2011 et gls purchased new in october 2010. 29,350 miles. i noticed oil leaking in the driveway and brought it in to the dealer. diagnosis...defective head gasket. dealer did not have the part in stock, so i'm assuming this is not a common issue. still bummed though. thankfully covered by warranty...

 

Head gasket? Are you sure he didn't mean valve cover gasket?

 

he may have meant valve cover gasket, but he said head gasket. i won't know for sure what was repaired until i pick up the car. is one less alarming, for a new car, than the other?

 

Yeah. A valve cover gasket is a minor repair. Remove valve cover, replace gasket, done.

A cylinder head gasket is major. You have to remove the cylinder head (almost half the engine).

 

the more i think about it, i believe it is the head gasket because the service adviser said it was a major repair that will require a day to a day and a half to complete.

 

Ouch!

 

picked up the car yesterday. the invoice showed: "oil leaking at head gasket, cracked at oil port, replaced head gasket."

of course the dealership said i caught it in time, not to worry, etc. i've never had an issue like this in 30 years of new cars. let's hope this is not the beginning of more problems with this vehicle...