Oil stains under the car — where’s the leak from?

Oil stains under the car are a sign that a leak is happening somewhere. From the colour and location of the stain you can make an initial guess at the source of the problem.

Engine oil or another fluid?

• Brown-black, oily — engine oil
• Reddish — automatic transmission or power-steering fluid
• Green/yellow — coolant
• Light, oily at the rear — possibly gear oil

The most common sources of an oil leak

Engine oil most often leaks from the sump gasket, the drain plug, the valve-cover gasket or the crankshaft seals. Sometimes all it takes is a poorly tightened plug after a change.

A small leak is worth watching, a bigger one — fixing. We’ll locate the source and change the oil and plug gasket during a call-out visit.