My Transmission Is Leaking Fluid

[Spaceme17]

So add me to the list of people that have transmission leaks. My car is a 2020 AWD GT2. Noticed a little weirdness in the car about 2 weeks ago. Just it felt different, like a little lack of power. Didn't think anything of it.

Today, I was about to do my first oil change. (My car has about 4500 miles on it so pretty damn new). Pulled the panels under the engine and I have red fluid on the area where the trans and engine meets.

I am thinking I will likely need a new transmission (at least I hope that is what Kia does). I have an appointment on the 24th. Will update when I know more. Oh, well.

 

[cjbigcog]

I had this same leak on my car. It was not from the transmission, but from an oil gallery plug on the back of the engine. Dealer replaced the seal on the plug. All good now.

 

[Spaceme17]

I had this same leak on my car. It was not from the transmission, but from an oil gallery plug on the back of the engine. Dealer replaced the seal on the plug. All good now.

I wish it was as simple as a seal. But I am certain it is my transmission leaking. It is hard to tell in the picture but easily seen when I smeared the fluid on my finger. It is definitely red transmission fluid. It also smells like trans fluid which smells different from engine oil.

My main concern is dealing with the dealership as I have bad experiences in the past with dealerships. I just don't want to go through a months to years long ordeal to get my car sorted out. I have been through that before and it sucks.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

That's so freaking annoying! Sorry! That blows my mind that a 2020 with 4500 miles would have this problem... car is completely stock? What would even be causing this? My 2020 is at 6200/6300 (can't remember) miles...

My main concern is dealing with the dealership as I have bad experiences in the past with dealerships. I just don't want to go through a months to years long ordeal to get my car sorted out. I have been through that before and it sucks.

Yeah my experience with the brake warranty repairs and the more recent recall really makes me hesitant to lose half of a workday just to hope the problem can be fixed properly...

 

[Spaceme17]

That's so freaking annoying! Sorry! That blows my mind that a 2020 with 4500 miles would have this problem... car is completely stock? What would even be causing this? My 2020 is at 6200/6300 (can't remember) miles...



Yeah my experience with the brake warranty repairs and the more recent recall really makes me hesitant to lose half of a workday just to hope the problem can be fixed properly...

It is stock. Exactly 4500 miles on my car. Likely I have a defective trans from the get go. Most failures that are this early on a car are factory defects.

 

[Ohiocruiser]

Looks like it's been leaking right from the factory assembly line.

 

[Spaceme17]

That's so freaking annoying! Sorry! That blows my mind that a 2020 with 4500 miles would have this problem... car is completely stock? What would even be causing this? My 2020 is at 6200/6300 (can't remember) miles...



Yeah my experience with the brake warranty repairs and the more recent recall really makes me hesitant to lose half of a workday just to hope the problem can be fixed properly...

I went through a 9 month ordeal about 10 years ago with a Chevy dealership. Had a 2011 Cruze that crack 3 pistons in the engine. Dealership completely screwed everything up.

 

[Spaceme17]

Looks like it's been leaking right from the factory assembly line.

Very possible. Likely a factory defective transmission. As for as I can tell from searching, this doesn’t seem to be very common. I can find only a few other instances of this type of issue.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

I went through a 9 month ordeal about 10 years ago with a Chevy dealership. Had a 2011 Cruze that crack 3 pistons in the engine. Dealership completely screwed everything up.

ugh that's terrible... I'm sorry :/

 

[Spaceme17]

So I have an update sooner than I thought.

I traded the Stinger in!

I got a call from someone at the dealership I was going to take my car to for inspection/service/ass-reaming. The woman said my car was flagged as being a desirable trade-in as they are having difficulty getting certain trims in of the Stinger. She asked if I was looking to trade or re-finance.

That made me take a look at what used cars they had.

I saw they had a 2017 Camaro 2SS. It is black with black wheels and looked really sharp. Relatively low miles also.

I test drove it and decided to make a deal. The Camaro is a very different car obviously. But the V8 is awesome and the sound is orgasmic. Its loaded with features and drives awesome. The ride quality is nearly identical to Stinger.

The Camaro gets awesome gas mileage also. I averaged 28 mpg on the drive home doing 65-70 mph on interstate driving. It will be much lower in stop and go driving but that's fine. It has remote start, Apple Car play, Android auto, etc. It is an automatic also.

It is definitely not as practical as the Singer but that is not a problem for me as I have no children (that I claim, ha ha) and no ball-and-chain.

A large deciding factor was the dread I was starting to feel about the potential for a nightmare in dealing with the dealership to fix the Stinger.

I know the Camaro is not everyone's "cup of tea", but I have really liked the 6th gen re-design (before the recent front-end refresh).

I will have a few items for sale shortly in the Classifieds (JB4, Snorkels, K&N, Filters, Floor Mats, Mishimoto catch can).

In the meantime, here is a picture of the very dirty Camaro:

 

[Ohiocruiser]

Congrats on your new ride! Looks sharp. If you didn't feel good about that stinger, trading probably was a good idea.

 

[MerlintheMad]

So I have an update sooner than I thought.

I traded the Stinger in!

I got a call from someone at the dealership I was going to take my car to for inspection/service/ass-reaming. The woman said my car was flagged as being a desirable trade-in as they are having difficulty getting certain trims in of the Stinger. She asked if I was looking to trade or re-finance.

That made me take a look at what used cars they had.

I saw they had a 2017 Camaro 2SS. It is black with black wheels and looked really sharp. Relatively low miles also.

I test drove it and decided to make a deal. The Camaro is a very different car obviously. But the V8 is awesome and the sound is orgasmic. Its loaded with features and drives awesome. The ride quality is nearly identical to Stinger.

The Camaro gets awesome gas mileage also. I averaged 28 mpg on the drive home doing 65-70 mph on interstate driving. It will be much lower in stop and go driving but that's fine. It has remote start, Apple Car play, Android auto, etc. It is an automatic also.

It is definitely not as practical as the Singer but that is not a problem for me as I have no children (that I claim, ha ha) and no ball-and-chain.

A large deciding factor was the dread I was starting to feel about the potential for a nightmare in dealing with the dealership to fix the Stinger.

I know the Camaro is not everyone's "cup of tea", but I have really liked the 6th gen re-design (before the recent front-end refresh).

I will have a few items for sale shortly in the Classifieds (JB4, Snorkels, K&N, Filters, Floor Mats, Mishimoto catch can).

In the meantime, here is a picture of the very dirty Camaro:

View attachment 56596

And those hood vents are functional. Am I right about that? Sounds like you'll be happier not dealing with a dealer and a lengthy repair.

 

[Nasscar]

I do like the Camaro but pity you traded the Stinger in before you even knew what was wrong with it. It may have been an easy fix but I suppose if your happy with the Camaro, good luck with your new car.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

Congrats on the new ride!

To each their own. I love American muscle and have huge respect for the Camaro's all over town!

How does the performance of the Camaro feel when compared to your Stinger that you traded in?

 

[StingaGT]

That's transmission oil for sure. I see clear redness.
I had same issue and my transmission was replaced under warranty.
I enjoyed 3 weeks of Kia soul riding

 

[Spaceme17]

I do like the Camaro but pity you traded the Stinger in before you even knew what was wrong with it. It may have been an easy fix but I suppose if your happy with the Camaro, good luck with your new car.

True. I have thoroughly enjoyed having the Stinger and is it without a doubt one of the best cars made today.

I know that just to diagnose the trans leak on the Stinger, it would require complete engine/transmission removal from the car which requires several other things being removed. I have looked up the procedures in the tech manuals. Even if it is just a simple seal, the car has to be disassembled.

I also know from experience that unless you have a technician who is experienced with the car and gives a damn, the car once put back together has a high likelihood of never being as it was.

As for the Camaro, I am extremely impressed with it so far.

 

[Spaceme17]

Congrats on the new ride!

To each their own. I love American muscle and have huge respect for the Camaro's all over town!

How does the performance of the Camaro feel when compared to your Stinger that you traded in?

Handling is better for sure. The steering is tighter and more precise depending on the mode you put it in. It has 5 modes: Tour, Sport, Track, Snow/Ice, and a Competition mode.

The transmission is extremely smooth in normal driving but when going aggressive is shifts extremely quick. And the car will detect when you are driving aggressively and change the trans shifting to hold the revs longer.

As for acceleration, I couldn't really get on it since of course it rained all day yesterday when I test drove it. The rear tires would break loose without much effort.

Tech wise, the trim I bought is fully loaded. It has blind spot monitoring, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital dash with oil temp, oil pressure, trans temp, g-meter, tire pressure AND temp monitoring, remote start(without loud honk when shuts off), Brembro brakes.

I think it also has magnetic ride but I am not 100% sure.

It doesn't have adaptive cruise or auto-hold but I rarely used those. No dumb Stop/Start either; that was the first button I pressed to disable it in the Stinger.

Visibility out of the Camaro is also comparable to the Stinger in that they both have poor rear visibility.

 

[Spaceme17]

That's transmission oil for sure. I see clear redness.
I had same issue and my transmission was replaced under warranty.
I enjoyed 3 weeks of Kia soul riding

Indeed, it is definitely red trans fluid and not engine oil.

I have searched this forum and the G70 forum and it seems that a more common problem with this platform is leaking rear main engine seals. Only a few instanced of leaking transmissions.

It manifests the same with wet, oily spots at the seam between the trans and engine. But the color and smell is distinctly different between engine oil and trans fluid.

My luck and with Covid, my Stinger would be down for a while.

 

[Kamauxx]

It is stock.

I will have a few items for sale shortly in the Classifieds (JB4, Snorkels, K&N, Filters, Floor Mats, Mishimoto catch can).

You were worried that someone from Kia might be reading your posts, weren't you?

GLWS. JB4s go quick!

 

[ecko04]

I came from a fully loaded 6th Gen 2016 2SS Camaro to a GT1 Stinger. The Stinger has more options, more comfortable, more tech, and tolerable suspension setup by far even with the Camaro’s magnetic ride control. The Stinger has vastly improved rearward visibility as well.

But the sound of a mighty unbalanced v8 coming from the dual mode exhaust is intoxicating. Cold starts are enough to wake the house and the neighbors. The looks will turn heads everywhere you go. It’s low and slung. It’s not for everyone with its wide doors, cramped interior, and back seats that should be called shelves. However, I had a 5th Gen 2010 Camaro and a 6th Gen 2016 Camaro...and if there’s a 7th Gen, I’ll have it again. It’s my cup of tea even with its faults.

Enjoy the ride!