Yellow Snow - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Silver09 · 02-23-2009, 09:09 AM

I just got finished digging my car out(oh how I regret getting rid of my 4 wheel drive truck!) from our latest snow storm and I noticed some yellow spots in the snow from where the car was parked.

The snow was deep enough that the car bottom was dragging through the snow as I moved it.
Only one of the spots was smeared as if it was from the car going through the snow. The rest of the spots were, spots.

Does anyone have an idea as to what this yellow coloured fluid is(insert urine/yellow snow comments here!) and why it has appeared?
I park in the same place every day and have not noticed these spots before.

During a previous snow storm, I had helped someone get unstuck and noticed the same coloured spots after they got the car moving. Their car was Chev model.

Forgot to mention that the spots appeared under the front end of the car.

joeylgarcia · 02-23-2009, 09:16 AM

maybe rust? hehehe i dunno.

LeanBurn · 02-23-2009, 09:42 AM

road grime mixed with water melted and dripped off?

Make sure you check all your fluids.

Silver09 · 02-23-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeanBurn

road grime mixed with water melted and dripped off?

I don't think that's what it is.
The yellow spots are very uniform and sort of bright in colour. Nothing dark or dirty coloured about them.
I'm wondering now if it isn't some sort of grease that has dripped off.

What fluids used in the car would be yellow in colour?
I definitely can rule out engine oil but, I don't know what colour the transmission fluid is.
Those two things are my main concern for any fluid that may be leaking.

LeanBurn · 02-23-2009, 10:37 AM

Brake fluid can look yellow. Its usually clear but if it drips through a bit of dust on the way down to the ground, it could color it.

Windshield washer fluid can be yellow if you get the premium -45C, -50C stuff.

Engine oil can look yellow when its brand new, depending on brand.

Auto trans fluid is red, coolant is pink, Manual trans fluid can be red, brown, purple, golden...many different colors.

Condensation, dripping out of the tail pipe on a cold day, could be colored by the inside of the pipe, could be any color.

If you trace back to where the car was parked, imagine the car is still there, where are the drops situated, ie by the tire mark, in the middle..

Is there any way you could shove a big piece of cardboard under the engine bay and localize the drops?

Silver09 · 02-23-2009, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeanBurn

Brake fluid can look yellow. Its usually clear but if it drips through a bit of dust on the way down to the ground, it could color it.

Windshield washer fluid can be yellow if you get the premium -45C, -50C stuff.

Engine oil can look yellow when its brand new, depending on brand.

Auto trans fluid is red, coolant is pink, Manual trans fluid can be red, brown, purple, golden...many different colors.

Condensation, dripping out of the tail pipe on a cold day, could be colored by the inside of the pipe, could be any color.

If you trace back to where the car was parked, imagine the car is still there, where are the drops situated, ie by the tire mark, in the middle..

Is there any way you could shove a big piece of cardboard under the engine bay and localize the drops?

I can rule out brake and windshield washer fluid as they are definitely not yellow in colour for what is used in my car. I don't know what colour you would call it but, they are both some shade of red.

I think I know what you mean by new engine oil being yellow but these drops were bascially the exact same yellow colour as this.

The spots were located under the front end, close to the engine.
I've parked in a different spot for tonight and I'll check tomorrow when i'm leaving for work to see if there are any more spots under the car.

I have my first oil change scheduled for this Saturday and I'll definitely bring this up to them.

io_2000 · 02-23-2009, 05:02 PM

Same thing happened to my rolla when I pulled out of the driveway after a snowstorm. Some yellow "fluid" leaked out of the car and colored the snow under the engine bay. I was wondering what fluid it was myself. I don't think that it's a problem, however, because I noticed it happen with other cars I have owned and with neighbor's cars too. It seems to be a fairly common occurrence. I always thought it was coolant but in our case the coolant is pink, so it can't be coolant unless it somehow changes color. If anyone knows what it is please let us know.

Silver09 · 02-28-2009, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeanBurn

road grime mixed with water melted and dripped off?

It would seem that your above suggestion is the probable cause for the yellow spots.
I asked the service guys about it this morning while getting an oil change and they both said that's what it was.
It's a normal occurence.
One of them also said that there are no yellow coloured fluids used in the Corolla.
I would've never thought that road grime and water would produce a uniform yellow colour like that.

In regards to another post I had about a rotten egg/sulphur smell, they said that it was probably due to gas sulphur deposits on the catalytic converter being burned off.

On a side note, they had a Venza in the showroom.
Kind of a sharp looking vehicle. Bigger than I thought it would be.
Huge wheels on it. 20"

joeylgarcia · 02-28-2009, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silver09

On a side note, they had a Venza in the showroom.
Kind of a sharp looking vehicle. Bigger than I thought it would be.
Huge wheels on it. 20"

the Venza is "almost" a very nice vehicle. but the front side curves nearing the bumper is awful. very similar to the front side curves of the recent honda civics. the front side curves of the 09 corolla is the best i have seen so far.