Oil Leak On Mk2 Yaris, Any Idea Where It Is From?

[Sam29]

Hi Guys

Recently bought Yaris 06 for other half. Its 1.0 T3.

I opted for it as it had full toyota history though I failed to notice that on last service it did state that there were signs of oil leakage and required further investigation.

Previous owner did not peruse it and sold it. And my ignorance that I did not read the history properly.

Other than that, car seems to be well looked after.

I checked the oil on day one and it was halfway b/w top and bottom mark. I have done approx 700 miles on it after buying and oil has gone to minimum now.

I have inspected the engine and if you stand on the driver front side of car (facing ther car), oil is leaking under the box for air filter. It does not appears to be from rocker cover gasket but further down.

I have taken photos and no. 1 in photos is just a landmark for reference to match 1st and 2nd photo. Photos have been taken by putting the phone under the box for air filter and facing from left to right side of the photo taker.

My question, does anybody know what is causing the oil to leak?

Potential problems or any other ideas?

Car is on 76K miles and has full service history from Toyota. There are no signs of oil on the road if you park the car for 24 hours and then move.

Thanks.

[Sam29]

Forgot to mention that car drive well. On OBC I get 52-57 mpg and brim to brim calculation reveals 47 mpg.

Anybody has any idea what it could be ?

[stantheman1]

Hi Sam, If there's no evidence of any oil on the drive when it's parked overnight then chances are the oil is being consumed i.e. burned along with the petrol.

[Sam29]

Hi Sam, If there's no evidence of any oil on the drive when it's parked overnight then chances are the oil is being consumed i.e. burned along with the petrol.

Aprreciate your input mate. The oil which is shown in the photos is fresh so it is leaking.

Is it wise to get that area cleaned / washed to see from where oil seaps out?

[MikeSh]

Aprreciate your input mate. The oil which is shown in the photos is fresh so it is leaking.

Is it wise to get that area cleaned / washed to see from where oil seaps out?

In the picture the area pointed by the arrows does look wet. However, the tops of the two cylindrical sections below are dirty black, but fairly dry, suggesting oil + dirt. Can't see the back of that area obviously, but that and the absence of drips on the drive suggests a very slow loss which is basically being mopped up by road dirt.

As such I'd agree with Stan that the dipstick loss is probably just burn off. You don't give any history of the car, like mileage, so it's hard to say if that is OK - I suspect 1400 miles from F to E on the dipstick, though not great, probably wouldn't even trigger a warranty claim on a brand new car, so it's almost certainly not worth doing much about at present.

Cleaning it off and looking might help trace it, but oil can be hard to see on a metal surface. Cleaning it and then giving the area a coat of primer paint might help - it's matt/absorbent and might make it easier to see where the oil is.

[Sam29]

Aprreciate your input mate. The oil which is shown in the photos is fresh so it is leaking.

Is it wise to get that area cleaned / washed to see from where oil seaps out?

In the picture the area pointed by the arrows does look wet. However, the tops of the two cylindrical sections below are dirty black, but fairly dry, suggesting oil + dirt. Can't see the back of that area obviously, but that and the absence of drips on the drive suggests a very slow loss which is basically being mopped up by road dirt.

As such I'd agree with Stan that the dipstick loss is probably just burn off. You don't give any history of the car, like mileage, so it's hard to say if that is OK - I suspect 1400 miles from F to E on the dipstick, though not great, probably wouldn't even trigger a warranty claim on a brand new car, so it's almost certainly not worth doing much about at present.

Cleaning it off and looking might help trace it, but oil can be hard to see on a metal surface. Cleaning it and then giving the area a coat of primer paint might help - it's matt/absorbent and might make it easier to see where the oil is.

Thanks. Last two lines of my original post is indicating current mileage and history of the car.

I am keeping an eye on the oil this time. It is defo slow leak, but does not want to leave it as it is.

I wanted an opinion of experienced members here before I take it to the garage.

Thanks for contributing.

[ToyotaAuris]

I had same problem on my Golf, that was much more worse, oil everywhere on the driveway and went to mechanics and he said it was the sump seal, it was cheap £15 part and £50 labour.

[Sam29]

I had same problem on my Golf, that was much more worse, oil everywhere on the driveway and went to mechanics and he said it was the sump seal, it was cheap £15 part and £50 labour.

Great results. Will have to take it to toyota independent specialist?

Do we have toyota specialist garages list somewhere for every region?

[Madasafish]

Sump removal on a Yaris is easy... And it uses a gasket sealant so easy to replace.. (after scraping the old one off.

[JL512]

Completely agree with you Micheal, we can remove it by scapping :).

Sump removal on a Yaris is easy... And it uses a gasket sealant so easy to replace.. (after scraping the old one off.

[Sam29]

Thanks guys. Any link to DIY here or somewhere else?

When you guys say sump removal, is it at the top of engine (called rocker cover gasket for some other cars)?

Or is it the gasket for the bottom part which oil sump gasket at the bottom of engine?

Thanks.

[Catlover]

Sump is at the bottom of the engine. Its the reservoir for the engine oil, meaning it holds about 4 litres of oil. When the gasket leaks on that potentially you have a big problem.

[ToyotaAuris]

Take it to a independent dealer which I did, no point taking it to a main dealer if the cars not in warranty, they just love to rip people off. I dont recommend doing it your self as a DIY job unless the Yaris is easy to do, get it done properly for a few quid, this is probably your most cheapest option, sump seal.

[Sam29]

Sump is at the bottom of the engine. Its the reservoir for the engine oil, meaning it holds about 4 litres of oil. When the gasket leaks on that potentially you have a big problem.

Thanks.

It is defo not sump as there is no leakage sign from the sump or from the bottom of the car.

Leak is from the top as shown in the photo.

I have topped up oil and in approx 400 miles its gone done 1/4 b/w max and minimum sign on dipstick.

i can see some fresh oil from the top as shown in the photos.

[Sam29]

Take it to a independent dealer which I did, no point taking it to a main dealer if the cars not in warranty, they just love to rip people off. I dont recommend doing it your self as a DIY job unless the Yaris is easy to do, get it done properly for a few quid, this is probably your most cheapest option, sump seal.

Do we have a list of toyota independent speciaist garages on this website somewhere?