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Oil leak found! Rear main seal going bad? Under warranty?

20K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  thewerzinator 
#1 · (Edited)
Full res image: https://imgur.com/a/uXJ3Dzj

2013 1.6L auto with 64k mi. Finally found out where the little droplets of oil were coming from over the past couple months. Highlighted the area in red.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but is this leak located in between the engine flywheel and the transmission? Is this a rear main seal issue? And, would this be under the powertrain/engine warranty?

Thanks!

Edit: I checked to see if this was just road grime before, I wiped it off and it definitely smelled like oil. Cleaned it up, and this is what it looked like again a couple weeks later. I added about a cup of oil to top it off to compensate for this slow leak.

Edit 2: Took it to the dealership, they cleaned up my car, added an oil dye, ran the car on the lift. Didn't see the leak. Told me to bring it back when I see it leaking again. Waived the diagnostic fee. Brought it back two days later, they spotted the oil leak with the UV light, and diagnosed it as the rear main seal going bad. Gonna take a couple days for the part to arrive, and then my car will be out of commission for two days while they work on it.
 
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#3 ·
I would think it is covered under powertrain. My understanding is any problem that can lead to the engine not running is covered.

This leak left undiagnosed & not repaired could certainly lead to that.
 
#4 · (Edited)
How much oil are you losing ? doesn't look like to big of a leak they may call it normal compared to American made cars that is nothing not saying it is nothing but i had GM cars that leaked more than that in a day waaay more than that also have you checked and/or replaced the PCV valve as they are known to stick on GDI engines as these commonly go bad and stick and pressurize the engine and cause leaks like rear main seals from the extra oil pressure
 
#6 · (Edited)
Had the dealership look at it, they cleaned the area up, added an oil dye, and ran the car for 45 minutes.

It didn't leak in that time, but they said as soon as it appears again that I should bring it in for further testing. Also said if the engine/trans is the issue that it would be under warranty

I guarantee that it'll be back in a week. I've cleaned it up before, only for it to get oily again.
 
#7 ·
Yes. Looks like a rear main to me. Yes, that should be covered under powertrain. No rear main seal should be leaking at 70k miles. While it's true what was said above re: American cars and "this is normal" 30 years ago, no modern vehicle should have any kind of tolerance so large that a weeping RMS would be normal.

On the plus side, it's not going to hurt anything. It's just going to make a mess of your garage & driveway. Even if you have a manual it's usually not going to hurt anything so long as it's not so blown that it's pouring. Also, sometimes it's not the RMS but the threads on the flywheel bolts that are leaking. I'm not sure what the Kia specs are but most cars have thread sealer on the flywheel bolts to prevent that wicking of oil.

Also, if they opened up the bellhousing (and I don't have my manual handy so that's assuming you *can* open the bellhousing) and cleaned up the oil, then put it back together, they're never going to see it in 45 minutes. Anything you could see that fast would be leaving a serious oil stain behind.
 
#8 ·
Brought the car back to the dealership, they ran the UV light and saw where the oil had leaked. Confirmed mine, as well as most of y'all's suspicions: it is definitely a leaking rear main seal.

Covered under warranty, car will be out of commission for a couple days while they work on it. I'll probably have them check out the PCV valve too.
 
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