I've recently had an oil change on my car and now there is a small leak why?

It only occurs when the vehicle is stationary and it is a very small patchI've recently had an oil change on my car and now there is a small leak why?
There could be a variety of reasons. The oil sump plug may not be tightened correctly allowing a leakage. The seal on the oil filter may be leaking or the actual filter itself is not properly installed. If the car is quite old, a lot of gunk can build up on the gaskets creating a false seal. When a new oil is added, particularly a fully synthetic to replace a semi or mineral oil, this gunk can be dislodged from the seals due to the cleaning action of the modern oil, thus exposing any leaks.


To locate its origin, park the car on a level surface overnight and place newspaper underneath the engine making sure it is secured in place. The oil spot should show up by the next morning allowing you to see where it is coming from. You will need to get under the car to have a look.


Alternatively bring it back to the garage that did the oil change and ask them to have a look at it for you.





If its just a small drip (a few drops over a period of hours or days) then its nothing to worry about but obviously if you are having to top up with oil every few days and there's an oil slick on your driveway every morning then you will need to take action.





Best of luck.


DamoI've recently had an oil change on my car and now there is a small leak why?
I'd check to see where the leak is coming from. If it's the drain plug, tighten it before it falls out and blows up the motor. If the oil looks to be coming from the oil filter, it may be that the high school drop out that changed your oil forgot to make sure the old oil filter o-ring was not stuck to the oil filter flange surface. If that's the case oil will leak a little for a day and then suddenly all the oil blows out of the motor leaving you stranded.
First you need to identify where the leak is coming from. Its most likely the sump plug on the bottom of the sump tank under the car. Take a cloth and throughly clean the sump plug (nut) and then wait to see if oil builds up there again. If it does, and it most likely will, this is where the issue lies. The garage should have replaced this plug and the gaskget underneath if they were working in accordance with the maintenance manual. You dont want to try and replace this youself because you are going to end up losing the oil that you have just paid the garage for! So take it back and make them replace this and top up the oil.
they may have spilt a little oil on the engine whilst filling it,it may disappear in a day or 2...its also possible the brass/copper sump gasket needs replaced...it is advised to change it during an oil change[there penny's]but some mechanics dont..
The sump plug has not been tightened properly or they have forgotten to put the gasket/washer back.


Take your car to whoever did the oil change and they will fix it.


Either that of the new filter is not on tight enough to seal it.
cos they didn't re-tighten the nut on the oil tank enough when they drained the tank





take it back and get them to nip it.





As you say, its only a small leak, so why would you notice it traveling?
might be they didnt tighten your oilpan plug tight enough, its free to take it back and have them check it out. go in the shop with them so you can see for your self where the leak is!!!