Took my heat shield off today to put my new down pipe in. Noticed the same exact soot. My car has almost 25k miles on it

 

my car has 3.5k miles and no soot at all on the shield.

 

@kosteniuks17 - I'm running the factory fill oil right now. Planning on switching to mobile 1 full synthetic next change.

Definitely appreciate everyones insight on this issue. I am curious if anyone who has seen this has had their car checked out to see what exactly the issue is. Im trying to avoid going back to the dealer as its over an hour away.

 

bump for more info

 

Im curious too. I assume there is not much input because many haven't taken off the heat shield.

 

An easy test is to start the car while the engine is cold, and spray soapy water from a spray bottle at the suspect areas. Any bubbles signify a leak. I have a spray bottle with water and a bit of dish soap that I use for testing exhaust and intercooler leaks.

Intercoolers must be pressurized to test, btw...

 

Bump

 

This maybe the source of slight fume smell in cabin when wot sometimes...

 

Take the car to the dealership, its still under warranty sounds like a exhaust leak to me.