Exeo : Transmission Oil in Coolant

[David Exeo Maidenhead]

Hi all, this is my first post . I own a Seat Exeo Se Tech Tdi on a 2012 plate. Car has done 31500 miles, full Seat service history. The last service was done on the 23rd Jan 2019. A few days ago I came home from work and the car felt a bit juddery. Next morning I notice a pool of what looked like to me transmission oil on my drive. So I called my local mechanic and he confirmed that my coolant was contaminated with oil. He made an educated guess and concluded that the oil cooler on the gearbox had failed and that the oil had contaminated the coolant and the pool on my drive was a result of the excess fluid coming out of the overflow. Just an educated guess but he recommended I refer back to the main dealer. And this is where the fun starts. Initial chat with the service department reveal that the whole cooling system would have to be replaced and bearing in mind the condition of the vehicle (they intimated that the car was poorly maintained) , it was not economically viable to repair in their opinion. When I pointed out that they maintained my vehicle and that the last service was actually done about 6 weeks ago and the car had only covered about 200 miles since then , they went quiet and said they would get back to me.
They have now got back to me and the list of stuff that needs 'doing' is eyewatering. From a new radiator at £500, coolant flush at £181, new battery at £220, brake pads front and rear 90% worn at £280 (not mentioned in the service and MOT) , poor condition of brake fluid £49 (which they replaced 5 weeks ago !) , topping up the engine oil at £23.88 and a new gearbox fitted for £8532.72. Apart from the obvious I think I'm being fleeced.

My question really is , has anybody had this problem with transmission oil in the coolant ? And if so , was there a less painful solution then what is being proposed by my Seat main dealership?

Any comments would be hugely welcome.

 

[Legojon]

Firstly welcome. Um, yeah, that sounds sky high to me. Plus, you wanted the oil leak fixed, not the entire car revamped. Sounds like they are trying it on. First thing I'd do if you've got a pool of oil is "dip it and sniff it". Transmission oil stinks! Some describe it as smelling like "cat pee". So first thing, I'd get some indy quotes for "just" repairing the leak. But in the meantime, make sure it's transmission oil. If you can get under, see if you can see where is wet!

 

[David Exeo Maidenhead]

Thanks for that reply. I do think they are trying it on but they've sort of shot themselves in the foot and given me documentary proof of work that 'urgently ' needs doing when I've got their bill from the last service saying that they have carried out the work . This is work totally unconnected with the problem at hand which is the oil leak in the transmission ! I shall be dropping Seat UK a line and expressing my dismay at the failure of the car and the failure of the main dealer and their attempts to add insult to injury. Doubt if it will get me anywhere but nothing ventured nothing gained. In the meantime it's just a hassle getting the car recovered from the dealership and finding an independant garage who will take on the work. Plus the fact that I'm without a car for the forseeable future.

 

[Nollywood]

Depending on where you are, I will take the job on.

I’m a fully qualified VAG Master Technician, with 22 years VAG experience. Feel free to drop me a line!

 

[Legojon]

Depending on where you are, I will take the job on.

I’m a fully qualified VAG Master Technician, with 22 years VAG experience. Feel free to drop me a line!

Where abouts are you based?

 

[Nollywood]

Where abouts are you based?

Woolwich, SE18.

 

[Ricktus seat exeo]

Hi did you manage to sort this issue out as last year around the same time this happened to me had a new gear box fitted new coolant rad plus the filtet changed at a big expense. My rad cracked in side allowing oil and coolant to mix and not a year later same this as just happened

 

[David Exeo Maidenhead]

Hi did you manage to sort this issue out as last year around the same time this happened to me had a new gear box fitted new coolant rad plus the filtet changed at a big expense. My rad cracked in side allowing oil and coolant to mix and not a year later same this as just happened

Sorry to hear that you've had the same trouble as I have had. And from what I gather you've had the problem twice ! I had my gearbox rebuilt by a company recommended on the Audi forum. Company is based in Bristol and is called Milta Technology. They were really good and are experts in this type of gearbox. This failure of the gearbox oil cooler pipes in the radiator seems to be a common problem which results in the gearbox itself failing and hence big money having to be spent on repairs or replacements. And as far as I'm aware the problem has not been rectified either even though they are aware of it. If I'm not mistaken VAG in America had a big class court action taken against them because it was deemed to be a design fault and VAG owners there got recompensed. No such luck here I'm afraid. When I queried the fault with Seat UK here, all they were prepared to do is offer a few hundred off the bill only if I had the repair done in a Seat garage at hugely inflated prices. Even when I pointed out I was having the repair done in a garage widely used by VAG dealerships to repair such problems as they themselves are not qualified to do so, Seat UK were not interested. In the end all I got from Seat was 3 bottles of wine and a box of chocolates to say sorry for my misfortune on a car that had only 28K on the clock and fully serviced at Seat main dealers.
Shame really because I really like the car, but this experience has really put me off VAG for good and I will never purchase another one again. If it were to happen again as it seems to have happened to you , then I would have no hesitation in scrapping the car or break it up for spares even though it's still only got 35k on the clock. It's a bitter pill to swallow but it's a judgement about when to stop throwing good money after bad. To think, if I had bought a Kia from the same Seat Dealership I would have had my gearbox fixed for free because of their 7 year warranty !

 

[Ricktus seat exeo]

Hi i had mine rebuilt to 2760 pound plus another new rad and its burst again the gearbox company have said the rad is faulty so the gearbox is now full off coolant and the warranty for gearbox is now void worst car i have brought in my life never again i hope yours keeps good and all the best with it thanks for the response

 

[chriswales6]

Sorry to hear both of you have had problems but with most car makers it seems buyer beware. It's nothing new, back in 2002 I had a Peugeot 306 diesel and the engine exploded on the motorway. It was 4 years old, Peugeot weren't interested because it was a year out of warranty even though it was known issue with a bad batch of engines.

There's been lots of other examples:
VAG with the oil pumps on the first 2.0TDI
Ford with the power shift gearbox
BMW with engine rod bearings

Personally I'd never have another Peugeot but equally lots of other car makers aren't much better when something goes wrong out of warranty. It seems pot luck these days running an old car and I don't know what I'll do when I have to replace my 2003 Leon.

 

[David Exeo Maidenhead]

Sorry to hear both of you have had problems but with most car makers it seems buyer beware. It's nothing new, back in 2002 I had a Peugeot 306 diesel and the engine exploded on the motorway. It was 4 years old, Peugeot weren't interested because it was a year out of warranty even though it was known issue with a bad batch of engines.

There's been lots of other examples:
VAG with the oil pumps on the first 2.0TDI
Ford with the power shift gearbox
BMW with engine rod bearings

Personally I'd never have another Peugeot but equally lots of other car makers aren't much better when something goes wrong out of warranty. It seems pot luck these days running an old car and I don't know what I'll do when I have to replace my 2003 Leon.

Yes I must admit the road is littered with tales of woe. And yes you're right all manufacturers have problem cars. What really gets me though is how weak consumer law is in the UK compared to other countries. As I stated in my earlier post , in the US VAG were taken to court over this and they had to repair or replace gearboxes at their expense. I'm assuming VAG would have also redesigned the radiator to prevent this from happening again. But not in the UK, the radiators being peddled all have the same defect and have not been redesigned as is evident from Ricktus's experience. Consumer law should be tightened up and manufacturers should be compelled to offer minimum 7 year warranties on major defects on what is a major investment for the ordinary public. Only then will manufacturers sit up and take notice. Anyway, if they are confident in their product, it shouldn't be a problem. If the Koreans can do it, why can't other mainstream european manufacturers do it. I live in hope. But I won't hold my breath that it will ever happen in my lifetime.

 

[chriswales6]

Some countries have an expected usage life on most items bought. But that can be very subjective and isn't the case here. Kia started with the 7 year warranty as a marketing tool but good on them for continuing with it.

To me it seems car durability is getting worse not better. I'm not sure many new cars will last as long as my 17 year old Leon. Manufactures and Dealers seem to pushing lease ownership so there's even less incentive to make cars that last more than 4 years.

 

[Jersey J-P]

Hi All, sadly this is my first post. After 18 months of happy Seat Exeo ownership this issue has now struck me as well (2012, 2.0l tdi cvt). I'm waiting to hear back from the garage whether the gearbox can be salvaged or not. From the other posts, and what the garage were intimating I think not! The car has covered just under 45k miles, and by the sound of it, is beyond economic repair. I made my last finance payment a month ago, and a month later it seems like it's headed for the scrap yard! I think the repair costs will be similar to the purchase price I paid 18 months ago (plus freight import charges as I live on an island). Well, it was great whilst it lasted. There was no obvious warning of what was about to happen. The car was sluggish on the day, and when I parked at the garage, I realised it was leaving a pink trail behind it of overflowing antifreeze coolant emulsified with transmission oil.

Best of luck all other Exeo owners.

Jean-Pierre