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I finally pulled the trigger on a 2015 Cayman GTS. It's a CPO car with 24,500 miles on it. I was wondering if it is normal to smell oil on these mid engine cars? I've only had the car for a few days, and right after starting the engine I can smell oil (I think it's oil). The oil levels on the car are showing normal and I'm not seeing any oil drops on my garage floor. I can sometimes smell it after I turn the car off as well.
So is this normal or is this a case of excess oil spilling on the engine and just heating up? Thanks in advance for your time.
I believe Porsche’s have some parts coated with cosmoline prior to being shipped to prevent corrosion and that the cosmoline burns off after a while.
Normally you would get that cosmoline smell after driving the car and the car was up to temperature.
my car had that smell for the first 15k miles.
What’s abnormal about your case is that you smell it right after start up - possibly the dealer did a “ sloppy “ oil changed and oil dripped onto the exhaust system. Personally if the smell didn’t go away in a few days I’d stop by the dealer and have them take a look.
I finally pulled the trigger on a 2015 Cayman GTS. It's a CPO car with 24,500 miles on it. I was wondering if it is normal to smell oil on these mid engine cars? I've only had the car for a few days, and right after starting the engine I can smell oil (I think it's oil). The oil levels on the car are showing normal and I'm not seeing any oil drops on my garage floor. I can sometimes smell it after I turn the car off as well.
So is this normal or is this a case of excess oil spilling on the engine and just heating up? Thanks in advance for your time.
Dave
Have you peaked around to see if there are any visible signs of oil anywhere on the exhaust? Any drip marks where you are parking or underside of the car?
Dave, more congrats on your car and welcome to the forum.
I've had two mid-engine Porsches and with neither did I ever smell oil at any point during operation, whether upon startup, during driving, or after turning the car off, so I would say it is not normal, although I'm not sure it is something to be overly worried about either. If the odor persists, I'd just take it into your dealer (since it is CPO'd) and see if you can't replicate the smell for a service tech.
Good luck getting it sorted. Hope the car is otherwise living up to all your expectations.
The oil smell is normal, at least as far as I can tell. When I start my '16 cGTS (cold) there is a faint smell of oil. It goes away once the engine is warmed up. I suspect it's piston and ring clearances. Everything expands when hot and Porsche has the motor built to rev high and survive track abuse. It's probably a little loose at cold temps and allows a bit of oil by the seals. I only have 10k miles on my car, but at least a third of those are track miles. It hasn't shown any increase in oil consumption between annual oil changes. Always down one bar / light on the electronic dipstick on the dash after a year of driving and track days.
Thanks for the input everyone, here is the latest.
This morning I used a flashlight to check under the car for oil drops and did not see any. I then angled the light up and saw what appears to be a shroud under the engine. The edges of the shroud in one area were visibly darker than the rest of it. When I touched it I had oil on my fingers.
The oil smell had really been bothering me as it was very strong and seemingly heavier than the normal hot engine smell in my opinion.
I called the 1 800 number and they came to pick it up and take it to the dealer. Everyone at the dealership and Porsche has been great to this point. Now I'm concerned about the car and am hoping it's not something serious . Hopefully I'll have more info on Monday.
An FYI, I absolutely love the car, its everything that I hoped. I love that flat 6!!!
Thanks for the input everyone, here is the latest.
This morning I used a flashlight to check under the car for oil drops and did not see any. I then angled the light up and saw what appears to be a shroud under the engine. The edges of the shroud in one area were visibly darker than the rest of it. When I touched it I had oil on my fingers.
The oil smell had really been bothering me as it was very strong and seemingly heavier than the normal hot engine smell in my opinion.
I called the 1 800 number and they came to pick it up and take it to the dealer. Everyone at the dealership and Porsche has been great to this point. Now I'm concerned about the car and am hoping it's not something serious . Hopefully I'll have more info on Monday.
An FYI, I absolutely love the car, its everything that I hoped. I love that flat 6!!!
I'm going to try and attach a photo.
It would be very surprising if the CPOn inspection did not see that oil???
Every Porsche I've ever owned has had a certain smell to it after driving it hard and then parking it in the garage. It freaked me out at first, but now I know it's the cosmoline smell that I've now come to love in a Porsche. Wet, dripping oil though is obviously a problem. Here's to hoping it's just a sloppy oil change! I would guess that is what it is, but you're absolutely right to have them check it out. Good luck!
12-06-2018, 08:28 PM
1st Time Porsche Cayman GTS owner with a question
