2015 Honda Civic oil leak

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The post I made the other day was about a 99 Accord 4 cyl. I think it had about 75k miles when they replaced the rear main seal. Immediately after they did the work I noticed the trans flairing between 1st and 2nd. The dealer did a drain and fill which cured the problem. Sold it about 100k later with no further issues. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have had it fixed since it's such a major job. I remember my dad calling it the leakless leak.

In the meantime I'd clean it up with some degreaser and use High Mileage oil and see how that works. Just a much simpler option to try.
 
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Rear main seal weeping is pretty common on Civics. Some 2016 owners have reported it too. If it were me, I wouldn't bother with it. Not likely to ever cause a problem, and more likely something will get messed up during the repair,if you could even convince them to do it. But I do agree it shouldn't happen.
 
It is a rear main seal leak. Common on a few different brands, and in my opinion a sign that quality is going down. The rear main seal didn't start leaking on my Jeep 4.0 until 100k miles, and it was just a seep.

I take care of a 2006 BMW E90 325xi with 90k miles that looks like the bottom pan was sprayed in oil, and a friend has a 2015 VW Jetta 1.8T that has around 10k miles on it and has a leaking rear main seal that leaks enough to leave drips on the driveway.

You can tell it is a common problem when they don't want to fix it. Usually dealers jump when they see a tiny oil leak and think they can charge you for a rear main seal job. I'd try another dealer. I bet once the car is out of warranty they will see the leak.
 
I see a lot of Honda's with this, its the rear seal material they use. IIRC they use a slightly stiffer material, it is long lived but prone to very slight weeping (not leaking), this is very common with other types like Teflon/Acrylics found on some Euro cars.
Chances are it will not get any worse, resist the temptation to use sealers in an attempt to stop what is considered pretty much normal.

I wouldn't worry about it. IMO its easier to live with than the consequences of some monkey ripping the transmission out that's like jumping from the pan into the fire.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
I wouldn't worry about it. IMO its easier to live with than the consequences of some monkey ripping the transmission out that's like jumping from the pan into the fire.


Exactly. Bigger jobs, when done in a production environment (most dealerships), usually results in parts being left off and hardware not being reassembled properly. Some jobs are better off avoided if possible.
 
Originally Posted By: stcif
Thanks for all the replies! From what I can tell it's oil, not trans fluid. Based on what I'm reading here this isn't uncommon and prob a rear main seal. That makes sense.
I'm dumbfounded that this is really common. My daughter's last car was a 1999 Accord EXL with the V Tec 6 cyl. Sold it last year with 170,000 miles and never leaked oil. I'm thinking Honda's quality took a hit?? She test drove an Elantra, Sentra and Corolla also and decided on the Civic mainly due to how it drove and the reliability of her Accord. Time will tell.
To me this is unacceptable but I'm not sure if it's worth the fight or not. She's only got 13 thousand more miles before the warranty is up. About 23,000 miles now in one year!
Since this is BITOG - the oil on the first change was Mobil 1 AFE, 0W20. Last week I put in Magnatec 0W20. It was on sale.



Porsche has had issues with rear main seals on their Boxster and Cayman engines since day 1. It's cost them millions...
 
I'll jump in with a 2001 Civic that we bought in the family.

It too had a "wet" spot on the engine. Complained to Honda and they said sorry, it's not an issue since it is not a "major" leak that could cause the engine to run low of oil between oil changes.

Not happy with this news but what can we do? Drive it and make sure that it was the last Honda we ever buy. (it was)

At 14,000 miles my Dad was driving it and all of the sudden the oil light came on with a smell of oil. He pulled over and looked under the hood to find the whole engine compartment covered in oil. Called Honda and they said bring it in. So he drove it to the dealership (about 4 miles away) and short story he had a porous casting on the block that blew a approx 1 inch hole open.

Honda put in a short block engine and warranted the engine to 100,000 miles (we demanded this) to any owner. Sold it a few months later.

Needless to say, ANY oil leak on ANY brand is unacceptable in my book. If I had one they would end up being my hobby if they did not fix it right away.

Bill
 
I too would not be happy if my brand new vehicle had oil seeping from the engine no matter how small. My 95 Accord was always wet underneath, but I bought it when it was 9 years old, still it eventually blew a seal out of the TB idler pulley and I lost all pressure. Fortunately I was near my home and still on city streets, so I was able to pull over immediately.
 
Thanks again to everyone who chimed in. I see this isn't uncommon. I've gained some valuable insight in to this problem. For now I will monitor this. I don't think my daughter and I want to press the issue. Not sure anything will be done and now that I'm more informed I don't want the dealership tearing into the engine.
 
If you are not tearing the engine apart, why not consider a thicker xW30 after warranty is up ?
 
Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
I'll jump in with a 2001 Civic that we bought in the family.

It too had a "wet" spot on the engine. Complained to Honda and they said sorry, it's not an issue since it is not a "major" leak that could cause the engine to run low of oil between oil changes.

Not happy with this news but what can we do? Drive it and make sure that it was the last Honda we ever buy. (it was)

At 14,000 miles my Dad was driving it and all of the sudden the oil light came on with a smell of oil. He pulled over and looked under the hood to find the whole engine compartment covered in oil. Called Honda and they said bring it in. So he drove it to the dealership (about 4 miles away) and short story he had a porous casting on the block that blew a approx 1 inch hole open.

Honda put in a short block engine and warranted the engine to 100,000 miles (we demanded this) to any owner. Sold it a few months later.

Needless to say, ANY oil leak on ANY brand is unacceptable in my book. If I had one they would end up being my hobby if they did not fix it right away.

Bill


I am so surprised to hear that. My girlfriend had an '01 Civic and that engine was fantastic. Even after 14 years it didn't burn or leak a drop. Even my 2.4 in my Accord with over a half million miles on it doesn't leak any oil (it does burn some, though, which is to be expected at that mileage)
 
@thirdeye - 500K+miles! I don't want to hijack this thread but this is incredible. Tell us more about this unicorn... Original motor and tranny? What is the nectar and secret to achieving this type of mileage?
 
Honda 2015 engines - oil leaks - you are not alone! Honda will not action or do anything to resolve unless critically affects levels between services.

Have a look at the tweets I've posted (links attached below) with regard to similar oil leak issues on a 2015 Honda civic tourer 1.6 diesel in the UK. A few photos with the tweets.

Basically leaked from new, Honda dealership agreed was leaking and re-sealed timing case cover, leak has continued, dealership has now said this is not an oil leak and normal road dirt build up, showed me a similar vehicle with same residue build up (which apparently makes this ok?), complete insult to my intelligence! (Suspect more like they don't know how to seal the leak). Honda UK @Honda_UK have stated that the dealership network has to deal with matter, where as if dealer says it’s not an issue then Honda UK go with that and have no interest in the customer views.

Basically it may appear that Honda are saying that this sort of residue/oil build up is ok/normal, this is supported having been informed that as the leak does not critically affect oil levels between services then it is not a problem? Really in this day & age one would not find it acceptable for a modern engineered engine to leak any oil whatsoever?

Having made communication with the dealership and Honda UK the dealership then took it upon themselves to ignore my communications, having copied in the dealer principle the dealership chose to ignore my communications until I pushed for a response. Very disappointing attitude towards it UK customers.

I do allot of long distance journeys where I get an aroma of hot engine oil inside the cabin. Real shame as the car itself is fabulous, ticks every box, the exception been on how Honda have dealt (or not so) with this issue flagged by the customer which they have chosen to treat with contempt.

The only saving grace is that the car is on private lease, I would have liked to have the same car next time as ticks all the boxes, however this issues and the manner in which it has been dealt with has somewhat tainted my opinion, hence will just hand the keys back in 18months, walk away and put down to experience where can apply to my next vehicle choice as a consumer.

https://twitter.com/CW_Dingle/status/777912718326104064

https://twitter.com/CW_Dingle/status/814047290289754112

https://twitter.com/CW_Dingle/status/814084747576180737
 
There's a dye that goes into the oil called Tracerline. The technician wears yellow lens glasses and shines the suspected area with a black light. Leaks show up plain as day.

TP-8691-OPTI-LUX-365-application.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
There's a dye that goes into the oil called Tracerline. The technician wears yellow lens glasses and shines the suspected area with a black light. Leaks show up plain as day.

TP-8691-OPTI-LUX-365-application.jpg



A couple of things worth noting...That flashlight above retails for $495. http://store.tspndt.com/store/p/440-Optilux-365-Kit.aspx

You DON'T need the stupid yellow glasses. You DO need darkness, the darker the better. A home garage with the lights out after dark is great. Dex-cool shows up orange, Prestone shows up yellow green, and motor oil shows up a nice blue without the dye, yes, better WITH the dye, but dye not necessary.

Final note: photography using black light is difficult. You need the subject matter light enough to see what it IS without using the flash, and dark enough that the blacklight "glows" on whatever you're trying to photograph.

To the OP: I am an NDT technician for a living, certified per ASNT TC-1A. I agree with you, oil should be INSIDE the engine, not outside. My teenaged kids will tell you what a Nazi I am about keeping the driveway clean; so I can quickly be aware of spots of any kind, but I digress.

In my opinion, what you need to do is DOCUMENT where the leak is coming from. You can buy PT developer on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cantesco-D101-A-Dye-Penetrant-Standard-Developer-12-oz-Aerosol-Can-/291957849220?hash=item43fa0b3c84:g:qrkAAOSw5cNYPgVV

You need one can. About $15. Clean the area off with degreaser, Mean Green, anything to remove oil & grease and make it clean and dry. Spray the PT developer on the area to "paint it white." Take a picture or two. Wait for your blot or indication to show then take another picture or two. There is your evidence. Now wash the PT developer off with soap and water and go see an attorney or Honda Corporate.

Best of luck to you. Hope it works out.
 
I see this thread came back to life recently. Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I definitely learned a lot! For now we are just living with it and monitoring it. Just what I would call seeping I guess.
 
Originally Posted By: Georgiey22
@thirdeye - 500K+miles! I don't want to hijack this thread but this is incredible. Tell us more about this unicorn... Original motor and tranny? What is the nectar and secret to achieving this type of mileage?


So sorry I didn't see this sooner! I was just going back through my last few posts and noticed that I forgot to reply. Original engine and transmission. No rebuilds or repairs. I purchased it with high mileage and I'm just keeping it going. The previous owner was in sales and apparently drove a lot on the highway, based on the wear on the cruise control buttons on the steering wheel. According to the maintenance records, he had the oil changed per the OLM at the dealership, typically between 7-9k. ATF was changed once a year, roughly (about every 50-60k).
 
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