HELP!!! Car leaking flud and I don't know what it is!?

Question

I drive a 95 Honda Accord. This morning, I notice a small puddle of pinkish red fluid underneath the front of my car. I drove to work and it drove just fine.

What is my car leaking and how soon should I get it fixed? Can I just add more fluid until I can make it to a repair shop (it wasn't a lot of fluid).

And how much does it generally cost to fix? I know nothing about cars and I'm not trying to get taken advantage of when I go to an auto shop.

Answer 1

look right under the front of the car,a big hose hooks to a rectangular thing.also across the bottom of the radiator are two copper bendable tubeing.it cools  with water.that of the 2 going in one supplies one returns cooled.that fluid is the cooler you talk'd about.see if the tube is cracked or just loose with a cresent wrench,sounds like transmission fluid.hope that tells you something good luck

Answer 2

transmission fluid. pull the trans dipstick at the back of the engine and see how much you lost.

Answer 3

It sounds like transmission fluid.  If it is, then you need to make sure that it stays filled until you get into the shop.  If you let it run dry, your transmission could get damaged and that would not be cheap to replace.  Hopefully they can get the leak fixed for you fairly cheap.

Answer 4

Hello, Have you added any window washing fluid lately? sometimes it is pink in color. Probably it is transmission fluid. you  need to check your trans fluid, make sure your car is running and warm, the best time to check is after you drive it a few miles. leave your car running while checking it, this is very important. DO not overfill it. That can cause more damage than it leaking a little!!  i would go to like advance auto parts or auto zone to make sure you add the correct type of trans fluid. You may get lucky and they may help you check it. good luck

Answer 5

Great observation! Pink fluid usually is antifreeze. You may have a leak in one of your coolant hoses or the weep-hole underneath the water pump may be leaking (possible new water-pump) or one of the large O ring gaskets around one of the two expansion tanks of the radiator may be leaking.

If your car has the original radiator in it you are way past due for a replacement as originals last ten years at best even with regular antifreeze changes.

Not to dodge your question here but without an eyeball inspection of your cooling system it would be impossible to list how much it would cost fo fix a problem we can't actually see.

A radiator will cost $100.00, water pump $50.00 plus installation charges. It's more time consuming to change a water pump than a complete radiator IF that's where the problem actually is.

Others have said that the pink color on the ground may be automatic transmission fluid. In that case if you actually do have one of two automatic a transmission coolant lines may be rusted through that runs from the transmission to one of the expansion tanks of the radiator.

There's a little test you can easily do to learn which fluid is leaking. Get a glass of water and br ready to rinse your mouth out. Dip your pinky finger in the fluid and touch your tongue. If the fluid tastes sweet it's antifreeze. If it's transmission fluid it'll taste like cooking oil. Neither fluid will make you sick or kill you. I'm older than dirt and thest two tests have baled me out many times.

Answer 6

Reddish fluid can actually be one of three possibilities.  

The first if very unlikely as it is not the recommended fluid for your car but dexcool antifreeze is actually a reddish color and would be thin like water but slightly slippery when rubbed between your fingers if you were to place water on top of the stain it would not bead up.  This fluid would most likely come from either the very front or right hand side of your engine.  However, your coolant is most likely green (when it is new brown if it hasn't been flushed regularly).

Second would be power steering fluid.  This stain would most likely originate from the right hand side or rear (near fire wall) of your engine.  This fluid will be very slippery smell similar to oil and if water is place on top of it the water will bead up.

Finally, it could be transmission fluid.  This leak could be located virtually anywhere under your hood and it would be identifed exactly the same as power steering fluid (in fact years ago the two were often interchaged).  

The only way to determine which one is leaking for certain is by checking your fluid level in each of these components.

Remember, Transmission fluid is checked with the engine running and warm and the car parked on a flat level surface.  Power steering fluid can be checked anytime with the engine off, and never open antifreeze containers when the engine is ever slightly warm.  Please check your owners manual for specifics and never attempt anything you don't feel safe doing.

As long as you make certain to keep the fluids in the safe level you can drive it until repairs are made (check daily) but please get any leak fixed.  As far as price goes, ask for a little more information when your sure you know what the problem is and we will try to help

Answer 7

sounds like transmission fluid it will be ok to drive just keep fluid full till you have it looked at//fixed

Answer 8

you should add more fluid and bring it to the closest repair shop because somthing could be wrong with your car and i dont no how much it would cost srry

Answer 9

Most likely transmission fluit, same thing happened with my dad's car

Answer 10

i think that it is the power steering fluid that is in the floor, this needs to get fixed, u can drive the car, but at slow speeds or u will loose control (or call a recovery  truck to take u to the garage)

Answer 11

Probably your transmission fluid.  Could also be coolant, but most cars use green coolant. You can put in more transmission fluid, but you will need to lift your car off the ground to get to it.  You will probably also need a hand pump to transfer the fluid out of the container and into the the transmission.  Chances are your transmission needs a new gasket which will cost a few hundred dollars to replace.  It could also be that the drain plug isn't tight (very easy fix) or needs to be replaced(also very easy to fix and extremely cheap).