Brought the 07' TLS with 105,000 miles in for oil & Trans fluid, they found rear main seal leaking. I spotted in last week so I knew something was leaking. They want $1,300 to repair it but for now the leak isn't horrible. I will say I am disappointed though with Acura (Honda) and design/build quality, a rear main seal should not be leaking at 100,000 miles on a Honda. No excuse for it at all.

 

Definitely not the first. I had mine leak around 60k miles or so. Auto or manual? Get the timing belt done too right?

 

The car had an oil leak 2 years ago & covered under warranty, they even did the timing belt since they were in there. The car had about 85,000 miles at that time. Ohh well.

 

Have you had the power steering hose recall done? If so, when?

And $1300 is high, should be more in the $900-$1000 range. It's all labor to install a $9 part. Unless you're leaking a lot, you can "wait and see". Sometimes these fix themselves...

 

I didn't get any leaks until recently, at 180k miles. It's not the same for everyone, no matter the brand of car.

 

When I took my 06MT in for a transmission rebuild at 122k miles, the shop found the rear main seal leaking, so they just charged me for the seal since my tranny was already out. I'm so glad I dodged that one, but then the rebuild cost a fortune! I just remind myself that if I had an M5, this would probably be closer to $10,000, so then I feel better.

 

If you can wait, always wait until the transmission goes out. We used to throw a new rear main in for free even if it wasn't requested.

I actually agree with NFN, sometimes they fix themselves over time. Mine had a very slight leak since 90k. I pulled off the cover recently to check it the other day at 125,000 and it's dry. I did switch oils right before I noticed the leak and have been on the same oil since.

Some people set their standards too high. A rear main leaking at 100k is a pretty normal thing. If it's not dripping and you're not having to add oil, I would try and wait until the trans or clutch goes out. You can try a different or thicker oil within reason. I don't recommend any seal dwellers because oil already contains them and a concentrated dose can seal up leaks now but cause them to get much worse down the road.

 

Good posts by NFN and IHC.

I'll add that you want to verify it is the rear main seal leaking. The axle seal is very common source of ATF leaks. I thought I had a rear main leak on the TL until I actually did a full inspection and sourced the leak from the axle / driveshaft seal. You don't want to pay $1000+ for $100 job.