You can identify most car leaks by two things: the color of the fluid and where it sits under the car. That is usually enough to tell whether you are looking at something harmless or something that means stop driving today.
The fastest way to check is to slide a piece of cardboard under the car overnight and look at it in daylight.
Clear water, usually nothing
Clear, odorless water dripping near the front passenger side on a hot day is almost always condensation from the air conditioning. In a Temecula summer this is normal and expected. If it is clear and it has no smell, it is very likely just water.
Green, orange or pink, coolant
Coolant is brightly colored on purpose and it smells faintly sweet. A coolant leak is not something to put off, because the consequence of running low is overheating, and overheating is how a repair becomes an engine.
If you can see the level in the coolant reservoir dropping between fill-ups, that is a leak somewhere, even if you have never seen a puddle.
Dark brown or black, oil
Engine oil ranges from light amber when new to nearly black when it is due for a change. A small drip is common on higher-mileage cars. A spreading puddle is not.
The thing that matters is the rate. A spot the size of a coin after a night is a different problem from a patch you can see from across the driveway.
Reddish, transmission or power steering
Red or reddish-brown fluid usually means transmission fluid or power steering fluid, and where it sits tells you which. Transmission fluid tends to appear more centrally, under the middle of the car. Power steering shows up further forward.
Transmission leaks are worth acting on quickly. Running a transmission low on fluid causes damage that costs considerably more than the leak that caused it.
Clear and oily with a distinct smell, brake fluid
Brake fluid is usually clear to light brown and feels oily rather than watery. A brake fluid leak is the one on this list that means stop driving now and have the car towed.
Brakes are hydraulic. Losing fluid means losing the ability to stop, and it can happen without warning rather than gradually.
What to tell whoever looks at it
Take a photo of the puddle with something for scale, note the color, note roughly where under the car it sits, and say whether it appears overnight or only after driving. Those four details narrow a leak hunt down substantially.
Temecula Auto Repair & Transmission is on Jefferson Avenue in Temecula.
