The fuel filter is made from aluminium and the bracket holding it from steel, it sits just above the rear wheel in all the dirt and (salty) water thrown up from the road. Even with a rear wheel mudguard in place it's an ideal environment for Galvanic Corrosion. If you look at the video and photo attached this is what can happen over a number of years.
This is not my car but another TM'er who uses his car a lot, it's done over 40,000 miles and is a 2013 build car that has been regularly dealer serviced. The handbook states that the fuel filter should be replaced every 15,000 miles, so this should be on it's 3rd filter..... There is no record of when the filter was last replaced, if ever. The first indication the owner got that something was wrong was that the rear wheel lost traction as the tyre got soaked in petrol.
Next time you have the boot tray out, have a check of the condition of the fuel filter and bracket, if it looks corroded get the filter replaced. It is a Mahle KL167 and usually retails for about £40. There are instructions on how to replace it as part of the fuel pump replacement information on the MTWC website, free for anyone to access
https://www.mtwc.co.uk/the-5-speeder/ . If it looks OK I would suggest putting some insulation tape or heat shrink between the filter and the bracket stop the electrolytic action. If you get your car dealer serviced then check that the filter has been changed every 15,000 miles, or 3 or 4 years if you don't do a lot of miles, as the problem is related to age rather than mileage. The filter is also the system pressure regulator and keeps the injector pressure at 58 psi, the fire potential for high pressure fuel spraying out doesn't bear thinking about. Check it out while your car is in the garage and the weather is bad.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ga9v5a44goyv0pn/Fuel%20filter%20leak..mp4?dl=0![[Linked Image]](https://www.tm-img.com/images/2020/03/03/Filter.md.jpg)
