Add another one to the oil leak list

[roy826]

First time poster and I hate coming in with a un positive post. My wife owns the car and I'm the trusty maintenance guy. We can't trust dealerships with the simplest of task locally. Brief run down, my wife like small sports cars and her past cars were a 02 Miata then her favorite 06 S2000. Miata didn't last to long she never really liked it. The S2000 was destroyed by a freak hail storm two years ago and that's when she bought the BRZ. She has enjoyed the BRZ up until two weeks ago when I was performing a routine oil and filter change. Only the 4th one since the car only has 20k miles on it. That is when I discovered the oil leak coming from the drivers side timing cover meeting point at valve cover and cyl head. It had been leaking a while as the skid pan was covered in oil and of course the bottoms side of that cyl head side.

I was also shocked to notice no coolant in the coolant tank literally dry. It was a little lows last oil change about 5 months ago didn't think anything of its.

Fast forward we took the car in to selling dealer the only Subaru dealer local. Immediately got the run around from service advisor saying I spilt oil filling the car yadda yadda. I said well the dirt and grime sure didn't waste any time sticking to that oil then. Point bring that's not what happened I'm a pretty good wrench and way better than anything they have there. Anywho he took the car in and two days later called me to inform me he cleaned all the oil mess up and topped off the coolant tank. We were to drive the car and do a follow up on the leak. Word for word of what a service bulletin on oil leaks said that I read online. So we took it home 19 miles, checked and my hand was covered in oil when I stuck it under the head. No coolant in the over flow tank again. That was on a Friday so couldn't take it back until following Monday they are çlosed on saturdays.

Took it in the following Monday and again ran my hand under the suspected leak area at timing cover/head/valve cover, hand full of oil. He didn't say much of anything just completed the work order. I could tell the whole bunch was not to happy with seeing this car back or me. Last thing I told them is its under warranty, it's leaking, fix it! We leave out of town tomorrow for 4 days so won't get an opportunity to follow up until next week. The car is paid for and we can walk away from it easy but I would/will not sell or trade a car with a major issue. It's just not right. I don't have any faith in Subaru or this dealership. I expect many more problems to crop up after this repair. My wife really doesn't have anything similar to go buy right now. She loves driving it but hates the Subaru aspect of it. We are longtime Toyota customers that's all I will drive is their trucks. Love Honda but they don't make anything but boxes with wheels now days.

Sorry for the winded entrance but ive lurked here a while and I am totally blown away by the problems these cars seem to have. Listened to a good friend that worked their for many years or I personally would never had bought this car. He couldn't sell me the time of day now.

[ryoma]

damn, that sucks. hopefully they get it fixed. at least it's still under warranty so you don't have to pay out of pocket.

[BRZnut]

dealer gave you the run around? What a surprise! Hope it works out. Is this the common oil leak in manuals that has been posted before?

[roy826]

Originally Posted by BRZnut

dealer gave you the run around? What a surprise! Hope it works out. Is this the common oil leak in manuals that has been posted before?

No not the same side. That leak occurs in the right side so I've read up on. This is at the front of the engine on left side (drivers side). Wish it was the plate leak on right side way easier to fix than the timing chain cover which is the entire front of the engine.

Yes dealers attitude towards us was a serious let down. She bought her S2000 back in 06 from this same dealer. You'd think they would appreciate the business but not when it came to the BRZ. I think they are sick of Subaru's the shop seems full of them. The Honda side seems empty. Just a casual observation by me. They also sell Volvo which seems to be a pos too.

[tyrantcf]

Your title kind of leads people to believe it's the cam plate on the passenger side (that's where many of the early cars developed a leak). If your leak is coming from the valve cover/head then you've got a less simple fix.

The dealer probably realizes they'll have to pull the engine to fix it. Like you said though, car is under warranty, they'll get it figured out now that they know you aren't going away.

Best of luck!

[Itzed]

If you are losing coolant, but not seeing a coolant leak, you are burning it. If you are burning it, you most likely have a head gasket problem.

[mikalem]

What model year is the car? Are you the first owner? I have/had a similar leak, just on the passenger side. (Plus the can timing cover leak also mentioned) - I have a fairly early 2013 motor.... Was hoping the 2015s wouldn't be having this issue. Agree with your wife, the Subaru motor is horrible.

[roy826]

The car is a 2013 model, ordered it new right after the Honda S2000 she owned was destroyed by hail March 2013. I assume its an early 13 model we waited about 3 weeks to get it because she wanted the Limited but with a manual transmission.

I'm sorry the title of the thread is misleading but with this engine having so many leaks what else can one say. Yes I know the engines got to come out and I don't like it but nothing we can do. We certainly can't drive it leaking as its a pretty good leak. I don't expect this to really solve due to all I've read about it on the net. Subaru is the black sheep of Japan IMO. Give me a Toyota (real yota) or a Honda all day long. Won't be buying another Subaru.

I will say this she loves driving this car but the sorry engine quality has all but ruined the experience for her and me.

[roy826]

Originally Posted by Itzed

If you are losing coolant, but not seeing a coolant leak, you are burning it. If you are burning it, you most likely have a head gasket problem.

Yes I agree with that. I have told them I know. None in the oil at every oil change that I could tell. It's not an oil burner never used any during 5k chsnged intervals. Using Mobil 1 0w20 and Subaru oil filters. No visible leakage of coolant anywhere. The engine temp has never been above normal. This is her daily driver 38 miles a day it's never even been out of town on a trip and is garage kept.

[Takumi788]

Problems really seem to be hit or miss with these cars. Mine has been nothing but fantastic from day one and I also have a 2013 that I bought in March 2013. All these problems people have make me nervous but if anything happened to mine I would be at the Subaru dealership the next day purchasing another one.

[pinski]

Originally Posted by roy826

Yes dealers attitude towards us was a serious let down. She bought her S2000 back in 06 from this same dealer. You'd think they would appreciate the business but not when it came to the BRZ. I think they are sick of Subaru's the shop seems full of them. The Honda side seems empty. Just a casual observation by me. They also sell Volvo which seems to be a pos too.

You know what's crazy? I drove by my Honda dealer and the service bay was full. Drove by the Toyota dealer and the service bay was full. Drove by the Subaru dealer and the service bay was full. Same for the BMW dealer, Porsche dealer, Chevy dealer, Ford dealer, etc.

By your logic, I guess they're all pieces of shit, right? Or maybe they're getting oil changes.

Good luck getting your issue resolved.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by roy826

I don't expect this to really solve due to all I've read about it on the net. Subaru is the black sheep of Japan IMO. Give me a Toyota (real yota) or a Honda all day long. Won't be buying another Subaru.

I will say this she loves driving this car but the sorry engine quality has all but ruined the experience for her and me.

Okay I'll be the one to say it. Stop.

1.) You bought one Subaru. There are millions of completely reliable Subarus on the road. My previous one almost hit 300k miles before I sold it, and other than needing the head gaskets replaced, it was probably the most reliable car on the entire planet. It says something about a car when you're taking the one with 250k miles on road trip, rather than the ones with under 100.

2.) You bought a Subaru with the first new engine design from them in a very, VERY long time. New designs have teething issues, no matter what manufacturer you buy from.

3.) The cam cover leak is a perfect example of the kinds of teething issues new cars have. You say yours isn't leaking from there. As far as I am aware, that is the only "common" oil leak this engine design has so far. If yours is leaking from the valve cover, it sounds more like an issue with your particular engine, rather than with every single "black sheep" Subaru ever built.

4.) Coming into a forum with your first post being about a problem with your new car is perfectly acceptable; even encouraged.

5.) Coming into a forum with your first post being about how this is the worst manufacturer on the planet, and how you will never buy another one, all based off of what could thus far be one defective part in your engine, and one less-than-helpful dealership is a great way to annoy a lot of people. The problem you are having has happened many millions of times over to people with Hondas, Toyotas, Audis, WV, Fords, etc...

Stick to the facts, and leave your incredibly biased viewpoint out of it and this thread won't devolve into a bunch of arguing. Because right now all I see is you continually bashing all of Subaru, calling them a disgrace to Japanese car companies, all over an oil leak, and a less-than-hekpful dealership, which we all know is *most* dealerships from every manufacturer.

Also, if your dealership sucks so much, why not take it to another one? Subarus are pretty popular on account of them being very reliable cars, so there's probably another dealership not too much further away.

[Shark_Bait88]

^This guy is just jelly that he didn't get a Scion. He probably bought the wrong shade of WRB too.

[sevi21]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

Okay I'll be the one to say it. Stop.

1.) You bought one Subaru. There are millions of completely reliable Subarus on the road. My previous one almost hit 300k miles before I sold it, and other than needing the head gaskets replaced, it was probably the most reliable car on the entire planet. It says something about a car when you're taking the one with 250k miles on road trip, rather than the ones with under 100.

2.) You bought a Subaru with the first new engine design from them in a very, VERY long time. New designs have teething issues, no matter what manufacturer you buy from.

3.) The cam cover leak is a perfect example of the kinds of teething issues new cars have. You say yours isn't leaking from there. As far as I am aware, that is the only "common" oil leak this engine design has so far. If yours is leaking from the valve cover, it sounds more like an issue with your particular engine, rather than with every single "black sheep" Subaru ever built.

4.) Coming into a forum with your first post being about a problem with your new car is perfectly acceptable; even encouraged.

5.) Coming into a forum with your first post being about how this is the worst manufacturer on the planet, and how you will never buy another one, all based off of what could thus far be one defective part in your engine, and one less-than-helpful dealership is a great way to annoy a lot of people. The problem you are having has happened many millions of times over to people with Hondas, Toyotas, Audis, WV, Fords, etc...

Stick to the facts, and leave your incredibly biased viewpoint out of it and this thread won't devolve into a bunch of arguing. Because right now all I see is you continually bashing all of Subaru, calling them a disgrace to Japanese car companies, all over an oil leak, and a less-than-hekpful dealership, which we all know is *most* dealerships from every manufacturer.

Also, if your dealership sucks so much, why not take it to another one? Subarus are pretty popular on account of them being very reliable cars, so there's probably another dealership not too much further away.

He actually owns Subaru. #fact