But what are these leaks? And are they a real cause for concern?
Find out how to identify what’s dripping under your car, whether it’s dangerous, and what to do about it.
Liquid dripping from your car can be alarming, but it isn’t necessarily a cause for concern.
Firstly, make sure the leak is actually coming from your car. If there’s a puddle beneath your car and you’ve parked in a car park or on the street, the liquid could be from another vehicle.
To check whether it’s from yours, take a torch and have a look under the car to see if there’s signs of leakage. This could be a telltale shine or trail left on a component under your car.
Next, you need to determine where the leak is coming from and what’s actually leaking. The easiest way to do that is to slide some white cardboard underneath the car while it’s parked up so it can capture the drips.
This’ll give you a good idea of what liquid is actually leaking – and how concerned you should be.
If your car is leaking a clear, water-like liquid it’s probably just that: water.
A clear liquid could also be coolant, although this will likely have a coloured tinge to it (green, blue or yellow) and will have an odour, unlike water. See below for more information on leaking coolant.
It’s unlikely you need to do anything. Usually, leaking water is simply condensation from the aircon unit – surprisingly common during summer – or the exhaust, which is more common in winter.
Another typical cause is your windscreen washers, but again this is unlikely to be a major issue and you can probably just ignore it.
However, if you can’t identify the cause or there’s more than just a little water leaking from your vehicle, you might want to check that the clear fluid actually is water and that there isn’t a more serious issue.
