Oil Film in Engine Compartment
 

I have 1,350 miles on my car and every once in a while I get a "whiff" of oil smell coming through the vents. This afternoon I noticed that there is an oil film on the engine cover and other flat surface areas. When I slide my hand there appears a very thin film of oil on my hand. Note that the car is 2 weeks and 1 day old. I find this unusual since I don't see any oil leaks on the floor of the garage. I have never owned a car with a rotary engine and even though I was told the car consumes some oil by design, I don't think there should be an oil film in the engine compartment. Any comments or similar occurence?

My 7 never did that everything else but not that.First year car buyback and run FAST

Wipe it off and see if it comes back - perhaps there was some type of coating/protectant for the trip overseas? What does your dealer say about it?

It also could be something as simple as oil leaking from a car ahead of you got sucked through the engine bay. On RX-7's it's common to see sand and the like under the upper intake manifold - the aerodynamics of the car and the cooling fans suck stuff through the engine bay.

Clean it off, see if it comes back. I would also watch for any oil spots on the ground from sitting overnight - oil typically leaks down, not up :).

Dale

I had the same accumulation of what appeared to be oil as well. I took it in had it looked at and wiped down. They said it was "normal" for the a new car and that it would wear off. Now a month later, I don't have the accumulation, but still smell burnt oil almost every time I drive the car. Some other thread talked about an oil cooler leak.

While WTF (perhaps) jokes about the buyback, it's things like the smell of burning oil, 16 MPG and missing horsepower that make one consider the buyback.

Problem Resolved
 

Well, I am happy to say that this film was definitely not coming from the engine. Apparently, my car was displayed in the show room and a thick coat of silicone was sprayed in the engine compartment. I guess they really wanted to show off the engine bay under those great showroom lights. Anyway, due to the 100 degree heat in L.A., it appears the silicone started to burn off and with some dust started to get thicker. The dealer cleaned the engine bay and I am off enjoying the car.

Also, as a note, I was one of those that smelled oil and had lousy gas mileage early on. I am happy to say in the past four days the oil smell has gone away and my mileage has improved from 14 mpg to 20 mpg (surprising given that I am driving this car pretty fast with 50/50 city/highway....got 1,500 miles on it now).