Yellow stain in snow - same colour as brake fluid
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
Yellow snow. Only one thing I can think of does that
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
pretty sure it's not urine... we smelled it and it smelled like petro-chemicals
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?
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
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.
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.
collant comes in various colours ,check water level at rad
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.
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
therightstuff answered 9 years ago
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!
thrrightstuff is absolutely right!!!!!!!! its a chemical reaction from the road salt hitting the hot muffler.
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
Go to YouTube.com Search for this title "Yellow Fluid Stains On Snow Under the Car - What Causes This?"
Updated location (Oct 2015) https://youtu.be/xmAEAYarEo0
It’s from snow touching your exhaust. That’s what it’s from
