3.3TT Oil Leak

[RUFFSTUFF]

Yeah, looks like I have an oil leak, and I just made my first payment. lol

Found rainbow stains in the driveway (it's raining), check all the levels and oil is a little above the low mark. Hmmm. Put some cardboard under the car and 10 min later, there's 2 oil drip stains about 1 foot apart. It's probably just one drip because the cardboard moved after I set it down...

Fun times ahead.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

Oh this one is good. An actual update is pending the return of my car...

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

Finally an update:

So my oil leak was due to the rear main seal leaking. REAR MAIN SEAL. Apparently when the car was built, the rubber gasket in the seal was folded over in 2 spots, and only allowed a seal for a limited time. Once that gave way ---> oil leak. If you are not familiar with this part, neither was I, but I soon learned that the only way to fix it is to remove the engine, transmission and associated goodness. My car was out of commission for about 1.5 weeks to replace the seal.

 

[Doel]

rear main seal is probably one of the worst oil leaks to get, because like you found it, everything has to come out. Warranty makes it all gravy though, if it's just a bad gasket job you should have no further issues with it.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

Keep in mind, at this point the car has 3600 miles on it. So when the work was complete I picked the car up, it was a Friday... Between that Friday and Saturday I put about 500 miles on it. Saturday night we go to an Arena Football game in Jacksonville. Driving home I noticed the car was making a strange noise, especially when turning. Get home about 30 miles and I look at the car in my driveway and I see this (pictures taken next morning):

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

Now I usually don't park near other people and this night I didn't as well. Someone had decided to hit me, while I was parked, by myself, during the game, and didn't even leave me a sticky note. Insurance covered the damage (minus my deductible because I didn't have a police report) and the car was out of commission for about another month waiting on parts and the actual repair and painting.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

So.... After I get the car back from the repair shop, within a day or 2 I noticed I was starting to smell coolant. Now when the seal was replaced, they obviously had to drain the coolant, and refrigerant, etc. so I was just going to keep an eye on it... Maybe it wasn't purged, filled and vented fully, whatever... I saw the reservoir tank a little low and added coolant. And again a day later. And again a day later. Back to the dealer, and discovered both heater hose quick connects were leaking. Add another week out of commission while waiting on parts to replace the hoses. Sheesh. At this point the car has 4600 miles on it. The warranty has been really put to the test.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

When the rear main seal went down, I had contacted Kia Customer service to let them know what was going on with this new car. I used the online service and uploaded all the supporting documentation. I heard nothing back for over 2 weeks. I resubmitted my complaint... no response. I contacted my salesperson (the dealer I bought the car from is about 150 miles from me and not the dealer that has done all the repair work) to see if they can help. The salesperson forwarded my issue to the Regional Sales Manager, and about a week or 2 later, Kia Consumer Affairs got back to me. After discussing the rear main seal issue (this time frame is between the seal leak and the coolant leak), Kia offered to pay a car payment for me and I accepted. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I just wanted to let them know in case someone else has this happen, but it's money and it's green and it's good. A month and a half later (last week), I get a check from Kia.

It's been an interesting ride so far with this car, that's for sure.

 

[Eric Arroyo]

Holy smokes man, what a rough few months! Sorry you had to go through all that, but thanks for sharing your experience. And good thing for warranties! I hope it's all smooth sailing from here on out for you.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

Yeah, bought the car at the end of February and it was mostly unusable for April and May. Still loving it though.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Good, grief. What a litany of errors I bet you're out of the woods now!

 

[Snatchell]

When the rear main seal went down, I had contacted Kia Customer service to let them know what was going on with this new car. I used the online service and uploaded all the supporting documentation. I heard nothing back for over 2 weeks. I resubmitted my complaint... no response. I contacted my salesperson (the dealer I bought the car from is about 150 miles from me and not the dealer that has done all the repair work) to see if they can help. The salesperson forwarded my issue to the Regional Sales Manager, and about a week or 2 later, Kia Consumer Affairs got back to me. After discussing the rear main seal issue (this time frame is between the seal leak and the coolant leak), Kia offered to pay a car payment for me and I accepted. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I just wanted to let them know in case someone else has this happen, but it's money and it's green and it's good. A month and a half later (last week), I get a check from Kia.

It's been an interesting ride so far with this car, that's for sure.

Are you leasing? My Stinger was down for a month with about 3000 miles on it and they said no way would they reimburse me for my month. Hmm. Please let me know... I feel your pain! You had it worse than my situation!

Thanks!

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

No, purchased. That's what they offered...

 

[ZilWin]

I have had an oil leak since the first oil change at 3K miles. The dealere had the car for 1.5 wks and said they replaced the upper and lower pan gaskets after consulting with Kia. That was in early 2019. I have been back to the dealer for the second oil change and they said nothing so i figured I was all good. Now at 15k miles I dropped the under body panel to do my own oil change and what do I see? Oil on the lower pan and the area above the pan, the subframe cross member, also on the underbody panel. So I pull the dipstick and the oil looks to be a half to a quart OVERFILLED! I am concerned there is water in the oil. The radiator shows full but the overflow tank is empty and has been slowly losing level since the car was new. I am taking it in to the dealer Monday as I called the service manager as soon as I discovered the leaks again. He knew who I was as I am the only Stinger owner with any oil leaks.
I am wondering if I should drain some of the oil before taking it in to see if there is water in it? or trust the dealer to eval the problem correctly and come clean with me.

 

[ZilWin]

Pics to support above

 

[MerlintheMad]

Pics to support aboveView attachment 40054 View attachment 40052 View attachment 40053

If you are not finding oil drips on the ground where you park, it isn't a leak per se. "Oozing" is a more accurate word, in my humble opinion.

Why are you concerned about water in the oil? Why would there be?

 

[ZilWin]

There are no drips on the ground as they are caught by the underbody panel and that shows evidence of the leaks on it. So is an 'ooze' considered acceptable on this car? I am of the opinion that any fluid leaks on cars, especially new ones, are not acceptable. I am concerned about coolant in the oil because the oil level is fully over the top of the plastic dipstick gauge by 1/4 of an inch and the radiator overflow tank is empty. I am trying to figure out why, in the presence of a leak, the oil dipstick would show an overfull condition.

 

[Nuthadey]

There are no drips on the ground as they are caught by the underbody panel and that shows evidence of the leaks on it. So is an 'ooze' considered acceptable on this car? I am of the opinion that any fluid leaks on cars, especially new ones, are not acceptable. I am concerned about coolant in the oil because the oil level is fully over the top of the plastic dipstick gauge by 1/4 of an inch and the radiator overflow tank is empty. I am trying to figure out why, in the presence of a leak, the oil dipstick would show an overfull condition.

There's nothing normal about your car leaking oil. And water in the oil is an even more serious cause for concern. Ignore any moron that tells you different. If you have a different dealership/service department in your area take your car there instead of the one you've been using.

 

[MerlintheMad]

There are no drips on the ground as they are caught by the underbody panel and that shows evidence of the leaks on it. So is an 'ooze' considered acceptable on this car? I am of the opinion that any fluid leaks on cars, especially new ones, are not acceptable. I am concerned about coolant in the oil because the oil level is fully over the top of the plastic dipstick gauge by 1/4 of an inch and the radiator overflow tank is empty. I am trying to figure out why, in the presence of a leak, the oil dipstick would show an overfull condition.

No, "ooze" is not acceptable. But it isn't a worry, vis-à-vis your car is going to fail. I asked about why you feel there is water in your oil. I'm trying to learn something. Simply overfilling the oil could show above the line for a long time with an ooze/drip. And we've read on here numerous times the question about seeing our cars with oil over the top line. Mine has it every time I get an oil change. And maybe I have an "ooze" issues too and just don't know it. I go by what I see on the carport floor.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

Ignore MTM. Seriously.