2024 Chevrolet Tahoe - Rear Main Seal Leaking Oil

1,958 Views | 17 Replies | Last: 3 mo ago by Fireman
Fireman
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AG
Bought the wife a new 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe with the 3.0L diesel engine back in May this year. Took it in for the first oil change after about 2,000 miles and noticed oil leaking in the garage. Just a couple of small drips - thought it was odd, but maybe the tech just spilled a bit when he refilled it. Put a white paper plate (taped down) to the garage floor to see if anymore oil leaked out. Watched it for about a week, and continued to get another drip or two. Called the dealership - took it in and they indicated, oh probably a bad oil filter, we will change it out for you, and you'll be on your way. Put a new paper plate down after she came home, and what do you know, a few more drips. We are busy folks, like most Aggies, so didn't have time to really mess with it, but was certainly annoyed. She drove it for a month, and I would say it dripped a total of about 1 tablespoon of oil in that time, with additional drips occurring somewhat infrequently, but maybe slightly more after longer trips when the engine got a bit hotter. She works at a school, so no idea how much leaked out while she was at work, but likely a similar amount.

Spoke to the dealership and took it in again, and now we were told that perhaps they had a bad batch of oil filters, and they would swap it out again. So sorry. Annoyed at the problem, but feel like the dealership and service techs are trying to help us. Second time around, took a picture of the oil on the plate, closer to two tablespoons now, and they added some die to our oil so the could see where the leak was occurring (no longer thought it was the oil filter). Drove it for 3-weeks, and took it back in and they have indicated they believe we have a rear main seal leak after seeing the die.

All covered by warranty (vehicle only has about 4,500 miles on it) and the service techs have indicated that this is a fairly common problem, which surprised me a bit, but I guess it's good that it's a repair they have done many times, so hopefully they are well trained and know how to fix it correctly.

I'm not a mechanic, and know very little about engines or how big of problem this is. Appreciate any thoughts from the forum on what to watch out for after the repair or what problems we might be in for in the future or other suggestions. Does it surprise you guys that this is a common problem for Chevrolet diesel engines? Tech said they are seeing it quite a bit in their trucks, tahoes and surburbans.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
highpriorityag
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A new rear main seal is common with vehicles that have over 150k
not sure how common it is on a 2024, actually I know the answer. It absolutely is not common but it's more indicative of the types of junk GM is producing.
The amount of oil loss you have described is nothing to worry about but for them to tell you it's common for a 2024 is a lie
MouthBQ98
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Rear mains shouldn't leak within that warranty period at all. For sure.
Roger350
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I think the amazing part of this story is that your wife can park that Tahoe with a standard deviation no larger than a paper plate. Impressive.
Fireman
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Roger350 said:

I think the amazing part of this story is that your wife can park that Tahoe with a standard deviation no larger than a paper plate. Impressive.
I have a few orange cones setup so the little beauty doesn't take out my garage doors or my truck. We've had a few incidents in the past....
Jack Boyett
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AG
As long as you can pour oil in faster than it leaks out, it's not a big deal. The only reason your situation might be different is because you just spent $90k.
Ag for Life
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Fireman said:

Roger350 said:

I think the amazing part of this story is that your wife can park that Tahoe with a standard deviation no larger than a paper plate. Impressive.
I have a few orange cones setup so the little beauty doesn't take out my garage doors or my truck. We've had a few incidents in the past....

Tennis ball on a string hanging from the ceiling for the win!! Worked for my Mimi
EMY92
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AG
I do that for my truck. I've got about 2" clearance front & back when I park.
BiggiesLX
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I'd seek out a remedy even if it's a slight leak. The bigger issue is how the transmission was installed and/or if the seal is maybe from a defective batch. Of course the dealership will brush it off but it's BS to deal with on any new car. The leak will only get worse over time.
aggie_wes
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AG
I haven't noticed any leaking on mine, but I will keep an extra close eye on it now.
Corps_Ag12
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AG
Hopefully they can get you in and out quickly. My truck has been at the dealership for over a month "waiting on parts" for a warranty issue.
JoeAggie1010
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I had my Silverado in for a similar leak. After some research, I found the main culperit was the oil galley near the oil filter housing. However, the first dealership chose no to listen, so they changed my front main seal. Then, after the leak persisted, they changed the oil pan gasket. Finally, my third trip to another dealership fixed the problem, the oil galley plug.
Stat Monitor Repairman
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Value in buying a new vehicle is that nobody's coon fingered it.

Rear main-seal is an intrusive repair..

Any kind of intrusive repair on a vehicle with less than 50k chips away at the latent value of buying new.

So if you in the shop at 4500 with anything, I'd be mad. It's a crapshoot though.

Still think we seeing fallout from covid on manufacturing and supply chan. A ton of folks that knew what they were doing and why retired all at the same time.
Dr. Nefario
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Fireman said:

. Does it surprise you guys that this is a common problem for Chevrolet diesel engines?

Unfortunately, at this point, no problem with any GM product is a surprise.

“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.” -Abraham Lincoln

“Veganism is like communism. They’re both fine… unless you like food.”
Ribeye-Rare
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AG
The stealership said they ordered your parts for the repair and will call as soon as they come in:

Kenneth_2003
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Bad oil filter
Bad batch of oil filters... Really? And it's on your vehicle they've noticed this on?
Oh it's a rear main seal, this is common...

Quite the leap they've taken

Granted it's a warranty thing so they're hoping you'll just go away.
Dill-Ag13
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Roger350 said:

I think the amazing part of this story is that your wife can park that Tahoe with a standard deviation no larger than a paper plate. Impressive.
POTD!
Fireman
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Appreciate the tip. Will try to convince them to fix that at the same time as the main seal work, scheduled for late next week.
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