Mysterious oil leak - opinions please...

[BD72055]

About a month ago I purchased a Toyota certified 2009 RAV4 Sport V6 with the Sport Appearance Package. Everything is fine until last week, I found a very small spot of oil on the garage floor about an inch in diameter. As I used the car, more oil stains appeared, same size. Then it stopped for a day, and returned. The oil stain smelled like gear oil, not engine oil. It was light brown in color. Called the dealer where I bought the RAV4 and they had the car for two days and cannot find anything wrong. They cleaned everything including the stain on the frame under the engine. Just brought the RAV4 home to a freshly cleaned and degreased garage floor and will keep watching. They are baffled and I'm glad I have the 100,000 mile warranty. Anyone else know of a mysterious oil leak like this?

[vanib]

If it smells like gear oil, then it could be from the transfer case, just where the plastic shround ends. If you have 4WD it could also be from the rear differential. It could be leaking from the drain bolt. If parked uphill/downhill, it could possibly leak from the filler bolt (something the garage would have missied since they would have the car flat).

Just food for thought.

Could it be transmission ATF? it is reddish brown afterall. Gear fluid tends to be more greenish grey when dirty, green when clean.

Wipe some ATF on a clean towel and compare the colour/smell with the leak.

[RTexasF]

Put some cardboard under it. It may help you to distinguish the color of the fluid which might help to narrow it down. Oh, and you won't be cleaning the garage floor again.

[Octane]

sounds way too familliar... on my 2007 the propeller shaft was splitting, inside the transmission/transfert case. changed all the seals, could not figure out where the gear oil was coming from, then after 3 visits they finally told me they had to change the transmision because they found some cracks in the composite shaft (I was telling them to check this from the beginning, since other members around here had the same problem) .. long story short, after 3 transmissions and a couple of near death events, I now drive a 2012 ...

[BD72055]

Thanks for the info and let me add more details I forgot to mention. This is a 4WD, not 2WD. I park on a flat level garage floor, no hills. The oil drips onto the frame, directly behind the engine oil pan. There is some sort of cross member that connects the left and right side of the frame (unibody, no real frame) under the the engine, between the firewall and the rear of the oil pan, goes around the oil pan. The Toyota mechanic mentioned everything you guys said too. It's been sitting for several hours now, the floor is clean. I'm going to place a white sheet of paper on the floor to see the real color of the oil. Thanks for the info so far!

[friendly_jacek]

If it smells like rotting fish, it's gear oil and read Octane's post above. Crawl under the car and see where exactly the gear oil is leaking from.

Smells like very expensive repair. Better catch it before warranty expires.

[vanib]

Originally Posted by Octane

sounds way too familliar... on my 2007 the propeller shaft was splitting, inside the transmission/transfert case. changed all the seals, could not figure out where the gear oil was coming from, then after 3 visits they finally told me they had to change the transmision because they found some cracks in the composite shaft (I was telling them to check this from the beginning, since other members around here had the same problem) .. long story short, after 3 transmissions and a couple of near death events, I now drive a 2012 ...

damn! really! I better check on my garage floor for stains as my warranty runs out in 2-3 months. I did see a black oily stain a few weeks ago on my garage floor but did not think too much of it since it did not happen again. With my floor being dirty from dried slush and some water (winter here), it can be hard to see if any lube is leaking onto the floor.

[Octane]

Originally Posted by vanib

damn! really! I better check on my garage floor for stains as my warranty runs out in 2-3 months. I did see a black oily stain a few weeks ago on my garage floor but did not think too much of it since it did not happen again. With my floor being dirty from dried slush and some water (winter here), it can be hard to see if any lube is leaking onto the floor.

4 cylinder, no worries for you...

they say it's because I towed my 2200lbs boat with the car, that the shaft started splitting... and it's was a first for Toyota Canada to see this happen, but after talking to my personal mech, it's the 3rd time he sees this... all on cars that tow...

the 2012's transmission is a lot more conservative when towing, it doesn't downshift as agresively, which leads me to believe they did this to reduce the posibility of this happenning on the V6

[Octane]

Originally Posted by friendly_jacek

If it smells like rotting fish, it's gear oil and read Octane's post above. Crawl under the car and see where exactly the gear oil is leaking from.

Smells like very expensive repair. Better catch it before warranty expires.

the only way they have to repair the shaft is by changing the whole transmission with a rebuilt... which are pretty good rebuilts from what I read. most toyota tech don't know crap about transmissions, or how to change them!

For the OP I hope they find the problem and fix it, when it get worst, the smell of burning gear oil is enough to make you sick! my 2 year old started getting the gag reflex when getting into the car after a while! lol

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted by Octane

they say it's because I towed my 2200lbs boat with the car, that the shaft started splitting... and it's was a first for Toyota Canada to see this happen, but after talking to my personal mech, it's the 3rd time he sees this... all on cars that tow...

the 2012's transmission is a lot more conservative when towing, it doesn't downshift as agresively, which leads me to believe they did this to reduce the posibility of this happenning on the V6

Interesting. I didn't think there was that much torque going in the RAV4's AWD setup. Why would downshifting put stress on the shaft? I'm concerned as I tow a boat (rarely these days).