Grease/ Oil in Rear Wheel Wells

Sounds like the rear wheel bearing seals have failed. Better let the dealer have a look. It's not common, but it's possible they got a bad batch of seals.

 

One of the biggest problems of a seal leaking is faulty installation, improper seal driver, damaging the lip of the seal or just not being clean, another thing especially on a rear end is having a vent on the top of the axle plugged with mud or debris, it will cause undo pressure and seal issues.




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The Prius rear axle hub and bearing assembly is "one piece" and is mounted to the beam axle with four bolts. Therefore that part should not undergo unusual trauma during vehicle assembly.

It is very strange that both bearings would decide to fail simultaneously, especially if you do not hear any unusual noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. Two questions:

- Do you know for sure that this grease/oil layer is relatively new (i.e., it had not been present earlier in the car's life)

- Have you tried wiping off some of the oil/grease onto a paper towel, to see what it looks like: color, viscosity, etc.?

 

I've owned my 2008 Pkg. #2 for a month. 1200 miles on it now.

From the first few days I had it, there was oil/grease in the wheel wells and on the exterior of the vehicle behind all four wheels...and on the trim rings, too.

The placement is very similar to having driven through very shallow mud that washed across a highway. Mostly on/around the wheels and within 12" behind...but also splatters down the entire length of the car. I don't notice this on our other car (non-Prius), so it's unlikely that it's from the local roads.

Definitely something oil-based. Appeared to be black when I wiped a bit off of the car.

Any more thoughts? Planning a 1500 mile trip in the next week. Don't want to screw up my new car!

Thanks,
Tim

 

All four wheels? Probably picked it up at the delivery port (drove through something a truck leaked). I'd take it to the dealer for inspection though, just in case. They should be happy to do this at no charge as a customer service.

If it's all four wheels then it's not likely from the Prius. It would be very improbable that all four wheel seals would fail at the same time. Unless they got a bad batch at the factory.

Did you pay for "corrosion protection"? Some of these treatments involve spraying grease/oil under the car (Ziebart, for example).