Oil ??? Leak in passenger compartment

I'm the original owner of an '08 that now has 11,000 miles. Went to drive today and when I released the E-brake, I noticed that some fluid had dropped onto the kickpanel directly adjacent to the E-brake pedal. Sounds wierd to me: like it's not raining and I haven't carried anything on my shoes either. I looked around and reached up underneath the panel directly above and there was a small amount of a very light oil-like fluid that came off onto my fingers. It was obvious that a droplet had formed and is what had dropped onto the kickpanel.

I don't have a clue what this fluid is or where it's coming from. Mind you, it's not a lot, just a drop or so weaping, but some fitting or hose must be leaking. Obviously this will be a trip to the dealer as a warranty issue and I'll post their feedback in a couple of days. But meanwhile has anybody else experienced this and have advice they want to share?

Thanks very much

 

Good thought, possibly excess lubricant, but I don't know why I wouldn't have noticed it before today. I use the E-brake all the time and after 7 months would have thought it would noticed it before.

 

Thanks for your input, that would make more sense to me than a hose leaking, considering the location.
Well, it has been warm, 85-90+ and car sits in direct sunlight all day....certainly not as warm as you guys have been seeing lately, but the car interior must easily get to 110.
Thanks again

 

You guys were right, Dealer too says it appears to be excess lubricant on the E-brake mechanism that liquified due to heat. They cleaned it off the best they could and told me to keep an eye on it. No charge and a free car wash for this advice. However, they did say that if I wanted, they could tear into it and confirm and clean off the excess in the linkage, but that work would not be covered under warranty and I'd need to pay for it if I wanted it done.