Fluid Leaking From Your Car — What It Usually Is

The color and location of the puddle names the fluid: brown-black is engine oil, green/orange/pink is coolant, red is transmission or power steering, clear water under the A/C is normal condensation. The outcomes below cover leaks that weren't obviously oil or coolant at drop-off.

What it actually turns out to be

The fix involved	Share of visits*	Typical cost†	Median
Gasket / Seal	19.2%	$64 – $444	$188
Hose	10.9%	$103 – $387	$207
A/C Refrigerant	10.7%	$107 – $264	$162
Brake Fluid	8.8%	$106 – $366	$203
Power Steering	8.1%	$142 – $510	$289
Radiator	6.8%	$189 – $624	$401
Water Pump	6.6%	$261 – $651	$394
Thermostat	5.4%	$163 – $404	$260
Brake Line	5.4%	$130 – $339	$207
Other, rarer causes	smaller shares	varies	—

*Share of visits whose repair involved this part. Combined repairs count toward each part involved, so shares overlap and don't add up to 100%. Among visits that ended in a parts repair.
†Middle half of real invoices (25th–75th percentile) when this was the only fix — parts + labor, all vehicle types.

Specific versions of this problem

Some flavors of this complaint point at different parts — each of these pages has its own odds and real repair reports:

• Fuel Leak
• Transmission Fluid Leak
• Brake Fluid Leak

This problem on specific vehicles

On these vehicles the mix of causes differs from the all-vehicle table above — on many, the most likely fix is a different one. Each page has that vehicle’s own odds and costs:

• Buick Lesabre — most often Brake Line
• Chevrolet Impala — most often Power Steering
• Ford Mustang — most often Gasket / Seal
• Honda Civic — most often A/C Refrigerant
• Honda CR-V — most often A/C Refrigerant
• Jeep Wrangler — most often Gasket / Seal
• Toyota 4Runner — most often Gasket / Seal

Real repair reports

These are recent, paid visits for this complaint — the words as the owner said them, and what it turned out to be.

Car owners said

More owner reports

Red fluid

Transmission and power-steering fluid share the red family — location decides (center-rear vs front). Transmission cooler lines are a common, repairable source that beats fearing the worst.

Clear water

A clear, odorless puddle under the passenger footwell area in summer is A/C condensation — the system working as designed, not a leak.

The leak that moves

Fluids travel along the underbody before dripping, so the wet spot is often downstream of the source. Shops clean the area, add dye, and re-inspect — that step is what makes the eventual quote trustworthy.

Costs by vehicle

• A/C Recharge: Ford F-150
• Water Pump: Ford F-150 · Jeep Grand Cherokee
• Brake Pads & Rotors: Ford F-150 · Honda Accord · Toyota Camry

Take this to the shop

The FixDozer Diagnosis Brief puts this page on one printable sheet: what this complaint usually turns out to be, how often, and what each fix should cost — so when the diagnosis comes back, you already know whether the number fits.

Download the Diagnosis Brief (PDF)

View it online · Narrow it down for your vehicle