You finally got the kids in the car and you’re ready for your day. You fire up the engine and back out, albeit a little bit faster than you should but you’re running late. You glance at your garage floor as you punch the remote to close the garage door. There are fluid spots. What could be leaking out of your car, truck, or utility vehicle? Fountain City Auto Clinic lists the fluids by their color to give you a handy guide.
Blue
Blue fluid is windshield washer fluid, and you can safely drive your automobile even though this fluid is leaking. The only thing you won’t be able to do is clean your windshield once the fluid has leaked completely out.
Brown
Brown fluid is brake fluid, motor oil, gear lubricant, or old transmission fluid. Depending on how much fluid has leaked onto your garage floor, it might not be safe to continue to drive your vehicle with any of these fluids leaking out of it.
Clear
Clear fluid is water, and it is not harmful at all. Usually, you will see condensation dripping from your air conditioner or tailpipe. This is normal, and it’s safe to continue driving your car if all that is leaking from it is condensation.
Green
Green fluid is antifreeze or engine coolant, and the hue can also be a greenish-blue. This fluid can make driving your automobile dangerous if you have a serious leak because a serious leak will reduce the coolant levels in your engine and your car will overheat.
Orange
Orange fluid generally means that you have a rusted radiator. The fluid itself isn’t actually orange. Rather, the fluid has flecks of rust in it that make it look orange. If you drive an older automobile, you might be facing this problem as the radiator has corroded.
Pink
Pink fluid is generally diluted transmission fluid, and you definitely should not drive your automobile. If the spots are underneath your vehicle toward the center, the leak is coming from the transmission. Driving with diluted transmission fluid will seriously damage the gears.
Red
Some brake fluid is red, as are power steering and transmission fluid. Again, if the fluid is leaking toward the center of your automobile, you’re looking at a transmission fluid leak. If the red fluid is leaking from the front of your automobile it could be power steering or engine coolant, if that is the color of your coolant. Red brake fluid will leak around the wheels.
Finally, antifreeze is yellow as is some coolant. No matter the color, Fountain City Auto Clinic is the best auto service shop in Knoxville, TN, and we can find your automotive fluid leak and fix it.