2016 CX-5 Oil Leak Source?

[Mazduhh]

I’ve got a pretty decent oil leak on my wife’s 2016 cx-5 (about 140,000 miles). I noticed on the last couple oil changes a decent amount of oil and sand buildup in the plastic cover. Called a mechanic we’ve used for years and he just said to watch it and top up the oil if needed. I’m not okay with that. It seems to be near the oil pan, as that’s where the bulk of the oil was.

Everything above the oil pan that I can see is clean and dry. Changed the oil today and cleaned everything up really well to try and find the source. After running for about 10 minutes I noticed a drop hanging and where it appears to be running down from. Hard to tell what the source is, but I’ve attached a couple pictures and a video where you can see it actively running.

Any ideas on where it could be leaking from? Thanks for the help!

Edit: my attached images are not showing up, here’s a link to them imgur.com

 

[Mazduhh]

Side note...Tried adding your images to your post and it's not working for me either...Hmmm...Looking into this...I can't even add them to my post...I can add other pics though...Not sure if this is widespread, it might just be this case and this thread. I don't think there is an issue with the images.

Thanks for taking a look, tried re-attaching with a different format and it appears they stuck this time!

 

[Antoine]

Thanks for taking a look, tried re-attaching with a different format and it appears they stuck this time!

Well done on getting them to work! I removed my post after I noticed you got the pics to appear…Still not sure what happened exactly but good on you for giving it another try, thanks for the update and best of luck with sorting that leak!

 

[Mazdiod2]

Maybe your mechanic is right as far as watching the level. Does it drip on the floor?

 

[PiousPaladi]

Has the oil pan ever been removed? It looks like it’s leaking out form the silicone (RTV) gasket between the block and the pan.

Being that it’s 9 years old, might not be a bad idea to have the pan removed, the mating surfaces cleaned up, and then resealed.

 

[Mazduhh]

Has the oil pan ever been removed? It looks like it’s leaking out form the silicone (RTV) gasket between the block and the pan.

Being that it’s 9 years old, might not be a bad idea to have the pan removed, the mating surfaces cleaned up, and then resealed.

It hasn’t been removed before, it’s been a very reliable vehicle and we’ve had zero issues before this. That’s the best I can tell the source is coming from also. I looked thoroughly all over the engine with a mirror and nowhere else is wet with oil except that one area. I checked the torque on the pan bolts and a couple were about 1/4 turn loose. Torquing didn’t stop the leak though.

The pan looks like it can be rather easily removed. Am I overlooking something or is it simply able to drop straight down?

 

[PiousPaladi]

No, it should just come straight down once the lower shroud is removed from the car. One of the best things about the CX5 imo lol.

 

[Mazduhh]

Maybe your mechanic is right as far as watching the level. Does it drip on the floor?

I typically trust his opinion but there does seem to be a lot of oil loss. It was about a quart low when I did this oil change. So it may be accelerating. There was that plastic cover under the car so no oil showing on the driveway. After removing it I found quite a bit of oil and dirt buildup on the plastic and on the areas shown in the pictures.

 

[madar]

That year had oil pan leak issues, had mine replaced under warranty a months into ownership.

 

[wlong01]

That year had oil pan leak issues, had mine replaced under warranty a months into ownership.

I have a 16 also and I never heard that. Where did you get this information.