Remove the fill hole plug and see if any fluid spills out, but you can't do that without lifting the car.
I don't know for certain. I have several years of wiping up varying levels of oil on the diff. In my experience, if the fluid level is at the plug, its to full and will exit the vent hole fairly aggressively until the level comes down to its happy place. I have not had oil anywhere that would indicate pinion or axle seals.
So this has been going on for several years and yet the fill level is still not at or below the level at which fluid would no longer weep? That seems a bit off to me.
*insert reminder of wind buffeting*
As their mfg. engineer, I'd make certain they did so.
It's "happy place" might just be empty, lol.
This is exactly where I am right now. I’m three years into what has been a perpetual drip. Bought the car late-November 2020. Didn’t notice anything before Winter storage but found drips after a few auto crosses the next Spring. Monitored all season thinking it was over filled weeping based on the feedback here. However, it never stopped after almost a year and more than 5000 miles so I went to the dealer. They added dye and said it showed leaking from the drain plug which was replaced and off to Winter storage I went. Following Spring, same thing. Started seeing the drips and I monitored again. This time a looked more closely and it did seem to come from above but not sure since the wind can blow it around a lot. After another full season and another 5000 miles of not stopping I went back to the dealer again. This time Toyota had them replace the entire cover. Rinse and repeat. Ram a third auto cross season this year and sure enough still dripping all year long. It does seem to come from above but can’t be certain since the wind can blow it around a lot. So back to the dealer again and this time I advised that it seemed to come from the top and could be the breather. They were convinced though that it’s still the cover and I’m wondering if they may be correct. They removed, cleaned, did a new gasket and reinstalled. Now there is just a tiny bit of fluid showing up on one of the bottom bolts. Not even enough to actually drip. More like a slight film weeping out. Nothing from the top now and everywhere else is staying dry. They want me to bring the car back again to work on it again but had to order more fluid.
Thanks for the historical perspective, Jerry. I agree that it should stop without being completely empty. There may be a design issue at hand. Hopefully, the Supra tech is getting his findings back to Toyota for a permanent fix. Otherwise, the dealership can be faced with a three-strikes-and-you-buy-back scenario, at least here in California.
Nah, I wouldn’t let them have it back even if they offered. Love the car too much. If it comes down to it I’ll just start pulling the fill plug and top off every year before Winter storage.
No, I was going to suggest to put UV dye in the oil. However, I 100% understand the car is new with less than 1,000 miles and you want Toyota to deal with anything like this. I respect this even if it might have sounded otherwise before.
Thanks, Bryan. You do tend to sound a bit sarcastic at times.
I was well known for doing the same with the wife and kids, and it was always because I felt they should've thought a bit more before blurting out a response. After a more-experienced guy at work started doing the same to me, I realized that I should be less condescending to my family, so I pause before commenting, then skip the sarcasm. (That can be tough!)
