Yellow stain in snow - same colour as brake fluid

120

Asked by rosijuli Feb 22, 2013 at 04:26 PM about the Volkswagen Golf

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Today I noticed (for the second time) a yellow stain in the snow from under the car (after digging the car
out after a big snow storm). The last time I noticed it was about a month ago - also after a snowstorm.  I
checked the brake fluid and it is the same colour, but the resevoir is not low so I'm confused... if it's been
leaking for a month, wouldn't the resevoir be low by now? Or does it have something to do with the
snow and/or spinning the tires a bit to get out? any ideas would be helpful

17 Answers

Sorry 'bout that I couldn't resist. I did some looking around to see if anybody had the same or similar problem, with a Golf, came up empty. And yeah, if it has been leaking for a month the brake fluid would be low, it does not hold a lot to begin with. I will look some more, it is a bit of a mystery

1 people found this helpful.
120

pretty sure it's not urine... we smelled it and it smelled like petro-chemicals

2 people found this helpful.
120

is it possible that brake fluid would leak only when you drive through heavy snow... something to do with the tires spinning? or snow/ice scraping underneath?

2 people found this helpful.

Well yes, that is possible if it's really that deep and the snow/ice pushes on a brake line that ordinarily would not leak unmolested. The likely hood? Hard to say

2 people found this helpful.
12,195

Old coolant could appear to be yellow in snow! Trust me, this happened with my old Crown Vic... It looked like urine too! Check your coolant system.

2 people found this helpful.
175,735

I had the same droppings a month ago. Never did figure it out for sure. Never did see it before in 10 years of ownership. The only thing that might be different is that I lubricated the transmission levers with wheel bearing grease. My coolant hasn't changed and it's full of orange.

1 people found this helpful.
4,425

Gear box fluid is yellowish in color ,is it an automatic transmission?Maybe fluid getting hot,expanding and getting forced out through some seals,spinning will heat up a gearbox pretty quickly.

120

turns out it was this: http://www.theglobeandm ail.com/globe-drive/car- tips/an-explanation-for- the-yellow-snow-under- your-car/article621975/ apparently the garage gets calls about this all the time in the winter, but it's nothing. good to know for next time

8 people found this helpful.
320

THERE ARE NO FLUIDS LEAKING FROM YOUR VEHICLE! These bright yellow spots are Zinc Oxide crystals that form in cold temps on the galvanized steel under your vehicle (heat shield, etc). The salt on your car interacts with the galvanized steel and the cold weather and BAM! Zinc Oxide is formed and drips from the undercarriage of your vehicle. You are not "losing fluids", or your mind for that matter...It's completely normal when these conditions are met. Cheers!

32 people found this helpful.
20

thrrightstuff is absolutely right!!!!!!!! its a chemical reaction from the road salt hitting the hot muffler.

2 people found this helpful.
20

I am getting the same yellow spots in the snow very sparatic and I cant say what triggers it on my 2013 vw jetta - can anyone tell me exactly what it is before i go to the dealership - is it a warranty thing?? please advise

2 people found this helpful.
30

Go to YouTube.com Search for this title "Yellow Fluid Stains On Snow Under the Car - What Causes This?"

1 people found this helpful.
30

Updated location (Oct 2015) https://youtu.be/xmAEAYarEo0

2 people found this helpful.
10

It’s from snow touching your exhaust. That’s what it’s from

1 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Golf

Looking for a Used Golf in your area?

CarGurus has 887 nationwide Golf listings starting at $2,800.

ZIP:

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Deathjam4
    Reputation
    1,620
  • #2
    GuruV6WR5
    Reputation
    1,220
  • #3
    03GOLF
    Reputation
    780
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Volkswagen Golf GTI
183 Great Deals out of 4,273 listings starting at $2,499
Used Volkswagen Jetta
611 Great Deals out of 14,382 listings starting at $1,500
Used Volkswagen Golf R
41 Great Deals out of 716 listings starting at $12,900
Used Honda Civic
1,089 Great Deals out of 31,158 listings starting at $1,495
Used Volkswagen Golf SportWagen
25 Great Deals out of 318 listings starting at $6,995
Used Volkswagen Golf Alltrack
33 Great Deals out of 423 listings starting at $7,999
Used Volkswagen Passat
300 Great Deals out of 4,138 listings starting at $1,999
Used Mazda MAZDA3
439 Great Deals out of 11,349 listings starting at $1,250
Used Toyota Corolla
1,450 Great Deals out of 22,294 listings starting at $995
Used Volkswagen Tiguan
856 Great Deals out of 25,678 listings starting at $3,370
Used Audi A3
191 Great Deals out of 3,218 listings starting at $3,499
Used Volkswagen Jetta GLI
42 Great Deals out of 1,203 listings starting at $3,999
Used Subaru Impreza
280 Great Deals out of 7,727 listings starting at $1,995
Used Ford Mustang
849 Great Deals out of 23,261 listings starting at $1,900
Used Ford Focus
373 Great Deals out of 5,052 listings starting at $800

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.