FiveSeven

iTrader: (3)

Hello Everyone,

I have a 2010 LS460 with 53,000 miles that i took delivery on at 09-16-2010. After coming home from church today I noticed oil stains where I park only my LS. I just ran out of my bumper to bumper warranty 3k miles ago.

My question is.. are oil leaks covered by power train warranty? if not what range of a cost am I looking to incur? (I am getting a few drops every 3-4 hours) I should mention about 10k miles ago the dealership caused my car to have a oil leak after a oil change because they forgot to tighten the oil pan bolt. you guys think they'll help me out based on the previous issue? I checked the oil levels and they are normal so I plan to just drive it in since the dealer is only 2 miles away from my home. I've used the search function but couldn't find any threads related to power-train warranty and oil leaks.

robert1408

Your power train warranty covers oil leaks. Definitely have a Lexus dealer look at it. A recent oil change could have left some spilled oil from the filler or the filter housing, leaving some oil pooled on the belly shield.

Devh

The oil leaks depending on the cause can be covered under the powertrain warranty.
Just a guess based on your history of a previous oil leak and what they told you, it is possible that the dealer stripped the oil pan threads by over tightening it. It may have leaked and then they tightened the bolt to a point where it doesn't leak but the threads could still be weak and it may have started to leak again as the vibrations set it free. I have seen this before and their intention is to pass the buck on to the next guy. It is very difficult to under tighten an oil bolt by mistake so that raises my suspicion.

You should first find out where the leak is coming from then go back to the dealership and make a complaint with the service manager of the dealership that performed the last oil change. Unfortunately if this is the case then the powertrain warranty will probably not cover this.

FiveSeven

iTrader: (3)

Wow.. i was hoping this wasn't the case... I only service my car at 1 dealership. I pretty much do everything but my tires there. I plan to take it in first thing tomorrow morning before heading out to work. Any idea what it might cost if I have to pay out of pocket?

FiveSeven

iTrader: (3)

Based on this I may have a idea what may have happened.. Last night I was over at a friends house and I parked on his driveway which is inclined. I was probably parked in that position for a good 4-5 hours. Today morning is when I noticed the spots of oil on my garage floor. If there were any spillage in the belly shield it may have moved to a area when i was parked at a incline making it possible for the oil to move to a area it can now drip out.

Today morning I had a good 3 or 4 areas scattered of oil drops. I just checked right now and although there was oil it wasn't even close to what i saw today morning. I'll keep you guys posted with that the dealership tells me tomorrow.

Devh

An out of pocket expense should not be entertained at any cost. If they discover the bolt leaking due to stripped oil pan threads, It's their fault for over tightening the bolt. Don't let them steer you or convince you of anything else, let them know that their mechanic overnighted the bolt and ruined it and you would like a new oil pan on their dime. Don't even entertain a partial cost.
Most of the time dealerships employ people who are not mechanics that change the oil and rotate the tires and they do it so fast they end up over tighten both the oil pan bolt and oil filter.

hms09

Just curious but why would they mess with the oil pan during an oil change?

Also just to mention, I had an oil leak like you described that turned out to be valve cover gaskets.

roadfrog

The oil drain bolt is located on the sump pan, (oil pan).

Also, perhaps it's leaking because they didn't replace the plug gasket? Regardless, if they stripped it, it's easily remedied by re-tapping and installing a new bolt and gasket. Cheap fix.

Valley101

It has been discussed in the "Threads" on this forum why you cannot re-tap the hole for the oil drain. Primarily, I remember that the metal is not thick enough, the angle can not be aligned perfectly, and metal shavings can get into the pan. Search the threads and read.

Devh

The copper crush washer is there not to seal leaks but to give tension to the bolt as it's being tightened so it doesn't bottom out. If the washer is not there or the old one is being re-used it may bottom out and strip if you over tighten the bolt. Still stripping the bolt is hard to do but unfortunately these quick oil change people at the dealership don't take the time to even care.
I have encountered oil pan bolts that were so hard to remove that I needed a small breaker bar.
The oil filter on my LS was so tight after I took it home that it made me a believer in doing my own oil changes.

roadfrog

So I heard...The drain pan can also be repaired with steel threads using a Time-Sert thread repair insert such as this:

http://www.timesert.com/html/drainplug.html

FiveSeven

iTrader: (3)

*UPDATE*

I got my car back today. The leak was from the oil filter housing. There was a crack that the oil was leaking out of.. Lexus replaced the parts and cleaned up the excess oil. I was told that this sort of thing was not covered by my powertrain warranty but they didn't charge me because I have only serviced my car at their dealership. I'll report back if it continues to leak.

williakz

My money's on improper oil change procedure. A LOT of wrenchers crank on the oil filter housing drain plug cap to tighten the entire housing. This results in 1) overtorquing the drain plug cap (should be approx. 10 ft-lbs instead of the 20 ft-lbs for the actual housing) and 2) cracking of the plastic that the metal cap screws into.

You have to watch those mechanics like a hawk. Many are lazy (take easiest way out), stupid (don't care about future consequences), and are sure they know better than the engineer who designed the engine (they DON'T!). For every future oil change, make sure to demand that the mechanic gives you the OLD O-rings. You should get a big one (housing to crankcase) AND a small one (drain cap to filter housing). If he only gives you the big one, you know he skipped the drain plug replacement and you only got half the job done. Also, he may have cranked on the drain cap to secure the housing and another crack and oil leak could be coming your way...

Devh

The dealer gets these young guys that crank on everything. You would think a high end dealership would be better then a quick change oil place but it isn't probably because the hire former employees.