A puddle beneath the car can be disturbing for new vehicle owners, but it’s not something to worry about in most cases. The culprit may be condensation from the exhaust or the air conditioning system.
Is the puddle around the rear of the engine compartment? If that’s the case, it’s likely from the AC condensation, an everyday occurrence and nothing to lose sleep over.
Alternatively, the water may be from exhaust condensation when the puddle is around the exhaust area. Don’t worry about it if it’s in small amounts.
When to Worry about Leaking Water from the Vehicle
Large clouds of white water from the exhaust may suggest the coolant has leaked into the combustion chambers and is burning together with the air-fuel mixture. This indicates a blown head gasket – something much serious and requiring a professional to fix.
If you suspect a coolant link before you set off for a trip across the state, check with your garage service first. But if the coolant levels are good, and it’s just some water under the rear of the engine compartment, it’s probably AC condensation and nothing to postpone your trip over.
Another possible cause of a leak is a cracked windshield wiper fluid reservoir. If water leaks into your windshield wiper fluid and freezes, the reservoir will crack and leak fluid. Often, the color of the leaking fluid is light green or light blue and likely settles around your front tires.
How Can You Be Sure It’s Water Leaking?
The leaking can be difficult to identify against a concrete background. So what do you do?
Place a piece of white paper under the leak and get a better picture. Does the fluid have any color? If not, then it’s just water. Probably AC condensation.
If your leak has some strange color, you have a leaking coolant on your hands. Your next step is to check how much coolant you have. Low coolant levels are a recipe for damage that costs you an arm and a leg – you don’t want it to come to this.
Get to a service center such as A1 Performance Auto Repair immediately to avoid further damage when you notice the fluid levels are low.
