Went for routine maintenance...after inspection told me the gasket was leaking. First Mazda, and feel like with 20k miles that shouldnt be happening. Is this cause for concern even though its going to be fixed and under warranty? Glad they saw it because when they showed me I would have never noticed.
2018 Timing cover oil leak...should I be concerned?
- Thread starter Capthat
- Start date
- :
- Plano, Texas, USA
Im surprised your 2018 CX-5 still suffers this problem. Mazda should find a better way to seal the front timing chain cover even though the engine designed with 2-piece engine blocks instead of traditional one.
Here is the latest TSB issued on 9/21/2018 for oil seepage from front timing chain cover although affected model years are still in 2013 ~ 2016 CX-5s:
TSB 01-018/18 - Oil Seepage at Engine Front Cover
Heres the long thread with 399 posts about oil leak problems by our great contributor Kedis82ZE8. Hes been dealing with oil leaks on his 2014 CX-5 since 5/21/2016 until his power train warranty ran out. Unfortunately after more than 3 years and many visits to his Mazda dealer, with oil pan seal、front timing chain cover seal、rear main seal fixes, his timing chain cover still leaks after 2 tries!
Small Oil leak for me too... :-(
madar sums up this problem the best:
You definitely want the problem fixed. But dont be surprised if it still leaks afterwards. Its not a major concern, but very annoying with those oils around the engine front end, especially on the vehicle with only 20K miles!
- :
- Central Virginia
- :
- 2019 CX-5 Reserve
Just out of curiosity (and concern that I should look out for this), I went on the NHTSA website and searched for a TSB on this issue for the 2018 and 2019 MYs, and found nothing.
Not sure if Mazda thinks this is fixed, or if it takes a couple of years for these things to get documented (as it did for the 2013-2016 MYs).
- :
- Plano, Texas, USA
Firstly, most people including me, wont bother to look for these engine seepages or leaks. Most would assume this wont happen to a fairly new engine. But if you follow that long thread Kedis82ZE8 created more than 3 years ago, you would find it takes some effort to detect these leaks from BOTTOM. That means you need to take the under-cover down in order to see the leaks. I, for one, wouldnt want to do that just for checking these leaks, until to the time Im changing the ATF.
If you read the TSB which features very detailed explanation of why the front timing chain cover leaks, and how the Mazda dealer would fix the problem. The repair procedure is complicated and its hard for the tech not to screw it up. I believe thats why Kedis82ZE8s Mazda dealer couldnt fix the problem after 2 tries. This also makes me wonder the high cost of sealing this timing chain cover during the new engine assembly by Mazda. 2-piece cylinder blocks instead of one certainly compounds the issue.
BTW, theres no gasket for timing chain cover. Its using silicon sealant.
- :
- Central Virginia
- :
- 2019 CX-5 Reserve
@yrwei52: That's hardly encouraging, is it? Sounds like checking for this leak is something to put on my To Do list 6-8 months before the warranty expires. But then there's the decision to be made as to whether to have the dealer even mess with it in the first place.
- :
- Plano, Texas, USA
IMO this issue is pretty minor, it wont even affect the oil level much. It mainly gets engine dirty. Unobtanium has said he wont loose his sleep on such issue, and he wont bother to fix it even if theres a leak in the area. I myself feels the same, although I certainly wont be happy if mine has also developed the issue. Such leak is covered by 5-year / 60,000-mile powertrain warranty, so the issue has plenty of time to be covered by warranty. And Mazda apparently has also done something with better assembly procedure to prevent such leak happening too often on newer MY engines.
Id only use my spare time to take the under-cover down and check the leak right before the powertrain warranty about to run out. Id try to ask the Master Mechanic at my Mazda dealer to fix the problem in person, if mine had found the leak in timing chain cover or any other possible areas experienced by others before.
Yeah I even when they showed me, it was still hard to tell. Obviously had some oil on a case near it, so something was leaking. When I asked the service guy he said it*s not uncommon, and that supposedly once they fix it, they*ve not had any repeats. He can say all he wants, and pretty sure master mechanic has to fix it because they gave me a loaner and told me it would be done by Monday afternoon. Although in terms of causing damage or being a major issue, it*s sounding like it*s not the worst problem to have, but for a car that new and for the money spent, you*d expect everything to work correctly and not have to deal with issues like these. Hopefully it*s fixed and doesn*t happen again...I*ll just have to make sure they check it from here on out
- :
- Central Virginia
- :
- 2019 CX-5 Reserve
Pretty much the bottom line, isn't it?
