TMQRS21

Hi all,

I bought a new bottle of Mobil 1 engine oil to top up my BGTS 4.0. I put it in the rear trunk but later found that the cap wasn’t properly sealed and about 400 ml has leaked out all over the rear trunk liner.

Not only that, but I noticed spots of oil on my driveway just in front of the rear right wheel (car has moved around a bit so not 100% accurate on the location of the drip but that general area). So it has found it’s way through the car onto the ground

The cabin stinks of engine oil so wherever it has gone, the smell is finding it’s way into the cabin (goodbye new car smell).

I’ve tried the cornstarch trick, which seemed to soak it up pretty well. Next step is to scrub with dishwashing liquid (so the internet tells me). However, more concerned about the oil that has seeped through the car and the smell in the cabin.

Any advice here? Does anyone know where the oil might have gone after it seeped through the gap in the trim (rear right bottom corner of rear trunk). I can’t seem to find any evidence of where it’s dropped from from under the car.

Anyone know how to remove the rear trunk liner to get better access for cleaning? It’s not really obvious from tinkering around pulling things.

Any help much appreciated.

Many thanks.

Dyim

Ouch. Sorry to hear.

I think you might need to get to a body shop and have them dismantle a lot of things to clean everything up.

GL.

Denny Swift

Ouch, that sucks! I’d guess that you’ll end up having to replace the trunk carpet/liner. The carpet pulls out very easily (needs to be done for air cleaner access). Just remove it and then you should be able to see if it went through the carpet onto anything else. If you just leave the carpet out for a few days/weeks until the new one arrives, it should be fine to drive it without a carpet. This would have been much worse in Cayman.

Just search for a video on how to replace the air filters, but you just have to remove the weather striping and the flanges around the oil filter and coolant caps. They pull right off. It’s really easy. I’ve done it several times.

981KMAN

Lots of Videos on You Tube on how to pull the trunk liner as you have to do this to change the Engine Air Filters.

After you get this cleaned up, I suggest that you invest in the Rear Trunk Liner from Porsche. Suncoast sells them for $115. Very useful item.



There is also one for the Frunk.....

tigerhonaker

TMQRS21,

This is a serious reply ............

Take your Porsche to the Porsche Dealership of your choice.
Explain to the Service-Advisor what happened.
And tell him you want all the Rear-Trunk-Carpet Pieces totally REPLACED !!!
Also, have a Technician take the rear area apart and ask that the Tech Totally-Flushes out the whole rear area to get rid of all remaining oil.

Then the tech will reassemble with all New Carpet Pieces.

Next, if you have a garage ???
Leave All the Windows completely down and if possible get a Fan/Fans and put them on HIGH-Speed and leave for a few days.
One fan in front and the other in the rear area.

You could also Spray everything in the Cabin including, seats, console, the Newly installed Carpet pieces etc.
Just make sure the Spray Deodorant will NOT DAMAGE the Leather or Plastic etc in the interior.

Good-Luck,
Terry USA

jeanrabelais

Agree, you can't "clean" that oil spill/mess. Best to replace the liner and bits that can't be cleaned. BTW, My min. oil level light went off this past weekend... and I pondered buying some oil and even keeping it in my car, NOW I'm glad I didn't. Instead today my car is at Walter's Riverside Porsche getting an oil change. Adding oil, keeping extra oil in my car, worrying about oil, is not going to be part of my Porsche Ownership wheel house at least while it's still under warranty, IMHO best to let the dealership take care of it if you are able. Warning to others who would keep a bottle of oil in their car to double bag that oil bottle.

TMQRS21

Thanks all for the responses. Much appreciated.

I’m going to pull the trunk liner tonight and further assess the situation. Hopefully it’s not as bad as I’m imagining. 100% will invest in that trunk liner!

If it takes me a while to get this sorted, any dangers of driving around with oil in the internals under the rear trunk? Only the dealer will be able to get that out as mentioned and their lead time is usually quite long.

TMQRS21

If only I had put it in a bag… :-(

tigerhonaker

TMQRS21,

Just as information I worked for new car dealerships for over 16-years.
I reported to the Parts and Service Director.

You would be a lot better off NOT starting or driving the Porsche !!!
Because .........
Your going to BURN all the Spilled-OIL that's ran down on the engine and other parts in that area.

It's going to FURTHER add to the Long-Term SMELL if you BURN that Oil-Spill on all those areas!!!

Terry

TMQRS21

Thanks for the advice Terry. Much appreciated.

I have just pulled the trunk liner and styrofoam inserts. However, I can’t seem to see how any oil could have left the trunk compartment.

The spill seems to be contained in the area shown in the first photo. It looks completely sealed to me. There is a hole just in front of the join in the picture but I’ve poked down there and there is no residue.




Strange. I mean it could have found a gap but it looks pretty watertight to me…

Fast-Eddie

Your original post mentioned that you noticed oil on the ground in front of the RIGHT rear wheel, but you last pics of the trunk are indicating the spill occurred in the LEFT rear corner?

Are you sure that it was oil on the ground, and not coolant overflow or AC condensation?

If it was indeed oil, it is possible that it might have run along various parts of subframe before hitting the ground. Are you able to get the car in the air (SAFELY) and remove the rear wheels to inspect for any "oiled" surfaces ? I say safely, to mean don't just use a floor jack and put your head under there... just had to say that, as there are stressful times when I tend to not think things through thoroughly.

Denny Swift

That's really clean as I suspected. I guess it's possible that some oil dripped on the engine-side of the firewall, but I don't think I'd worry about it. Are you 100% sure that the oil spots on your driveway are from your car? The Amazon, FedEx, etc trucks that deliver to my house often dribble some oil. I doubt that any spots came from your car. But to be sure, just park it in another location and put some paper towels or newspaper under it to see it any spots appear by morning.

FWIW, every time I change my oil, I slice open a garbage bag, lay it in the trunk, poke a hole through it, and put a funnel into the hole. That's just in case an earthquake hits or some cute girl walks naked and distracts me. That must be what happened to you when you failed to secure the oil cap. :-)

Bottom line: I don't think you did any permanent harm, and this lesson will only cost you a couple of hundred.

Fast-Eddie

I was just thinking that I have a quart of Mobil 1 in the passenger rear "cubby" in a (ridiculous) "Porsche Oil Bag"... I'm now recalling that it is a rubberized bag with a zipper, that would not stop a leaky seal on the oil container... so, note to self, to remove and double bag in 2 ZipLock freezer bags.

TMQRS21

Ah. That would be because I’m an idiot and got my left and right mixed up. How embarrassing. Well I think it’s now clear it is the left.

I did get quite optimistic when I discovered that it looked really watertight. However, just re-parked as the car and…





So yes, it’s made it’s way through alright. And it’s definitely oil. Fresh and clear yellow.

Fast-Eddie

Sorry to hear... I, too, was optimistic seeing the trunk looking clean.