky.