Oil leak near transmission / rear main seal

[Slip_Angle]

Update:

My car has now been in the shop for 2.5 weeks. As of two days ago they're still waiting for some part to replace the oil pan seal. Apparently the rear main seal has been replaced. Not sure if my engine is back in the car yet and I definitely don't know when I'm getting my car back. Since day 1 I've been driving a G70 3.3 Prestige loaner car. I'll have many comments about driving this car compared to my 3.3 Sport.

I'm interested to hear your comparison and the results of the work they did!

 

[tarhoosier]

From the limited replies to my question about the seriousness of this issue for my car, if it exists, I take it that limiting my action on the issue would be best. I may have my local non Genesis tech check for leak and say nothing when I go to Genesis dealer for regular service. I drive 5k miles/year and my calamity risk is thus reduced, imo.
I feel sure that if Genesis raises the issue during a service visit and I decline the warranty repair it will impede any claim for any repair of any kind later. I prefer to avoid the scene Van Nik has encountered. I think his courage is admirable.

 

[Slip_Angle]

I've mentioned it to my dealer. If they see an issue, they will address it. If I have to drive another G70 for awhile, it saves miles on mine...

 

[rmod]

I have some time to kill while I wait for my better half. So here goes my thoughts on the leak situation. Feel free to comment / correct as you wish.

In a case like this, there are a variety of factors to be considered.

What is leaking?
If it is engine oil, technically, if you keep adding it (and wiping it off the floor) should be OK if there is no loss of oil pressure (i.e., the leak is small and it becomes an annoyance). Trans fluid is a little more difficult to tackle due to lack of ease of monitoring / filling. Yes, either will lead to something failing if neglected as the level / pressure drops. Dust and grime also will accelerate this failure. So logically thinking, a leak should be fixed. Now comes the next question.

Why is this happening?
It could be a lot of reasons...faulty seals, faulty design, faulty assembly, poor QC etc. the list goes on. To find out why exactly, investigation is necessary.

What to do now?
Short answer it depends....on a lot of things. Some are as follows:
a) How bad is the leak? Is it a seep, or are you filling up oil and topping the gas at the gas station?
b) Can you DIY – well, given enough time and money, (almost) anything is possible.
c) Wait a minute – WARRANTY! (if you have it left) <insert playback of stop motion dealership nightmare scenario here> Yes, you can take it to your dealer and yes, they will take the thing apart to take a look. Unless they take enough of these apart to see what exactly is failing (maybe the rear main seal, pump seal etc.) they will not be able to report back to Genesis to make changes or recalls. OTOH, If they need to replace a major component (which usually is the case in “fixing” anything these days) they will have the tools required to re-program whatever computer that controls the thing being replaced. But who cares! You have warranty right? Well...not so simple.

We get attached to the new things that we buy. Think about a brand new car vs a beater. This is one of the reason why we shudder to imagine the car lying in pieces at the dealership. A lot of questions: Will they do a good job? Do they know what they are doing? What if they break something else while they do this? The questions keep going on.

The way I see it, the leak must be fixed. Is the dealership qualified to do it? Well is there anyone else who is better informed with the right tools to work on this car? At the moment I guess not. But... will they do it right? That is question that no one knows the answer to. We have no choice but to trust them to do the job professionally. Is it not the case with everything in life that requires skill? Think surgeons, dentists, etc.

In my case, as mentioned previously, I will wait till it becomes obvious and then take it in. I probably will run out of warranty by then, and depending on the cost to fix it, I may trade it in for another vehicle.

 

[Van_Nik_75]

Conclusion:

I just got my G70 back about 20 minutes ago. They had my car for a total of 22 days while the rear main seal and subsequently the oil pan gasket was replaced. As my car was dropped off my at my house and they picked up the loaner G70 that I've been driving, I've only driven my car about 25 ft into my garage. Until I drive to work tomorrow I likely won't notice any difference until then. The visual inspection of the engine bay is that it's cleaner than I gave it to them but nothing else noticeable.

I haven't been given the invoice yet as I've been told that they're still finalizing the warranty claim is finished. I trust that I'll get a finalized version emailed to me to detail everything that was done and how many shop hours went into the job.

Some immediate observations of my loaner G70:

I began to hate the G70 Prestige that I was driving. There were three main issues. First, I felt like I was sitting on bench seats as they were so much flatter than the sport seats in my G70. The other main difference was that there was no selectable suspension settings. Even in sport mode, this G70 floated over bumps in the road like my Dad's Crown Victoria.Then there was the Michelin touring tires. There's an on-ramp coming home from work that I like to take at speed and the combination of the soft suspension and touring tires was definitely low-performance.

I did kind of like having the motorized trunk opening and closing but other than that I couldn't wait to get my G70 back.

I might post one more final update once I get the final invoice if there's anything worth reporting. It was totally covered by warranty so I'm not out of pocket anything. The last big final question is if there's any noticeable difference with the car given that the engine and transmission have been removed and put back in.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Conclusion:

I just got my G70 back about 20 minutes ago. They had my car for a total of 22 days while the rear main seal and subsequently the oil pan gasket was replaced. As my car was dropped off my at my house and they picked up the loaner G70 that I've been driving, I've only driven my car about 25 ft into my garage. Until I drive to work tomorrow I likely won't notice any difference until then. The visual inspection of the engine bay is that it's cleaner than I gave it to them but nothing else noticeable.

I haven't been given the invoice yet as I've been told that they're still finalizing the warranty claim is finished. I trust that I'll get a finalized version emailed to me to detail everything that was done and how many shop hours went into the job.

Some immediate observations of my loaner G70:

I began to hate the G70 Prestige that I was driving. There were three main issues. First, I felt like I was sitting on bench seats as they were so much flatter than the sport seats in my G70. The other main difference was that there was no selectable suspension settings. Even in sport mode, this G70 floated over bumps in the road like my Dad's Crown Victoria.Then there was the Michelin touring tires. There's an on-ramp coming home from work that I like to take at speed and the combination of the soft suspension and touring tires was definitely low-performance.

I did kind of like having the motorized trunk opening and closing but other than that I couldn't wait to get my G70 back.

I might post one more final update once I get the final invoice if there's anything worth reporting. It was totally covered by warranty so I'm not out of pocket anything. The last big final question is if there's any noticeable difference with the car given that the engine and transmission have been removed and put back in.

Appreciate the update. I don't trust my dealership enough to let them do that amount of work....that is IF they'd even do it in the first place...

 

[Slip_Angle]

Conclusion:

I just got my G70 back about 20 minutes ago. They had my car for a total of 22 days while the rear main seal and subsequently the oil pan gasket was replaced. As my car was dropped off my at my house and they picked up the loaner G70 that I've been driving, I've only driven my car about 25 ft into my garage. Until I drive to work tomorrow I likely won't notice any difference until then. The visual inspection of the engine bay is that it's cleaner than I gave it to them but nothing else noticeable.

I haven't been given the invoice yet as I've been told that they're still finalizing the warranty claim is finished. I trust that I'll get a finalized version emailed to me to detail everything that was done and how many shop hours went into the job.

Some immediate observations of my loaner G70:

I began to hate the G70 Prestige that I was driving. There were three main issues. First, I felt like I was sitting on bench seats as they were so much flatter than the sport seats in my G70. The other main difference was that there was no selectable suspension settings. Even in sport mode, this G70 floated over bumps in the road like my Dad's Crown Victoria.Then there was the Michelin touring tires. There's an on-ramp coming home from work that I like to take at speed and the combination of the soft suspension and touring tires was definitely low-performance.

I did kind of like having the motorized trunk opening and closing but other than that I couldn't wait to get my G70 back.

I might post one more final update once I get the final invoice if there's anything worth reporting. It was totally covered by warranty so I'm not out of pocket anything. The last big final question is if there's any noticeable difference with the car given that the engine and transmission have been removed and put back in.

Honestly, a bit harsh really. I've read/watched several reviews that said the standard suspension is every bit as good as the adjustable except it's not as compliant in comfort mode. My test drives agreed with that... Some people don't want the PS4 tires because they don't last long. The MXM4s have a lower limit of course but that makes it more fun because the limits are lower!

I'm pretty sure my 0-60 and 1/4 mile times are quicker as compared to the sport because the trim level I have weighs less overall and the wheels have a lower rotational mass but meh, whatever. All good.

Bottom line, both choices are fine and dependent on your preferences.

 

[Van_Nik_75]

Honestly, a bit harsh really. I've read/watched several reviews that said the standard suspension is every bit as good as the adjustable except it's not as compliant in comfort mode. My test drives agreed with that... Some people don't want the PS4 tires because they don't last long. The MXM4s have a lower limit of course but that makes it more fun because the limits are lower!

I'm pretty sure my 0-60 and 1/4 mile times are quicker as compared to the sport because the trim level I have weighs less overall and the wheels have a lower rotational mass but meh, whatever. All good.

Bottom line, both choices are fine and dependent on your preferences.

Agreed, I’m being overly harsh with my review of the Prestige. It’s mostly tainted by the fact that I was driving it for 22 days instead of the car that I purchased and my personal preference towards the performance-oriented aspects of the car.

 

[[NOBODY]]

This thread and others makes me think of how (relatively) few true mechanical failures our cars have endured. Removing the interior issues, paint, electronics and so on and thinking just of the engine/transmission/driveshaft/differential/spindle/wheel power source and delivery elements, there have been few issues, of which this is one. The vast majority have been noises, lighting failures and all the rest of the nuisance and occasional serious problems that have happened. I suppose the most serious was two ( I think) owners with the start/stop function failure which was electronic not mechanical since the mechanical parts were replaced with no improvement. So many threads about other issues but the engine/transmission mechanical parts failures have been blessedly few.
This is my impression, as a long time participant. If someone else has a different impression please pile on.

Right, this is a crazy outlier. I'm sure actuarial tables on the tranny show that a this will happen to a very select few, just as a very select few will have a transmission that is perfect to 300k miles.

 

[[NOBODY]]

I really doubt they can deny a warranty claim... This appears to be a common issue with G70s and Stingers.

I absolutely wouldn't say this is common by any stretch. This is clearly something happens to a few people. Common means more often than not. I think maybe 3 people, 4, have had this happen on the forum? I am not worried about this in the least.

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[Slip_Angle]

I absolutely wouldn't say this is common by any stretch. This is clearly something happens to a few people. Common means more often than not. I think maybe 3 people, 4, have had this happen on the forum? I am not worried about this in the least.

Well, there is one person on this forum who worked at a Genesis dealer and he had 3 cars plus his own with the issue and there are a few others here... so maybe 7 or 8? There are a bunch on the Stinger forum as well, although I didn't add them up but consider there are far more Stingers than G70s. The other thing is that this issue can't been seen unless you remove the cover.. so maybe it's more common than we think...?

I met a Stinger owner today and he has 130,000 kms on his car (80,000 miles) with no issues. He even has the brake snip and drives the car hard. Good to know!

 

[Toddasaurus]

I absolutely wouldn't say this is common by any stretch. This is clearly something happens to a few people. Common means more often than not. I think maybe 3 people, 4, have had this happen on the forum? I am not worried about this in the least.

We don't have enough evidence to say that it's either common or uncommon. When I asked people to check their own cars, no one did. We only have 3-4 confirmed cases within the forum because there have only been 3-4 people that are actually aware of what the underside of their own car looks like. My car was leaking, but it drove great, shifted great, and had no symptoms.

I was going to start a poll asking people to post their mileage along with a picture of the underside of their bell housing; but, after seeing that no one cares enough to check their own car, and the fact that I had given up on my own, I figured it was pointless.

 

[tarhoosier]

There were a few posts, including mine, about perceived seriousness of the issue and how to proceed. My view was to have independent tech give opinion and avoid H/G repair if possible. This was due to your post, Van Nik and his photos, and other posts about the issue. If it exists on my 2 L then I will monitor it and if issue requires repair before lease end I will proceed. If repair is avoidable I will follow that path. I am aware of the issue, it will be on my mind and monitored.
No one thought calamity would ensue. Perhaps the lack of response to my comment is equal to the lack of response to yours.

 

[mrcleeaan]

Sorry guys, I did check mine but didn't respond. I'm a little over 7k miles. I didn't take a picture of mine but I do remember it looking like the area I circled in red (using Todd's picture for reference). I just wiped it clean and plan to keep an eye on it.

 

[Slip_Angle]

I mentioned it to my service manager and he wondered if it may be similar to an issue with the Hyundai 3.5 litre motors. The oil pressure switch leaks into the valley between the cylinders and then runs out of a weep hole that comes out between the engine and transmission. Often misdiagnosed as a rear main seal. Very minor problem that looks like something much more serious.

This guy explains it very well.

 

[Toddasaurus]

I mentioned it to my service manager and he wondered if it may be similar to an issue with the Hyundai 3.5 litre motors. The oil pressure switch leaks into the valley between the cylinders and then runs out of a weep hole that comes out between the engine and transmission. Often misdiagnosed as a rear main seal. Very minor problem that looks like something much more serious.

This guy explains it very well.

Interesting. The 3.3tt has the sensor in the same location. I never removed the intake manifold runners to check the valley for any oil, though.





Even so, @Van_Nik_75 evidently had a bad rear main seal. It would have been clear where the oil leak was coming from after the engine and tranny were separated.

 

[[NOBODY]]

We don't have enough evidence to say that it's either common or uncommon. When I asked people to check their own cars, no one did. We only have 3-4 confirmed cases within the forum because there have only been 3-4 people that are actually aware of what the underside of their own car looks like. My car was leaking, but it drove great, shifted great, and had no symptoms.

I was going to start a poll asking people to post their mileage along with a picture of the underside of their bell housing; but, after seeing that no one cares enough to check their own car, and the fact that I had given up on my own, I figured it was pointless.

I admit this could completely be true as well. It's fair to say there is not enough data to say either way. I recognize and appreciate that the post has valuable.information. I have been on countless car forums though, where people tended to rush into a judgement on something that turned out only a select few suffered from, I think that's all I was trying to say.

 

[Slip_Angle]

I don't think anyone is rushing to any conclusions, just recognising a pattern. I would also say that People on this forum are pretty astute and educated. We see there are several cars on this and the stinger forum that have an oil seep issue. Let's figure out what's happening.

I still need to check my car. My dealership is going to check their demo units as well.

 

[rkar]

No wonder I've been noticing oil stains on the floor of my driveway. Darn it.

 

[Van_Nik_75]

I'm interested to hear your comparison and the results of the work they did!

I've had my car back for over a week and so far there isn't any noticeable difference in how the car drives, feels or sounds.