Here are photos!

Spots on floor.



Leak appears to be originating from the oil filter.



Oh thank heaven, the drain plug is dry.



I'm going to guess it's the oil filter.

Oil is looking a little dirty right now anyway, so I'll change it early.

 

Here are photos!

Spots on floor.



Leak appears to be originating from the oil filter.



Oh thank heaven, the drain plug is dry.



I'm going to guess it's the oil filter.

Oil is looking a little dirty right now anyway, so I'll change it early.

Did you tighten the filter untill it bottomed out...? New Oil filters are designed to tighten until they Bottom... No more of that 1/4 turn baloney... Smart has high pressure pump. Add to that Cold thick oil in the morning, and the pressure spike will burp past the seal on a lightly tighened filter...

 

Hi, do you see any oil smush above the oil filter, if not it's ooze from where the oil gasket meets the frame. When you change the filter do you wet the rubber seal of the filter with a small bead of oil, and then hand tighten the filter till you can taste blood in you mouth. Also before replacing the filter do you wipe down that area till it's as clean as you can get it? If there's any old oil build up on the metal area where the rubber seal of the filter meets the car, a razor to nock it off works good.






I was just kidding about the blood part!

 

... If there's any old oil build up on the metal area where the rubber seal of the filter meets the car, a razor to nock it off works good.
!

...I will never use a very sharp metal tool to scrape a thin sealing surface...
...if you have to scrape off anything make sure the scraping tool is softer than the surface you're using it on...

Jetfuel...just saying...

 

Neon, looks like a leaky gasket on the filter... Wipe the filter off with a rag and then give it a little more tightening with your strong arm grip... You might consider going to a manual car wash and give that area a good hose'n with the spray wand too...

 

Let's hope it's just a leaky oil filter. That certainly is the easiest thing to fix!

 

I say oil filter. had that before on another car. you could have had a snow chunk hit the filter and break the seal on the filter. good tip about cleaning off the filter seat. also, you can change the filter without draining the oil. if it is a leak other than the filter you will at least save the oil expense.

 

Thanks guys! Looks like it's isolated to just the area around the top of the filter. I changed the oil 7k ago and it wasn't leaking then.

Oil is looking black now so I might just change it anyway just for

Maybe when the car scraped on some ice recently the filter could've been victimized.

I did oil the seal ring when I installed it...maybe the sucker is just too cheap to last 10k

 

If it is the oil filter, it'll definitely be the last time I use that brand...

Random thoughts on oil filters.

On European vehicles I generally use Hengst or Mann filters. Any given filter can leak eventually, even if it was correctly installed. Things occur.

I remove the old filter first so I can drop it in the drain pan without it splashing in the old engine oil and making a mess. Then I let it drain inverted over a used oil container for at least 48 hours. The filter, not the engine.

Before installing the new filter be sure the filter gasket came off with the old filter. If not, a double-gasket will fail and cause massive oil loss very quickly. Wipe the sealing surface on the filter flange clean, then oil the new filter gasket with fresh oil. I fill the new filter with fresh oil before I spin it on. Spin it on hand tight 3/4 to 1 turn. Do not overtighten, as that can distort the gasket and cause a leak. If you have the proper filter wrench it can be tightened to the correct torque specification.

Drain the old oil into a proper container for recycling, refill with your preferred brew, then start the engine and check for leaks.

In the case where a leak location needs to be verified in the area of accumulated oil residue, cover the residue with some type of white powder, such as baby power or powdered cleanser like Comet. The leak location will show up as a dark spot when the oil starts to seep out and stain the powder. For slower leaks there is a ultra-violet dye that can be put in the oil. When the leak surfaces the leak trail can be traced back to the source using a UV flashlight.

 

Clean paper towels work equally as well with less mess

 

You know, I never thought to take the filter off first for an oil change...when I took the old one off for my 30k it slipped out my hand and made a splash into the old oil, making quite a mess!

Definitely will take note of that!!!