My trusty mechanic discovered a slow leak with my timing cover gasket. I have 5 days left on my warranty, so mechanice told me to get to Toyota right away. The Toyota dealer told me today that the leak is not a leak, it is just "seepage" which is not covered under warranty. They said to drive it about 100 miles between now and my warranty expiration date, and they will look at it and decide whether it leaks enough to repair it. What do I do? They are adamant that it's not a leak and is not a problem for my car. The clock is ticking, and my regular mechanic says it would cost about $2,000.00 if he fixes it, so who knows what Toyota would charge the day after my warranty expires...
If possible, go to another dealer and see if you get the same "seepage" response. Sounds like the usual run around to me. Nothing on my previous cars ever "seeped" unless it eventually turned into a leak. Try another dealer. If you get the same response, I would wonder about the realibility of our dealers versus warranty.
Yes, try another dealer. Did the first dealer document your concern in writing, along with the odometer reading and date? If they did, then the fact that it is documented that there was seepage/leaking should help you get it repaired under warranty later, when it comes to it.
Call Toyota customer service and have them document your issue and have them inspect it at a dealer. How many miles on the car? They may fix it under good will.
I have 44,789 miles on the car, actually 44,893. I feel like an idiot, but I just finished driving 100 miles...
Thank you. I'm going to take the car to another dealer. I have the documentation from the first dealer, including their saying I have to drive 100 miles and bring it back on Thursday before the warranty is up. The thing is seepage is a leak. The indy mechanic I take my car to is excellent. He said this was clearly a leak and not just a little seepage. I did call the 800 Toyota customer service line and have a complaint documented. The customer Svc person suguested another dealer for a second opinion. But what good is that going to do...they're not going to want to fix it. This is L.A. and I don't trust dealers. Plus, wouldn't the second dealership Svc folks just clean up any leakage as part of their own inspection, which would remove any leakage after I've already driven the 100 extra miles as required by the first dealer?? I only have 44,892 miles on the car now. I read that timing cover gaskets don't usually go bad until a lot of mileage is on a car, like 100,000 or so miles.
Wouldn't it count that you reported it prior to warranty expiration, ie: the "clock" stops ticking, it doesn't matter if you run over the limits by a few miles or days? Not sure, but sounds good to me.
The Customer Svc person told me Toyota reimburses dealerships for repairs like this, so why would the dealership be so stingy? To save the corporation some money? The timing cover gasket repair would be about $2000 at my mechanic. So I imagine Toyota would charge even more than that.
Wait a minute, the timing cover seal is covered under the engine/powertrain warranty, which is 6yrs/60k miles, whichever comes first if it's the same as the Prius hatchback. I got mine replaced under warranty free of charge. Take a look at the warranty information on Toyota's website and download the manual and printout the page(s) that state the warranty. Take it down to the dealer and they will begrudgingly admit that it is a covered repair.
Yes, a leak is covered. But, they said it's not leaking--it's seeping, and they said seepage is not covered but leaking is...
Definition of seep: no object, with adverbial of direction (of a liquid) flow or leak slowly through porous material or small holes. ‘water began to seep through the soles of his boots’ From seep - definition of seep in English | Oxford Dictionaries So, seepage == leakage
Going by what you went through, one could say the dealer is playing with words to keep from having to actually do the work that is needed to be done. Stories like this really are sad and justify the bad reputation that they have.
I went to a second dealer this morning who told me that seeping is when no oil falls to the ground. Leaking is when oil falls to the ground. Seepage not covered, leaking covered. Without inspecting my car, they said its better for me to work it out with the first Toyota dealer. I'm pissed, but I feel I will prevail eventually. I'm tenacious and will take it as far as I have to.
A few thoughts: As mentioned, it's pretty much slam-dunk that it's the major drivetrain warranty that covers this, so you've got lots of time yet. Still, it's good that it's on your service record already. Also, even though right now it's bugging the heck out of you, just maybe it is minor, and will continue thus. For sure monitor, but if if stays thus, it won't be the first time a gasket showed a bit of oil, without getting significantly worse. Removing that cover, if it's anything like the regular Prius, is a bear. And unlike the factory, I believe they do this without removing the engine, in very tight quarters. That's why it's so expensive. I have the regular Prius Repair Manual info on timing chain cover, and the diagrams for sealing procedure and bolt torquing are nightmarish complex: I'd really think twice before unleasing local mechanics on it, under such tricky, reaching down the side in close-quarters conditions. It might end up worse than at the outset.
Thanks all for the suggestions. I took the car back to the dealer. They said there is no leak and showed me pictures of my car without a leak...after they cleaned up the leaky area. I'm going to drive my car for a while and take it to a third mechanic to find out if it is leaking. If so, I'll file another complaint with Toyota CS on top of the original case. I'm so disappointed and really do trust the original mechanic who told me to take the car to Toyota since the leak is/should have been covered under the powertrain warranty. He had no reason to lie. The story is not over till it's over...
You are doing the right things - documentation, documentation, documentation. Take your own pictures of the area as the seep/leak reappears so you have a timeline. I feel Toyota is really great about covering issues with their vehicles; the problem is that you need to use a dealer's shop to get it fixed. It is my understanding that Toyota doesn't reimburse dealers at retail rates, so dealers make less profit on those repairs (so of course they would rather have you pay them!) Keep us posted, and best of luck!
I think you will find this is true for pretty much ALL automotive brands. It is NOT unusual for a tiny bit of oil to show up in places like that after the oil catches a little dirt and grime. Did anybody suggest re-torquing the screws/bolts that hold on the cover ?? If it really is a "seep" it may have stopped leaking long ago. Or maybe not.
I took my 2013 Prius to change oil & rotate tires and they told me i have oil leak after i read the details it was timing cover leak , my car had 71000 miles on it but mine is certified pre owned car so my engine warranty is 100,000 miles or 8 years so it was covered & i just paid deductible $50 although the whole cost was $1500 including all parts & labour
