Oil is escaping from the engine. A weep or a light film is normally an advisory. It becomes a failure when the leak is dripping so badly it could reach the road or a hot component, or where it has contaminated something safety-related like a brake or a suspension bush.
Wording as it commonly appears on an MOT certificate: “Engine has an oil leak”.
What does it mean?
Oil is escaping from the engine. A weep or a light film is normally an advisory. It becomes a failure when the leak is dripping so badly it could reach the road or a hot component, or where it has contaminated something safety-related like a brake or a suspension bush.
How serious is it?
Usually recorded as: Advisory, Major. The tester assesses the actual vehicle on the day, so your certificate is what counts.
What normally causes it?
- A rocker or cam cover gasket — the most common and the easiest to fix
- The crankshaft front or rear oil seal, the rear one usually meaning gearbox-out labour
- A sump gasket or a stripped sump plug thread
- A blocked crankcase breather building pressure and pushing oil past good seals
- Oil filter housing seals, which are a known weak point on several common diesels
What a mechanic would check
Degrease it, drive it, then look with a UV light or fresh eyes — oil always tracks downwards and backwards, so the drip point is almost never the source. I also check the breather system before condemning a seal, because replacing seals on an engine with crankcase pressure just moves the leak somewhere else.
What might need replacing
- A cover gasket or seal
- A sump gasket or a repair insert for the plug thread
- A breather or PCV valve
- Crank seals in the more serious cases
Can you still drive it?
A weep is a watch-the-dipstick job. Check the level weekly and top up with the right grade. If oil is landing on the exhaust — you'll smell it and see smoke off the bonnet — get it fixed before it becomes a fire risk.
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This is general guidance from a UK mechanic, not a substitute for a physical inspection. Only the tester who inspected your vehicle can confirm what was recorded and why.