I'm pretty much clueless about the Cayman but a friend just got his back from the dealer for a 5K service and it promptly left a puddle of oil in his garage. He thinks it was way overfilled at the service. If it was how bad a thing might that be?

Thanks,

Ephraim

 

I may be completely wrong here, but I don't think overfilling would result in a puddle UNLESS it was filled to the point that oil was coming out of the refill valve, and that is in the trunk.

If anything the dealer may not have tightened the oil drain plug properly and you're leaking from the bottom of the car.

Take it back to the dealer after CAREFULLY checking the oil level. It there are more than a few drops of oil on the floor, make the dealer or call roadside and flatbed the car back. You don't want to dump the rest of the engine oil on the road back to the dealer if they screwed up tightening the drain bolt.

Good luck,
-Pete

 

The manual does not call for a 5k service. What did the dealer do service wise at 5k? How big was the "puddle"? It is unlikely an overfill would cause a puddle. If the oil was changed, loose fill plug and/or loose filter housing (or missing "o" ring on the filter housing) is a more likely cause for the leak. Of course it could just be a coincident and that something else is leaking and/or loose.

 

Update: The dealer sent a flatbed to pick up the car. They diagnose the problem as a defective oil filter. Any ideas on whether there could be damage to the engine? Maybe request compression and/or leak down test?

Ephraim

 

It all depends on how much oil was still left in the engine when it was last running. Hopefully the leak was small and no harm was done since you caught it so quickly afterwards.

 

Your dealer's diagnosis translates to, "our mechanic screwed up."
The oil filter itself is just an insert replacement fitted into a reused cannister sealed with an "O" ring. The drain plug is reused but its crush seal is replaced. Most likely, the mechanic undertightened or cross-threaded the drain plug or cannister, or the drain plug seal or filter O ring was omitted or damaged. A "defective oil filter" wouldn't cause a leak.

IMHO, your dealer, should, at the least, comp your service considering your inconvenience.

Assuming no warning light, I'd seriously doubt there was any engine damage caused by what sounds like a relatively small leak.