Oil Leak Identification

Hello,
Just got my 2016 TRD Sport V6 2wd from the dealer service center for a routine 75,000 mile service/Inspection and they called me with some bad news. Their wording was kind of vague but what I was told is that I have a significant oil leak (10 out of 10 is what the advisor said). When I pushed, he said it was a front engine seal leak and I need a "reseal job".Cost = $4, 000! I almost stopped breathing. Of course, my truck is 5 months out of warranty! I have never noticed anything leaking or any spots whatsoever on my driveway. They are checking with Toyota to see if they will help covering the repair.

I'm not sure what I'm looking at so I'm sure that someone on here will be more knowledgeable about what is going on. Picture of what they sent me attached.
Thanks for any and all input!

 

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately, looks to be the front timing cover, a fairly common issue. By the book, an engine out afair.

If you search around there are plenty of threads on the topic. Hopefully Toyota will help you out.

 

Sometimes some manufacturers will do a goodwill repair or help you with labor costs. VW did that for me numerous times. You just have to call their corporate and ask them to help you. Good luck!

 

Sorry to hear about the leak. I wonder if Toyota changed to a better gasket on later models?

 

Thanks for the info...was guessing possible timing cover but couldn't really be sure. Since it barely noticeable, should I be in panic mode just yet?? Does 4 grand sound right and would an independent garage like be much less?
I'll wait and see what Toyota has to say...

 

price is about right. It’s a big job. My buddy had it done 5 times on his ‘17.

edit….pic of this while he was getting it done

 

5 times??? What in the world?

 

I just had the timing cover leak fixed at my local Toyota dealer under my third party warranty. It’s definitely a costly job. I don’t have my receipts folder near me but with parts and labor the job was about $4000 so that estimate sounds about right.


My leak was producing a good amount of oil however it never looked like the oil level on my dipstick ever changed. There’s actually an entire thread where a lot of us have shared our experiences which can help you make a decision how how/if you should fix the issue:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/timing-cover-leaking-oil.484372/

 

Damn this sucks! Sounds like it's a common issue where Toyota can do a recall repair in the near future hopefully.

 

yeah, truck ended up being lemon lawed

 

5 times? Wow! What the heck!?

 

Does not look that bad, I'd leave it alone and drive it. If you had no oil on the ground? big woop.

 

That's exactly what I thought...what could go wrong?!

 

No way Jose. It's been happening since before the 3rd gen

 

^ Si senores.

 

Wow, really? I was unaware of that. I guess I can say I've been fortunate enough to not have that happen (yet). I have a 2005 and just hit 170k.

OP, hope you're able to get this sorted out financially.

 

I recently retired and bragged about this being my "forever truck". Reason I went Toyota.

I've had over 30 vehicles during my run and I don't recall ever having a seal repair that is so disruptive...especially on a relatively newer vehicle! Hard to comprehend this issue since it appears to be so prevalent! And the labor involved is ridiculous. Seems like there should be a class action suit on this.

 

It sucks no doubt and I'd be upset too. But I'd rock that leak... not a chance I'm paying 4K to fix a small oil leak. I could fix it myself but wouldn't waste all that time for such a small leak.

 

Only on TW. This is where folks come to whine. 1/4 of a million Tacomas sold every year. Front cover leak comes up 3 times a month.

Like I said before, if it's not leaving a puddle of oil, don't worry about it

And FYI, this can still be your forever truck.