Drip in 2011 Hyundai
May 18, 2020 8:04 AM Subscribe
I got in the car yesterday, and a couple drops of liquid dripped on my left foot (where there's an indentation for the foot to rest) Stuck a used face mask (!) down there because I was just curious if it were water or something worse. It looked clear.
My 5 speed 2011 Hyundai (174,000 miles), which I bought new in 2010 1 (yeah, I know, long story, I don't regret it one bit) has been doing a bang up job of keeping me on the road and because it's been maintained meticulously, my mechanic expects me to get a million miles out of it.
I opened the hood to see what is in that location. It was the wiper fluid reservoir which seemed pretty full. The radiator container also seemed full. I drove it around for a bit in my neighborhood and it didn't overheat or misbehave in any way.
Other info: Other then batteries, brakes, and timing chain, the only thing I've replaced is the cores (I'm not a mechanic). He did put in this weird homemade heater he made (!) cause apparently Hyundai no longer makes the part. The Check Engine goes off and on periodically, but stays steady instead of flashing, which I am given to mean could be "Your sensor is off."
You are not my mechanic, but insights on what this might be since I am supposed to drive 15 or so miles to my doctor's today (and I'm feeling better--non-covid 19 related-- and may just cancel that meeting.)
My 5 speed 2011 Hyundai (174,000 miles), which I bought new in 2010 1 (yeah, I know, long story, I don't regret it one bit) has been doing a bang up job of keeping me on the road and because it's been maintained meticulously, my mechanic expects me to get a million miles out of it.
I opened the hood to see what is in that location. It was the wiper fluid reservoir which seemed pretty full. The radiator container also seemed full. I drove it around for a bit in my neighborhood and it didn't overheat or misbehave in any way.
Other info: Other then batteries, brakes, and timing chain, the only thing I've replaced is the cores (I'm not a mechanic). He did put in this weird homemade heater he made (!) cause apparently Hyundai no longer makes the part. The Check Engine goes off and on periodically, but stays steady instead of flashing, which I am given to mean could be "Your sensor is off."
You are not my mechanic, but insights on what this might be since I am supposed to drive 15 or so miles to my doctor's today (and I'm feeling better--non-covid 19 related-- and may just cancel that meeting.)
Response by poster: terretu no air in this car.
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 8:44 AM on May 18, 2020
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 8:44 AM on May 18, 2020
Sun or moon roof? There is tubing that runs from channels around the roof windows that disperse water to drains in the frame around the doors, if they get clogged up with debris the water can sometimes come out in some pretty random places.
posted by pilot pirx at 8:48 AM on May 18, 2020
posted by pilot pirx at 8:48 AM on May 18, 2020
Response by poster: No sun or moon roof. Never again.
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 8:52 AM on May 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 8:52 AM on May 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
Assuming it hasn't rained recently (in which case that'd be my first suspicion that it was leaking rain water inside) The key is what it smells like. If it is clear it is most likely water - either from the washers or the radiator. If it smells like soap it's washer fluid, and if it smells.... kind of weird and sweet then it is coolant. However, at the outside of the car is an odd place for coolant to be, because the heater core and relevant hoses are within a foot of the centre of the car.
If you have checked the coolant and it is full ('seemed full' doesn't sound comforting, check the manual as to how to check it and check it properly) and if it is above minimum a short drive will be totally fine. Wait for the car to cool then check it after each journey. You can drive a car with a small coolant leak for a long time if you keep checking the level.
If it is washers (which I doubt as they don't tend to slosh, but only have water in when they are pumped into it to any pressure) then it is obviously no big deal. But if it is coolant it will need work. It sounds to me like the heater core is likely leaking.
posted by Brockles at 9:40 AM on May 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you have checked the coolant and it is full ('seemed full' doesn't sound comforting, check the manual as to how to check it and check it properly) and if it is above minimum a short drive will be totally fine. Wait for the car to cool then check it after each journey. You can drive a car with a small coolant leak for a long time if you keep checking the level.
If it is washers (which I doubt as they don't tend to slosh, but only have water in when they are pumped into it to any pressure) then it is obviously no big deal. But if it is coolant it will need work. It sounds to me like the heater core is likely leaking.
posted by Brockles at 9:40 AM on May 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
Could be the hydraulic clutch master cylinder leaking brake fluid, especially since you mention your left foot. You may have a separate reservoir for the clutch fluid (with a little cap on it near the firewall) it or sometimes is just T-ed in to the brake fluid reservoir.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 11:30 AM on May 18, 2020
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 11:30 AM on May 18, 2020
We had something similar once: dripping/moisture under the dashboard. In this case it was a clogged drain hose. Minimum labour charge for the mechanic.
posted by ovvl at 11:43 AM on May 18, 2020
posted by ovvl at 11:43 AM on May 18, 2020
I had a clutch cylinder leak that dripped fluid in this spot. Look at your clutch fluid reservoir under the hood to see if the fluid is low, and compare a finger tip of that fluid with the feel of the fluid inside the car.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 12:10 PM on May 18, 2020
posted by Midnight Skulker at 12:10 PM on May 18, 2020
I had a car that leaked water there if the drain at the bottom corner of the windshield got clogged and it rained. Somehow the water would make its way through the firewall and that's where it came out.
Might be worth making sure the "gutter" below the windshield is clear from debris.
If the car is kept garaged and it hasn't been rained on recently, this is probably not it, though.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:53 PM on May 18, 2020
Might be worth making sure the "gutter" below the windshield is clear from debris.
If the car is kept garaged and it hasn't been rained on recently, this is probably not it, though.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:53 PM on May 18, 2020
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Another option considered while I was troubleshooting this was a loose or missing grommet in the underside of the car body, with the water intake splashing up from puddles as I drove, but this wasn't the case (the body was fine). This is less likely to be true for you if you've not been driving in a rainy climate recently.
If it is the AC, it should be fine to drive 15 miles or so - I carried on driving between finding the leak (after a six-hour drive in summer with the AC on full blast the whole drive, which I guess is why we had so much water pooling once we first noticed it as an issue) and getting it fixed, and it wasn't an issue while driving (beyond producing a small amount of extra water from running the AC while I was driving before I realised it was an AC issue).
(One final point on AC issues: I assumed the leak wasn't being caused by the AC for a while as a car friend had told me "I'd know" from the smell if it was AC-related fluid, but the liquid was clear & odourless and AC was still the ultimate culprit.)
posted by terretu at 8:35 AM on May 18, 2020