Oil Leak at 4500 miles

[zilwin]

Went in to the dealer for first service at approx 4500 miles yesterday. It's a 2018 3.3T GT2. I had some complaints that I wanted addressed. Namely, the coolant smell that appears occasionally, squeaky brakes on 2 wheels, a defect in the steering wheel leather, and have them look to see if the rear hatch TSB should be done. Before I left the dealership the tech came over and said, 'we didn't find a coolant leak, but we found an oil leak'. He stated they couldn't see where it was coming from yet but it was up high on the drivers side. He showed me the leak and it also looked like some dried colored crusty stuff next to it. They kept the car in the shop and sent me on my way.
I am wondering if it isn't a head gasket and that's why the coolant smell too. I have checked the oil level a few times over the 4500 miles and it has been OK. The car is mostly around town driving with a few longer weekend trips. I am concerned that I have a fairly major problem this early in the life of this vehicle. I just installed a PVC catch can on it and showed him the can and he agreed that has nothing to do with what they are seeing.

 

[robz32]

Doubt is something as serious as a head gasket failure. However I would discard a possible valve cover oil leak.. Do you recall where exactly on the engine was the leak coming from?

 

[zilwin]

It's still at the shop and it was on the lift when they showed it to me. There was still a lot of stuff in the way as they had not yet started taking things apart. It was left side I would guess about midway down the engine block. I really don't have a good reference as to where it was coming from as I only looked for a few moments and as I say there was too much stuff in the way for even the tech to see where it was coming from.. Hopefully I get more detail today.

 

[zilwin]

Latest update is that they can't identify where the leak is coming from and are now swapping pictures and stories with Kia Tech support. Day 4 now and it seems like they are no closer to a resolution than day 1. Hopefully my car does not become a training tool for the dealership and Kia Tech support. Very disappointing.

 

[CKeeler]

I’m wondering how they can’t find where the leak is coming from. You mentioned that it’s the first service you’ve done on it. Usually factory engines come with oil that has an additive that you can see under a black light. I wonder if Kia does that from the factory

 

[zilwin]

So I spoke directly to the service rep just a few minutes ago. Kia wants them to start with the oil pan. I asked if they were replacing the pan or just resealing it. He didn't know. I asked how they seal the pan and he indicated he thought it was silicone rather than a gasket. They will be adding a dye to the oil to evaluate if they have fixed the leak. So I guess the answer to your speculation is NO, apparently they don't put dye in the factory oil charge. He is indicating I might get the car back Monday which will be a full week out of service.

And yes this is the first service @ ~ 4500 miles

 

[zilwin]

Day 9 and car is still at the dealer. No word from service rep and he doesn't want to return my calls. This is getting serious. I do not think it is reasonable for a dealer to keep a car for 9 days and still have no apparent resolution path for the problem.

 

[Kazz]

About time to call the Kia Concierge line and/or whatever the Regional Kia rep's phone number is. This may permanently alter your relationship with this service department, however. So you might walk in there instead of calling and have a conversation along those lines with them.

 

[zilwin]

I went in there today and spoke with the service manager. The service rep is out of the shop this week so I was referred to the service manager. He indicated that there is a leak in the 'upper oil pan'. I asked him what that was and he sort of explained that there is a lower oil pan, then the lower case then the upper oil pan...???? Sounds to me like the leak is between the crankcase and the head which is what I said in the first place when I was smelling coolant. He also said they just today got authorization from Kia to repair the 'pan leak'. I said to him 'from your explanation it sounds like you have to pull the engine on a brand new car' his response......'according to the book you do'. I asked him if they have the skill set there to do that work and he blathered about master technicians and 10 years experience blah blah. So now I have a brand new car with a serious oil leak that is going to have to have the engine pulled by a bunch of service guys at a dealership. What's the chances it goes back together according to all the specs? OR they're going to shortcut the thing and put a band aid on it and send me on my way. Either way I am screwed.
I have sent a memo to Kia through their customer web portal so we'll see how that goes. As far as the relationship with the dealer....This is my first purchase with them and I have a page and a half of questionable issues and conduct from the sales process to finance to this service issue now which so far I have not complained about or brought up so I am not really concerned about my relationship with them as this is a one and done for me. The disappointing part is that the excitement is gone now with the new Stinger because of all of this. Plus I purchased the bumper to bumper extended warranty for an add'l $4999 so I lose all that if I jettison the dealership or the car or both.

 

[zilwin]

So i got my car back yesterday after 11 days in the shop. Looks like they had to take a lot of stuff off to get to the leaking 'upper pan'. Water pump, oil filter housing, fuel lines, valve covers according to the list of gaskets listed on the invoice. They also 'cleaned' the brakes that were squeaky. i have not yet experienced the vibrations from warped rotors some folks have complained of.
I'll be giving it a good shakedown in a couple weeks as i will be driving it coast to coast.
I patched things up with the service manager so we are on fairly good terms now....I think.

 

[zilwin]

Follow up. Did the coast to coast trip with an Enduro style run from Key West to Las Vegas on the return. Mostly hi speed highway miles. Tested all the tech in the car and it all seemed to run well. It's a great car for an extended trip. Returned to dealer for scheduled oil change and the tech reports no signs of the UV dye they added to the oil anywhere so hopefully they fixed the leak.....fingers crossed. The ADD catch can on the PCV side was approx 1/4 full of oil and stuff after a 7500 mile trip. I have not installed an OCC on the breather side. Brakes still squeak a bit but still no vibration that many have reported. 11,500 on the odometer

 

[Kazz]

Excellent! Sounds like a great trip, too! She's a great car for long distance driving, a "Grand Tourer".

 

[robz32]

Glad to hear everything was taken care of. It is indeed a great car for road trips.

 

[zilwin]

Update on this issue;
That was in early 2019. I have been since 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.

 

[CKeeler]

I say let them deal with it. It’s their job to maintain proper working order of the cars

 

[zilwin]

I did drain about a quart from the bottom of the sump and it looks like it's just oil, no coolant or other fluid. The dipstick still shows waaay overfilled. I'll need to take that up with service when I see them because they are the only ones to service the vehicle. I haven't started to look into why the coolant overflow bottle is empty. I am trying to look for a spec for the coolant the factory puts in the stinger. It almost looks like Zerex g48 as it is light green or turquoise in color. I wish Kia had a spec page like Benz and BMW to specify fluid specs.

 

[CKeeler]

I did drain about a quart from the bottom of the sump and it looks like it's just oil, no coolant or other fluid. The dipstick still shows waaay overfilled. I'll need to take that up with service when I see them because they are the only ones to service the vehicle. I haven't started to look into why the coolant overflow bottle is empty. I am trying to look for a spec for the coolant the factory puts in the stinger. It almost looks like Zerex g48 as it is light green or turquoise in color. I wish Kia had a spec page like Benz and BMW to specify fluid specs.

It’s standard green coolant. Nothing special about it.

 

[zilwin]

Update: The overfilled oil is due to gas being forced into the crankcase by a defective high pressure fuel pump. I guess my intuition that something was getting into the oil was correct, it just wasn't coolant. Dealer is replacing the high pressure fuel pump and they are replacing some o-rings and gaskets to repair the oil pan leak. I will speculate that the pan leak is due to the gas in the oil getting past the gaskets. I wonder how many lifetime miles I have lost on the engine with contaminated oil being pumped around as lubricant. I'd like to know why, if the fuel pump pressure was forcing gas through the piston rings or into the lubrication side of the system through something, why an O2 sensor or something didn't sense too rich a mixture and throw a code? Sounds like a pretty major malfunction to not throw something out of whack.
Low coolant in the overflow bottle is still a mystery but they did test it and the system cycles the way it should.

One month and 500 miles later: 500 miles later and the oil is again 'overfilled' with gas in the oil sump. So the HP fuel pump is not the failure. Car is back at the dealer for another two weeks so far with no resolution or solution path for the issue in sight. i am waiting for Kia engineering to 'get involved". They are now after two weeks in the shop, asking the dealer to remove the ADD catch can as a potential problem. I guess I have been 'stung' by the Stinger as neither the dealer nor Kia seems to want to admit there is a major issue with this vehicle. i have already explained to the service manager that I am getting close to the end of my patience as Kia and the dealer needs to step up and do the right thing to get this resolved and make me whole again.

 

[Nightshifter]

Man... gone are the days of working on your fox body mustang or f-body z28