2007 X5 Leak
 

Woke up this morning and noticed there's a puddle of dark fluid under the middle of my 2007 X5 3.0. It's CPO with about 55,000+ miles. I have not driven it for about the past 9 days (front brakes are due in only 180 more miles). Will have brakes done tomorrow (not by dealer but certified repair shop, $300 cheaper)...

Any ideas of what this leak is? The fluid is dark, not real oily, but slightly, no odor. The weather has recently changed from highs in the 80's last week, to the low's in the 50's this week (if that even matters). Could it be some type of sensor malfunction? Transmission fluid? Brake fluid?? I started it this morning to see if a service message would pop up, it didn't and when I checked, all systems were green, except the front brakes of course:D

I'm sure the repair shop can identify the source of the leak on tomorrow. I guess if it's something major, it would stilll be covered by the dealer under the CPO warranty up to $100,000 miles/6 years?

Thanks in advance!

Over 100 views but not even 1 guess????

Well, the dealership finally diagnosed and called me today... The leak was transmission fluid...the transmission sleeve is leaking.

Now, what in the heck is a transmission sleeve?!?!? YAY, the repair is covered under CPO warranty though, my deductible is $50.

It's really hard to guess at which fluids are leaking and why--could be anything really. But, bottom line it's covered by CPO.

Common leak from the mechatronic sleeve in the transmission case.

STILL LEAKING!!!
 

I guess I was too vague in my question and should have asked about common leaks.

Picked up the truck yesterday, paperwork says they replaced the sealing sleeve, pan gasket, and plug, refilled to proper level.

:wow:Well low and behold, when I backed out today, there's more leaked fluid!!!

I'm headed back to the dealership first thing in the morning. :(

Sorry to hear.

They may give you the "Oh, that is just residual fluid still dripping"...if they do, say "I want it logged in on a new work order with a written request to clean the engine and transmission so the residual fluid will not continue to leak."

I did see the initial post, but the 'not really oily' comment threw me off. ATF is oily, and should have some smell.

Keep us posted.

A

Thanks so much for the reply...The work order also states "cleaned the engine, test drove, no more leaks at this time"

So should I ask them to clean it again, if they say it's just residual fluid?

Well, the work order kind of traps them a bit...if they say it is residual, then they really didn't clean the engine, did they?

How much is leaking?

I mean you need to bring it back of course.... stress with them that you understand sometimes this kind of thing happens, but having to return a car that was purportedly just repaired and tested is really unacceptable. You'll chalk this up to bad luck, but the issue really MUST be addressed completely and totally- and they should keep the car as long as they need to ensure that happens- with you in a nice loaner too.

GL

A

Back from delearship. The service guy was in disbelief that there was still a leak, but he really couldn't say much more after I showed him the pictures I took and actually a video showing two drops of fluid falling within about 8 seconds of each other.

They gave me another 2011 328i loaner. As I was driving back home, the service guy called back saying the shop guy asked questions about possible air conditioning condensation being mixed with residual fluid. I stressed that was not possible. I referred back to my video and told him how I let one of the drops drip in my hand, it was pure oily fluid, not mixed with water. He replied "we'll fix it". We'll see

I'll update once I know more.....

I had a similar problem with our X5 a month ago..initially I suspected it was the transmission leaked but turned out to be a faulty PCV valve which caused abnormally high internal pressures forcing oil past gaskets and seals.

hope this helps.