[catalina320]

My wife left to visit her parents out of town last saturday in her Amanti (2005 with 2460 miles on it). A couple of hours later I enter the garage to get in my Avalanche and I notice a large spot of what it look like oil on the floor .The smell was pretty strong, something like a 80/90W grease. Time to panick? Well I check all fluids the day before she left so I knew was not engine oil and transmission fluid is red...Called her on the phone and ask if any unusual accurence was going on. (I didn't want to panick her). She reported that nothing seem wrong.When she reached her parents house I told her my discovery and to find a KIA dealer locally.She found one but had to wait till this morning to take her car in.
Now for the explanation given to me by the Service Manager on the phone..............there is too much undercoating (cosmoline)under the car and is melting!!!!!!!!!!!
Why a car that she has been driving for 3 mos and has more than 2000 miles has decided to melt her own undercoating?
Has anybody out there had a similar occurrence? If so let me know, it would put my mind at ease that the diagnosis was correct. Tks.

 

[Spec SX]

It has never happened to me but I could see it happening though especially on my 05 Spectra SX. I was just looking underneath it the other day and it has a very thick layer of undercoating on it.
Has it been warmer than normal where you are?? Just a thought.

 

[catalina320]

Yes SPEC, has been very hot but has been in the middle to the high nineties for the last month or so. The question in my mind is why is happening only now?

 

[rayray]

cata....sounds like the dealer reached into repair grab bag of stock answers for repair issues :bwekk: but on the other hand there is slim chance that the tech is right ????well bottom line is you saw something unusual and if it was me, I would make a daily check of all fluids, put some sort of cardboard stuff under to take with you to the dealer as evidence and even crawl under and take a look yourself (flashlight) and keep a log to take to the dealer........take all this stuff to the dealer and let him solve the problem....if this car was much older then you would expect to find some crap under it but not a new car with virtually no miles on it !!! My Amanti is 19 months old and has never deposited a drop of any thing.......so far anyway :grin: How's about keeping us informed as we all benefit froom each others experiences.....good luck :beer: rayray

 

[mechanic80]

My '05 AMANTI was also heavily undercoated. part of the "DESERT PROTECTION PACKAGE" or whatever. Mine never dripped but did take a month to burn off the excess undercoating from on or near the exhaust. But it is quiet as a tomb!

 

[catalina320]

Tks RAYRAY, you must be reading my mind......I think the answer from the dealer was pulled from somewhere else than a bag of stock answer :grin: .. but after crawling under the car, I cannot see any oil of any kind on the underbelly.
Under the car there is still a vague pungent smell of what seems 90W grease..
Are there any skunks in South Korea? I remember urban legends of coke bottles in Cadillac doors, maybe this is sort of a Korean joke.
Seriously, I checked all oil levels and everything is O.K. and the garage floor( covered by cardboard) is clean. BTW do front drive cars have differentials? I'm going back to what smell like 90W grease. We will see :beer:

 

[mechanic80]

FWD cars have a transaxle which is both the trans and (performs the job of) the diff on a RWD car It is lubricated with the transmission and there is no separate housing.. Do I have that right guys?
Norbert