Honda - red fluid under the car

[raro]

I noticed this morning a bit of red fluid under our Honda Civic. According to some websites this could be transmission fluid. 

 

What puzzles me, though, is that the fluid is next to the wheels - all four of them. 

[laban]

Did you run over anyone lately?


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[transam]

Hmmmmmmm, you driven through anything....?

 

Look in your power steering reservoir (level)....If it is auto pull the dip stick engine on idle in park, re-dip it...Is it low...

[OMGImInPattaya]

It's either transmission, brake, or power steering fluid (if it's from your car and not run-off from a puddle you drove through). I would just check the fluid reservoirs under your hood/bonnet. The amount looks de minimus.

[ClutchClark]

I would bet money that this is not a fluid leaking from your car but as already suggested, something that was driven through.

 

Give it a good wash on the underside and wheel wells and see if it returns tonight.

[tifino]

 

do you have steel wheels? the red could very well be your wheels rusting, due to:

 

Common for male dogs to lift their leg - and it murders steel rims

Male dogs have high capacity, sufficient to spray all wheels in a single session.

 

I got around it ( a method that lasts several months - for as long as a dog remembers) :

Roll some old wheels, up next to all your wheels

Connect something equivalent to an electric fencer, by alligator clips to each of those 'wheels'

 

Sit back on the verandah, and with beer in hand, wait for the yelp(s)

 

[ClutchClark]

1 minute ago, tifino said:

 

do you have steel wheels? the red could very well be your wheels rusting, due to:

 

Common for male dogs to lift their leg - and it murders steel rims

Male dogs have high capacity, sufficient to spray all wheels in a single session.

 

I got around it ( a method that lasts several months - for as long as a dog remembers) :

Roll some old wheels, up next to all your wheels

Connect something equivalent to an electric fencer, by alligator clips to each of those 'wheels'

 

Sit back on the verandah, and with beer in hand, wait for the yelp(s)

 

 

You suffer from too much idle time...and a warped sense of humor.   

 

Too bad we are not neighbors.

[tifino]

Just now, ClutchClark said:

 

You suffer from too much idle time...and a warped sense of humor.   

 

Too bad we are not neighbors.

 

I think you don't believe I really did it? 

 

oh yessss

 

 

I am a self styled lateral thinker:

there is no such thing as a problem, that has no solution.

 

I do accept my ideas are quite often 'out of the box' - it happens a lot...

 

Before the shocker theory was put into practice, I had a few IR sensors around the car, linked to trigger an ultrasonic woofer stopper.

Trouble was that some dogs are deaf - That was a problem,

but I reslove to find solutions for everything ... hence the zapper was Round 2.

 

[Strange]

If its all 4 wheels then you probably drove through something. 

 

What year is the car? 

 

Its not really possible to speculate on the potential source without putting it on a lift and looking for the leak (if there is one) 

 

Take it to any shop and lift it and have a look or figure out how to get under it and see were its coming from. 

 

Any drivability issues at all? Soft brake pedal? A lot of whining (more than you normally hear) when you turn the steering wheel with the car running and in park/netural? Shifting funny if its an auto? Slight difficulty shifting into a gear or slight grinding shifting into gear when driving at speed if its a manual? 

 

Have you checked all the fluids correctly? 

[KMartinHandyman]

It looks more like prestone dex-cool radiator coolant to me. Orange color more than red. Maybe pressure cap released some or hose leak under temperature and pressure.

[Strange]

2 minutes ago, KMartinHandyman said:

It looks more like prestone dex-cool radiator coolant to me. Orange color more than red. Maybe pressure cap released some or hose leak under temperature and pressure.

 

Yeah but it would not be a thick oil based liquid as seen in the pics. 

[raro]

thanks a lot for all the answers! Some answers / more hints:

 

1. The amount of liquid was more or less the same on all four wheels as shown in the picture. not much but noticeable.
2. It is not iron oxide, that would be rather brownish. We have here a rather bright red/orange-ish colour.
3. Something driven through? What could one drive through with this unnatural colour? 
4. The car is from 2007
5. The wife is driving the car, she reported (when asked....) that the brakes were a bit noisy. Will cue her on the other tell-tale signs.
6. I noticed that when you back up out of the drive way (i.e. cold engine) and shift to D it doesn't engage immediately but after a second or so with a noticeable "clonk". Problem vanishes once engine is warm..sounds very much like a transmission problem to me...

[ClutchClark]

Based on your above description I would atleast check the A/T fluid level.

It is an easy thing to check and I would even if the level is correct, I would consider draining/refilling the ATF if it has not been done in a couple of years.

 

The fact the liquid is found at ALL four wheels is the odd thing for it to be a mechanical issue since it would require simultaneous failure of all brake lines if it were brakes and if it were ATF then the leak would be under the engine. 

What color is the engine coolant currently in the radiator and overflow tank? You should be able to see this since the overlow reservoir is plastic.

 

Cheers

[raro]

will check tomorrow morning and report back.

 

Out of curiosity....anyone an idea how much a new gear box is? Prepare for the worst, hope for the best....

[Strange]

12 minutes ago, raro said:

thanks a lot for all the answers! Some answers / more hints:

 

1. The amount of liquid was more or less the same on all four wheels as shown in the picture. not much but noticeable.
2. It is not iron oxide, that would be rather brownish. We have here a rather bright red/orange-ish colour.
3. Something driven through? What could one drive through with this unnatural colour? 
4. The car is from 2007
5. The wife is driving the car, she reported (when asked....) that the brakes were a bit noisy. Will cue her on the other tell-tale signs.
6. I noticed that when you back up out of the drive way (i.e. cold engine) and shift to D it doesn't engage immediately but after a second or so with a noticeable "clonk". Problem vanishes once engine is warm..sounds very much like a transmission problem to me...

 

The only thing I can think of that would leave red oily fluid across the entire undercarriage of a 2007 honda civic is the Transmission Fluid Cooler or Trans Fluid Cooler pressure/return lines. 

 

Trans cooler is located in the front of the engine and is either integrated with the radiator, or external mounted on the AC Condenser in front of the radiator. 

[ClutchClark]

 

[Strange]

4 minutes ago, raro said:

will check tomorrow morning and report back.

 

Out of curiosity....anyone an idea how much a new gear box is? Prepare for the worst, hope for the best....

 

No no not yet calm down

 

If your car is low on trans fluid then it will shift terribly. The torque converter needs fluid. 

 

Check the trans fluid with the engine running and in park while warm. 

[ClutchClark]

Just now, Strange said:

 

No no not yet calm down

 

If your car is low on trans fluid then it will shift terribly. The torque converter needs fluid. 

 

Check the trans fluid with the engine running and in park while warm. 

 

Some Hondas are checked with the engine off.

[Strange]

6 minutes ago, ClutchClark said:

 

Some Hondas are checked with the engine off.

 

Just read the Shop Manual online, ur right. Honda designed their Trans Dipstick to register correctly with the engine off, but at operating temp. They don't want the torque converter spinning and circulating fluid. 

[ClutchClark]

14 minutes ago, Strange said:

 

Just read the Shop Manual online, ur right. Honda designed their Trans Dipstick to register correctly with the engine off, but at operating temp. They don't want the torque converter spinning and circulating fluid. 

 

It was a surprise to me when I got my first Honda.

Great cars!

[Strange]

29 minutes ago, raro said:

Out of curiosity....anyone an idea how much a new gear box is? Prepare for the worst, hope for the best....

 

If its the transmission cooler leaking, lines going to-from the trans to the cooler, or even just a fitting, you shouldn't need a new trans at all. Even if the cooler itself was leaking, and it was built into the radiator, you won't need to replace the radiator (Unless its still under warranty, then forget anything you read here and go to honda) because the typical fix for an out of warranty car like this is to add an aftermarket trans cooler and bypass the radiator all together. 

 

End of the day, you need to check the ATF. When you said that there is a delay and a bit of a clunk doing into "D" this is very typical of an auto trans thats low on fluid. Very unlikely you need a new trans, and the fact that its still drivable, all the gears work, and nothing was noticed until the fluid discovered indicates that the shift circuits are still operational within the trans. 

[Strange]

10 minutes ago, ClutchClark said:

 

It was a surprise to me when I got my first Honda.

Great cars!

 

Lol wife has a honda city right now and I didn't even know. Been checking it running and warm and never saw a difference. 

 

Gonna check it in the morning and see if there is any noticeable difference. 

[Strange]

@raro

 

Any update? Did you check the ATF? 

 

I would like to know what the problem was when you find out. 

[Lickey]

Has the car been spray waxed & pollished lately? Had any new brake discs or drums? any new suspension arms or joints?was it a very hot day with a lot of traffic stop/starts when you parked up?

 

  That red blob looks a bit waxy to me,Trans fluid wouldnt gather like that,hot or cold,  specially all 4 wheels. good luck.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Lickey

[how241]

I am guessing transmission fluid  or power steering fluid.

[gk10002000]

Either transmission fluid, power steering fluid, or brake fluid.  All can have some color to them.  Could be dripping at the wheels which would more than likely mean brake fluid, or it could be running down some hoses, and other parts and just looks like it comes from the wheel.  It is possible it is radiator fluid also, as some brands do have some color to them, green fairly standard of course, GM had that awful orange stuff for a few years. 

[Ace of Pop]

Honda Service may have the answer, cheap as chips and one on every corner like 7/11.

[raro]

sorry guys, running around a lot, not much on the computer. Passed your advise (many thanks!) on to the wive, she will go to a garage on Friday. 

 

Interestingly, yesterday morning were no red drops under the car whatsoever. 

 

I looked after the trans oil yesterday morning and the dip stick has "warm" written next to the marking. Engine was still cold, so I couldn't really check at that time. 

[Lickey]

So raro, dont worry about it, if it was trans fluid/power steering fluid it would have been all over the bottom of the car,not just the wheels,even misted the rear hatch window as well,

Not only that, the trans would have seized or the steering very stiff by now.

 

Its more likely your mrs had it wash,waxed and blow-dryed one day and didnt tell you,

[Lancashirelad]

It would be very odd get to transmission fluid by the wheels. However the delay in taking up drive does suggest a problem. A car of this age should have the auto box pan removed, filters cleaned and then be refilled with new fluid.

Could it be dog pee with blood in it?