Timing Cover Oil Leak

[AllDayJonRay]

Car is currently in for repair for a timing cover leak. Other threads on the topic:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1617278
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ing+cover+leak


Leak was first noticed right at 11,000 miles. Noticed the smell of burning oil cruising on the highway. Popped hood and was attacked with the odor. Noticed a small amount of smoke coming from passenger side/front. Could see oil residue burnt onto exhaust flange just below passenger side valve cover.

Brought car in for repair, was diagnosed as a small leak and given back for holiday weekend. Returned the next week for the repair. Next day I picked the car up and was told that the lower timing cover was resealed. Went about my business, and within the same tank of gas I noticed the odor return. Popped the hood again, same oil residue/smoke/odor present (as well as all the residue from the original leak which was not washed down :thumb down: ).

Returned yesterday to drop the car off again. Got a follow up call today to explain that the engine would be coming out and the full timing cover assembly resealed. I told them that I don't care if they have the car for an extended period, I just want it resealed properly so that I don't have to deal with any more oil leaks.

[Nik33615]

My car is in the shop for the same issue they have had it for over two weeks at this point. I had been told it was everything cam plate on the back of the head, valve cover gasket, cam cap, timing chain cover. It's all been resealed a couple things more than once.

I gave them six chances to fix it and then sent in the lemon law paperwork when it was still leaking.
They are now over the ten days they had to fix the car and I'm just going to get a refund.


Just wanted to put this out there if you are having chronic problems like this complain to corporate you may get some sort of compensation. I asked for an extended warranty and they gave me a ten year 100k mile warranty for free.

[AllDayJonRay]

How many miles did you have?

I've already paid for an extended warranty, and would like to explore FI options sometime before/after that period, so idk what benefit there would be in complaining for an extended warranty. And I don't want to return the car. That'd be a shame. I love the car, but I won't be dragged along if they can't repair it.

It's an oil leak... It shouldn't be something worth pursuing a lemon claim.

[Nik33615]

Originally Posted by AllDayJonRay

How many miles did you have?

I've already paid for an extended warranty, and would like to explore FI options sometime before/after that period, so idk what benefit there would be in complaining for an extended warranty. And I don't want to return the car. That'd be a shame. I love the car, but I won't be dragged along if they can't repair it.

It's an oil leak... It shouldn't be something worth pursuing a lemon claim.

Just 3k something miles when I first started smelling burning oil. I brought it in with just under 4k miles and they totally blew me off. Said it was a protective coating burning off. I told the service advisor that was B.S.

Brought it to a different dealer for my first oil change and by that time I had found on the forum to check the cam plate on the back of the head and there was oil there. I showed the leak to the second dealer and they fixed it.

A month or two later it was leaking again. I brought it in to the first dealer again and they fixed it and it was leaking shortly after again.
Then they said it was the valve cover gasket so they replaced that.
Got a few miles down the road and smoke was pouring out from under the hood. Brought it back and they said it was the cam cap.

Started leaking again and the shop foreman stated that the sealant they used never cured and had to reseal with the correct product.

A month or two after that I had another oil leak which they informed me was the timing chain cover so off that came to be resealed. Guess what? still leaking.

At this point I was done. I sent in the lemon law paperwork Toyota contacted me about a week after they received that and set a date for me to drop the car off so that their engineer could try to fix it.

They have had the car for over two weeks now and keep telling me " we had to order another part and another part...blah blah blah

They can refund me for the car I'm done with Toyota/Scion. If I wanted to drive a Corolla I would have bought one.

[AllDayJonRay]

Did the Lemon Claim go through/get approved?

[Nik33615]

Originally Posted by AllDayJonRay

Did the Lemon Claim go through/get approved?

At this point they are obligated to buy the car back or replace it with another. According to the Lemon Law in my state they had ten days to repair the car. I'm not sure if that's business days or what but they are now over that.

If they refuse I will have to go through arbitration with the Attorney General. Nothing is done yet I still own the car but I'm not in possession of it because the repair hasn't been completed and signed off by the engineer they sent to fix it.

I will let you know what happens.

[AllDayJonRay]

I don't think they are obligated to unless a claim is filed and approved, right?

[Nik33615]

Originally Posted by AllDayJonRay

I don't think they are obligated to unless a claim is filed and approved, right?

I submitted the paperwork, they had their last chance to fix it and couldn't do so in the time allowed them by the Florida lemon law. Are they going to try to avoid buying the car back? Absolutely! But I've dotted all my i's and crossed all my t's so that if they refuse I take them to arbitration and they are ordered to by law.

[AllDayJonRay]

Assuming the law sides with you...

If they've repaired 'different' oil leaks, and can show that the 'repaired' areas are no longer leaking, each leak is a separate repair. Not all of those repairs will apply to the repair visit count for your lemon claim. A lemon is a vehicle on which a certain issue cannot be repaired within the allowances of the lemon code.

At least that's how I understand it.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by AllDayJonRay

Assuming the law sides with you...

If they've repaired 'different' oil leaks, and can show that the 'repaired' areas are no longer leaking, each leak is a separate repair. Not all of those repairs will apply to the repair visit count for your lemon claim. A lemon is a vehicle on which a certain issue cannot be repaired within the allowances of the lemon code.

At least that's how I understand it.

Different states have different laws, many have a total time in the shop clause that has no relation to how many 'different' problems there are.

i.e. if I visit the shop for each taillight leaking, the crickets 2x and an oil leak that total up to X number of days in the shop I could still lemon law in my state.

or (3) The vehicle is out of service because of the repair of any number of problems by the manufacturer or its agents for a cumulative total of more than 30 days since delivery of the vehicle.

http://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon

[AllDayJonRay]

Update... Still don't have the car back...

After two separate updates informing me that they needed to order additional parts, I was informed today that they will need the car until at least Tuesday, as they've now decided that they are going to also reseal the passenger side valve cover, and therefore need to, you guessed it, order more parts....

I'm now reaching the point of frustration. The car has barely 11,000 miles on it, and the engine is/has now been opened up, and I'm concerned with the car coming back with problems it didn't have when I dropped it off...


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[wheelhaus]

I wonder if it was the valve cover the whole time, they're right next to each other in the area where the leak was.

At least it's just covers, no internals have been touched, well, hopefully. I'd be more concerned if it were head gaskets or something requiring deeper work. Driving that superbug has to be getting old by now...

[AllDayJonRay]

Yea, generally when a leak repair is expanded, it's because it was originally diagnosed incorrectly.. Regarding it 'just being covers', he told me today that there were more parts involved with the repair than they originally thought. I told him I want a detailed list of every part replaced, and the full story of the repair work done.

And yes, I've had about as much fun in this beetle as I think is possible.


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[Lonewolf]

File a complaint with the NHTSA (since an oil leak can be a safety issue). If enough people do it, that will piss off the manufacturer enough to own up to this oil leak problem (going on 3 years now) and deal with it properly.