[Lootas1]

Backing down into my garage last week, I saw a series of fresh oil dripping on my driveway. Parked in a level garage and pulled the dipstick. The level was well above full. Called my friend, a car mechanic, and he came and took a look. No check engine light came on. He pulled dipstick to confirm my finding. Looked and oil on dipstick. It looked normal to both of us. He sniffed the dipstick and said he could smell gas. I had my first oil change some months ago and had thought the oil was a bit on the high side when I checked but figured Kia knew how much oil to put in.

I called the dealer where I bought the Niro new last September. It now has 5,600 miles on the odometer and still driving very nicely for a car its age. He said don't drive except to the dealer. Of course, I live on an island with the car ferry being out for the entire month. It is the only car I have. I have never added oil or gas or poured water into the crankcase.What do you experts think? Can I drive it slowly on the island? Should I drain some oil out? Should I run like crazy before it blows up on me? Should I be calling other companies to get a Prius or some other little hybrid that lasts more than 5,600 miles? (My son's Prius has something like 60,000 trouble free miles.)

 

[caryni2q]

If the engine head gasket is blown, it can cause coolant from the cooling system to get into the oil.

Don't play with it. Take it into KIA and the them figure it out. It's under warranty!

 

[FlNiro]

Take it to the dealer right away. I read on another post here that someone else had problems with gas leaking into the oil, so it's not an unheard of problem. The dealer should give you a loaner car under terms of the warranty too.

 

[brandent]

I think you guys missed the part where he lives on an island and the ferry is busted. I'd just drive it until the ferry is back in action and you can get it to a dealer. The scenarios are:

1. It's nothing. In which case driving it won't hurt.
2. It's something. In which case major work or even engine replacement is going to happen whether or not you keep driving it. So just drive it.


It's on warranty. It's their problem not yours.

 

[Lootas1]

Wish I could take it to dealer. That is the part that is stopping me. As I posted above, I live on a small island in the Pacific Ocean that is served by a car ferry 11 months of the year. September isn't one of those months. I am 84 years old and live 3 1/2 miles from the only store on the island. I sort of need my car to get around. Fortunately, I am not Robinson Caruso. I can probably get a ride to and from the store but I can't get my car to the dealer without driving it about 30 miles once the ferry comes back from annual maintenance. I was hoping to get a professional opinion here about driving it slowly on back roads to the dealer without destroying the engine.

 

[Lootas1]

Had to drive car six miles today. Drove slowly (30 mph). When I returned home, the dipstick showed "oil" half an inch above the red plastic which must be more than a quart or two too high. Yes, the car is on the level and no, neither I nor anyone else has ever added oil. As I wrote before, I can't get it off the island for at least another week when the ferry comes back and then 30 miles to the dealer. The oil does smell like gas but still looks and feels like oil. Should I call for a tow truck to get it to town when the ferry comes back at the end of the month? Or crawl under and drain the crankcase. I don't have any oil to put back in it so I'd have to put some of the old oil back.