Any ideas?

 

Hasnt run downhill, I havent topped it up, near the dipstick

 

Diesel leak from the filter or it's pipes?

Diesel leak from the filter or it's pipes?

 

couldnt see any leaks

How many miles / km?

Does it smell of diesel? Is the bottom or lid of the fuel filter wet? Don't let diesel get onto your power steering belt, I have read that a perished/ broken power steering belt can jam into the cam belt with all the damage that implies.

Correction, where I said power steering belt I ment to say alternator/ac belt

How many miles / km?

 

cars on 3000 miles

 

its not diesel, and the filter/pipes are dry anyway

 

Im just wondering if i hadnt clicked the dipstick right in place a while back

 

ive wiped it off and will check it regular

Take the plastic engine cover off and see if you can see anything amiss

Wipe it with white paper towel, wait for it to dry, and tell us what colour it is.

There is one large dry drip mark that leads into the damp area, which seems to've creeped with capillary action and spread across the cover and around the base, so it looks like something has dripped higher-up on the engine cover?

I'd wash it off with a degreaser and see if it reappears.

 

PS - I edited the pic to drop it in here, but unfortunately I cant work-out how to add it to this post!

I saw the dry drip and where it appears to have leeched down to the oil patch too, but figured that it wouldn't have reached all along the lower edge the way it has?

 

Perhaps the bonnet latch has been greased whilst the bonnet was open, this is roughly above where the oil residue is, but given that the car is so new then I doubt it has been in for a service yet.

 

Are the door latches and hinges lubed as part of the PDI (pre-delivery inspection) or in the factory?

 

My guess given what the OP has said is that the dipstick hasn't been pushed home all the way and there has been a small amount of haze / blowback out of the dipstick.

I wiped it off, secured the dipstick, done about 300 miles, no sign of any more