So I went to change my oil last night and found a leak near the oil pan. I had done 3200 miles since the transmission fluid was done. I had the transmission fluid done at my local mercedes dealership last year on July 2013. Before that I had done a oil change and not notice the leak.

I assume the leak/damage was done by the dealership when they did the transmission fluid change. Can anyone take a look at my pics and offer any insight on where the leak could be from? I have cleaned up the soiled area and will drive the car around today and check again to see if it still leaks in same place.

Seems to me they loosened the bolt on the oil pan and retighten, as I see some bolts are stripped. Could this had been an accident when they were trying to loosen the transmission oil pan and loosened the motor oil pan?

What I would like to know is if you guys think the root cause is from the dealership doing the transmission oil change? I changed my oil multiple times and never noticed this leak back then. My other issue is, even if it is caused by the dealership. I wonder how they will deal with it.

overview of the leakage


no leak on the drain bolt


Stripped bolts, Can I replace these? Are they tq to yield? Maybe the oil pan gasket is leaking cause they didn't tq it down good enough?



Saw some leakage on the top left of the picture. What part is this?

Fyi i replaced my oil pan 3 times since 2008 and never hit anything... Dealership cant give me an explanation how come it keeps happening. Sorry i know my reply is no help .

The Stealers may have not torqued the pan bolts correctly, either overtight or too loose.

Hmm... maybe same for me then? How much did it cost you if you remembered? Or was it replaced under warranty?
My issue is, why would they even need to loosen the pan?

If it is indeed the pan, does anyone have the tq specs for it so I can go over it and re-tighten?

Mine is under warranty.

Looks like something above the pan is leaking. Oil leaks don't defy gravity.


Clean it all off with brake clean and check after a drive to find the source.

have the same issue. I'm told its common and is the oil pan gasket… simple fix

Straight back to the MB dealer that did the work. Looks like a bit of a hatchet job, there should be a warranty on the work, this should cost you nix.