Timing chain Cover leak. Looking for advice

Good. They should take care of it. Customer care is what it’s all about.

 

assuming everything goes smoothly from this point on I’ll be impressed with their corporate response. 3 emails and calls so far. Very polite and thorough. I wasn’t even expecting a response at all when I first sent it lol

 

I need to inspect my '21. Can't say I've seen any symptoms/leaks/wet spots (giggity) when servicing it. I also bought CPO so I think this may even be covered to 100k should it pop up.

Glad to hear your dealership, and corporate are taking care of you.

 

Glad they’re taking care of you. I found my case manager to be dismissing and unhelpful, so glad you’re getting treated better.

 

we’ll see. It goes to the dealer on Monday for documentation for Toyota.

 

Took it in today. They took pictures and said they’d send them to Toyota. They said they found no leak. I then showed them my pictures and said oil outside of the motor isn’t normal. Advisor then went to manager (one booth over), god forbid he talk to me directly. Advisor came back and now said I’d have to drop it off for 2-3 days so they can clean it and monitor it to find a leak and then send it to Toyota. I’d also have to pay a $200 fee for it if it ends up not being covered. I then said if that’s the case what’s the point of today’s pictures ? “To document”….. Then I ask ok it’s documented if it gets worse out of the warranty period would it be covered ? Maybe…

I’m about ready to call it a day and live with it. I’m half hearted about it as it is anyhow fearing that I’ll just have other problems from the motor being messed with in the process.

ultimately it’s up to me how far I wanna push, not looking for advice on one way or another. But I am curious about others that had this happen and if it got progressively worse or not.

 

Sounds like you were told exactly the same thing I was by the dealer. It seems weird that Toyota told you to take it in and that it would be covered, yet the dealership is still saying it’s not leaking. Didn’t Toyota make that decision by looking at your pictures and talking to the dealer?

I too am very interested in hearing from people that have the timing cover leak and how it progressed if it wasn’t fixed?

 

Yea i got pissed off when the advisor said okay we took pictures to send to them but didn’t find a leak. Then I showed them my pictures and it changed to well we’d have to keep it a few days to diagnose….. well then what was the point of the pictures today? Honestly I’m irritated and I’m thinking I’d rather take a bet on it not getting worse if I let it go than take a bet that they fix it right. After my experince today my gut is telling me to just leave it be. Cover it or don’t cover it but don’t tell me it’s non existent lol

 

Is your case with Toyota still open? If so, maybe you can talk to your rep again. If Toyota said it should be covered, I’m struggling to understand how the dealership can say it shouldn’t be.

But I also understand your reluctance to have them work on it given all that’s gone on to this point. I feel the same way, but unlike your situation I never had Toyota say mine should be covered. Maybe try another dealership?

 

There is a 0% chance I'd let that dealership work on it. If they are disgruntled, they aren't going to do a good job. I made that call myself when battling the dealership on a front diff issue that they said didn't exist when it very clearly did.

 

I too was told by the dealership that I had a "seep" and not a leak at the timing cover. This was 5 years ago and its still there but hasn't seemed to get any worse, so I am living with it.. Just check the oil on occasion and never noticed any drop in level.

 

That’s really good to know. Thanks! I may end up living with it, too, unless it gets worse after my summer trips before the warranty is up.

 

yea I agree that’s the feeling I’m getting too. I’m being proactive and I understand most people aren’t that way outside of groups like this. My gut is saying they’ll screw it up more and I’ll be pissed at myself for fighting for them to fix it.

 

This is what I needed. Especially looking at the timing cover and how much surface area needs to be sealed I’d be worried more they don’t clean the mating surface correctly or gouge it while scrapping it and ending up with more of a problem than I currently have.

 

same I think I’m gonna live with it. Not getting a good vibe from the service dept.

 

Warranty rep called back for follow up. He’s been great I wish he worked at the dealer. He was also a bit confused by the dealers notes. After a conversation with him I think the advisor I dealt with was the weak link when he said “they couldn’t find the leak” but now it sounds like what was really documented was “we couldn’t find the source of the leak” . Two very different things. Warranty rep put the ball in my court to let it ride or get the next step taken care of. Dye leak test would be next step and he offered to arrange that with the dealer with a 2-3 day diagnostic period and a loaner. I think I’ll take that step and see what is found.

 

What a pain that you have to go back yet again! You’d think your dealer would have automatically done a dye test if they confirm a leak but not its source. Sounds like my dealer in that they don’t want to do the job. Your rep sounds really good, though. Much more helpful than the guy I got. Keep providing updates. Good luck!

 

I looked long and hard at my
Engine and after reviewing other posts and similar issues I decided to hold on pushing for repairs. Toyota has a file on the whole thing with dealer pictures and my pictures and video. The Toyota rep explained to me that it is documented under warranty and while he can’t guarantee it’ll be covered out of warranty if it gets worse it’s very likely to get covered even after the warranty is up because the issue started while under warranty. I’m good with that at this juncture. After watching numerous tear down videos of what needs to be done to reseal it I’m convinced I’m taking risks on the tech that fixes it and I think that’s riskier than my current leak weep seep whatever you wanna call it. I appreciate this forum once again for helping me come to an educated decision.

 

I totally understand. I’m in the same boat. I’ll take it in one more time before my warranty is up in November and see what they say then. Other than that, I’m going to do the same as you. Thanks for the updates. Please post here again if anything changes.

 

FYI - mine is at the dealer now for the timing chain cover leak. They are replacing it under my extended Toyota care warranty (yeah, had a sense buying around COVID the 7 year / 125K warranty may come in handy since this only has 40K miles on it; I purchased new Feb 2021).

Mine wasn't leaking when sitting in the garage, but was leaking plenty when I drove it....sludge every-damn-where underneath within a 5 inch radius of the oil pan. Glad I caught it.

 

Oh damn yea no other option there but to get it fixed. Was it leaking from one spot or multiple ?

 

From the amount of oil I saw, it could have been a lot from one spot, or a little from multiple. Not sure, but I know this. It had been leaking for a while. Not enough to drop the oil level between changes enough to notice and I thought at first it was that I didn't tighten the oil drain plug enough (I don't trust anyone to change my oil but me), but when the residue and buildup is above that spot, that tells me it is coming from above the oil pan.