# What's green...and comes out of my car? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366 "2007-02-15T18:29:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/1 "2007-02-15T18:29:44Z")
Last night I made the mistake of thinking my little 2004 Escape could make its way through the foot of snow in my driveway and out to the road. It DID make it, but after much prodding, and shoveling. While I was walking from my car back to the garage to get my shovel, I noticed some green splotches in the pristine snow, between my tire tracks, by the passenger-side tires. Not a stream but a goodly number of drips all the way down the drive. I mentioned this to my boyfriend who decided the only thing green that would be coming out of my car would be coolant. He came out to check today and my coolant is YELLOW (as per the manual’s instructions, and by looking at it with the engine at temperature). We didn’t see any drips in the garage floor but it’s hard to tell exactly with all of melted snow on the garage floor. We ran the engine for about 20 minutes in the garage. We also looked at the splotches in the driveway and they still looked green. Anyone have a clue as to what else could be leaking green from my car? Or, does yellow coolant turn green when it hits the snow? So far the car is driving just fine and I was able to go all around town last night with no troubles and no starting problems. But I worry that I may have jacked something up by driving backwards (out) and forwards (in) through all that snow in my driveway. And, for the record, I’m housebound until someone comes to plow me out so I won’t be doing it again. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/2 "2007-02-15T18:33:16Z")
I would have to be coolant. It’s usually a distinctive yellowish-green color, but it can vary depending upon the lighting conditions user which you’re seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/3 "2007-02-15T18:56:21Z")
That’s definitely antifreeze (coolant, not windshield wiper fluid) If it is leaking, that’s usually a bad thing. Could be a simple leak or could be much, much worse. And if it is leaking and you have animals in your house/in your neighbourhood clean it up. Pets love the taste of it but it’s terribly poisonous and leads to a horrible, painful death for the animal. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/4 "2007-02-15T19:00:34Z")
I’ve always thought of coolant as green rather than yellow. But it’s sort of a permanent green light, as in about halfway down [this](http://www.danielsmith.com/categories/paint/watercolor/ds/default.asp) page. Is that about what it is? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/5 "2007-02-15T19:29:39Z")
You probably ran down a space mutant that was forced out of the sky by the falling snow. Probably nothing to worry about, but you should wear a butt plug for a few days, just in case. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/6 "2007-02-15T19:34:28Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] I’ve always thought of coolant as green rather than yellow. But it’s sort of a permanent green light, as in about halfway down [this](http://www.danielsmith.com/categories/paint/watercolor/ds/default.asp) page. Is that about what it is? [/QUOTE] Lighter, like the one beneath it. But then again, it’s in the snow, ya know? According to my manual: \*\* Add Motorcraft Premium Gold Engine Coolant (yellow-colored), VC-7–A (VC-7–B in Oregon), meeting Ford Specification WSS-M97B51–A1.\*\* The yellowness also confused the boyfriend. But, that’s what it says and yellow is indeed the color of the stuff in the tank. It’s possible that at some point it was mixed BUT I’ve been taking it to the dealer for oil changes (the only time the fluid gets topped) since October of 2006, when I went to Valvoline and then January 07 when I went to Goodyear. And…if someone put the wrong antifreeze in there in September, wouldn’t I have had problems by now? Oh and thank you thank you thank you for reminding me about pets & antifreeze! I have a pup that eats snow like candy and we like to play in the front yard (where the driveway is). I will be sure to keep her away until I get it cleaned up! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/7 "2007-02-15T19:39:51Z")
[QUOTE=St\_Ides] That’s definitely antifreeze (coolant, not windshield wiper fluid) And if it is leaking and you have animals in your house/in your neighbourhood clean it up. Pets love the taste of it but it’s terribly poisonous and leads to a horrible, painful death for the animal. [/QUOTE] This bears repeating. Antifreeze is delicious poison–even in surprisingly small amounts (a tablespoon). Do your best not to leave any of it sitting around on the ground. Since this is GQ, I thought to post a bit from the [Humane Society](http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/antifreeze.html) : > [@Humane Society](#): > > **Help Prevent Antifreeze Poisoning in Animals** > > 1. Switch to a brand of antifreeze that contains propylene glycol instead of ethylene glycol. > > 2. Keep antifreeze sealed and away from animals; clean up spills completely, and fix any leaks immediately. > > 3. Don’t allow your pet to wander unattended near driveways, roads, garages, or other places where she could come into contact with antifreeze. > > 4. Keep other products that contain ethylene glycol—like paint, cosmetics and novelty snow globes—out of the reach of animals, as well as any product of which you are not certain of the ingredients. > > 5. Monitor your pet for strange behavior. If you think she may have ingested antifreeze, take her to a veterinarian immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/8 "2007-02-15T19:42:24Z")
I had a similar thing happen a couple of years ago, and I absolutely had no leaks from which coolant was issuing (as evidenced by not running out of coolant in the two years since then). My theory was that my car had picked up deicing fluid from driving on the highway through a watershed where salt was not allowed. I can’t prove it, but I do see an awful lot of cars in this area with green fluid under them. (Feel free to prove me wrong - this is just my working hypothesis.) ---
**Author:** ![Schuyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@Schuyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schuyler)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/9 "2007-02-15T19:45:35Z")
One way to determine if it looks like your coolant - take a little bit out of the expansion bottle and dribble it on the snow next to the other splotches. Nothing like a little experimental verification to see if that’s what it really is. As far as whether it’s a problem - I don’t think so. Since you said that you were backing and fro-ing, and presumably trying to bust out of the drifts - that would cause you to work the engine at low vehicle speed. You might expect the engine to run a bit warm (nothing to worry about) and this could cause coolant expansion sufficient to overflow the expansion bottle. If the coolant level in the expansion bottle is between the min/max marks when the engine is cool, and if you don’t see any drips on the garage floor, then I wouldn’t give it any further worry. Good luck. On edit - take whatever precautions you think reasonable to protect animals from propylene glycol ingestion. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/10 "2007-02-15T21:20:25Z")
Antifreeze has a distinct smell and a slimy feel rubbed between you fringer tips. Smell some of it when the coolent is cold. Remember the smell. You can tell if the radiator, heater core or a coolant hose has a small leak when you warm up the car, and the smell comes out the vents. There is no other fluid in a car that is the yellow green of antifreeze. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/11 "2007-02-15T22:10:04Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] Antifreeze has a distinct smell and a slimy feel rubbed between you fringer tips. [/QUOTE] Don’t lick your fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/12 "2007-02-15T22:41:09Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] And…if someone put the wrong antifreeze in there in September, wouldn’t I have had problems by now? [/QUOTE] No. If there had been the wrong proportion of antifreeze to water in the coolant, it might have caused a problem due to freezing. But using a different antifreeze from the recommended type doesn’t always cause problems. When it does cause problems, it’s a matter of erosion of metal in the engine block, water pump, radiator, etc. that can take quite a while to become evident. ---
**Author:** ![badkittypriestess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8baadc/32.png) [@badkittypriestess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badkittypriestess)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/13 "2007-02-15T22:44:01Z")
Kermit the Frog! 😃 {{slinking away laughing}} ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/14 "2007-02-16T00:29:01Z")
[QUOTE=Rhythmdvl] Don’t lick your fingers. [/QUOTE] Remember that drinking alcohol is used to deplete the body of the molecule needed by antifreeze to create the deadly molecule that kills you. Consumption of drinking alcohol may save your life some day. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/15 "2007-02-16T00:35:13Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] Remember that drinking alcohol is used to deplete the body of the molecule needed by antifreeze to create the deadly molecule that kills you. Consumption of drinking alcohol may save your life some day. [/QUOTE] When my cat was poisoned by a neighbour who left out antifreeze, the vet tried saving the cat by putting it on an alcohol intravenous, so as to try to disolve the antifreeze crystals that were forming in the cat’s kidneys. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-green-and-comes-out-of-my-car/392366/16 "2007-02-16T00:53:04Z")
While no longer the first choice in human treatment, I have given IV alcohol in the past for antifreeze ingestion. IIRC it uses up a substrate your liver needs to break antifreeze down into something even worse so you can excrete it as fast as you create it, and it won’t build up to toxic levels. It’s a weird world when you go to work and you have a 3 y/o child on an alcohol drip.