Noticed few drops of antifreeze (2" diameter) on driveway under 98 Accord which probably occurred over last week. Resevoir level is down to min line. Added 10 oz of water to resv min/max line. Cause?

Asked by PhilHarris1776 Nov 23, 2014 at 01:26 PM about the 1998 Honda Accord EX

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Noticed several 1-2" almost dry drops of what I think is antifreeze under my 98 Honda
Accord EX. The wet stains are clear or slightly green not brown(oil) or Red (trans).
Coolant resevior was down to min level (engine was cold). Drops appear to be on
passenger side where res is located. I added about 10 oz of tap water to resevior and
drove car about 5 miles to get engine temp up to hot. Temp gauge in normal mid range.
I put white paper under engine but no drops so far! Any ideas on what is causing these
drops? No other leaks of oil or trans. I guess I can just add a few oz of coolant/ antifreeze
every week or two but, I am a little concerned. We just had a couple of nights where temp
dropped to 20 degrees. Could it be a hose ready to burst etc?

3 Answers

It's very difficult to say where the drops are coming from just from here looking at this, and not the car. For one thing, always use distilled water if at all possible, in a roadside situation where you have to add tap is better than nothing. If the coolant has not been changed in several years, it's probably time to do so, a 50/50 mix of un-diluted coolant or pre-mixed.

1 people found this helpful.

Also Make sure you look on the reservoir for the cold level fill marks, don't over-fill cold or it will spit it out. And a 50/50 will protect it well below zero °F. The only vehicles that need a 60/40 or 70/30 are if wherever you are gets to like 20 below.. ever.

1 people found this helpful.

If I had paid attention I would have noticed you did look at the marks. And just to add, a 1998 model car, any car, with no drops of any kind is the anomaly, not the norm.

1 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Accord

Looking for a Used Accord in your area?

CarGurus has 29,761 nationwide Accord listings starting at $800.

ZIP:

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

1998 Honda Accord

Review another car

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    JP1956
    Reputation
    6,980
  • #2
    Fredbrillo
    Reputation
    5,410
  • #3
    Jonathan Ford
    Reputation
    3,910
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Toyota Camry
2,331 Great Deals out of 44,246 listings starting at $975
Used Honda Civic
1,429 Great Deals out of 28,627 listings starting at $900
Used Honda CR-V
2,030 Great Deals out of 38,568 listings starting at $800
Used Toyota Corolla
1,596 Great Deals out of 28,177 listings starting at $2,000
Used Nissan Altima
1,522 Great Deals out of 39,743 listings starting at $1,000
Used Honda Accord Coupe
84 Great Deals out of 1,202 listings starting at $1,472
Used BMW 3 Series
1,033 Great Deals out of 14,385 listings starting at $1,200
Used Nissan Maxima
245 Great Deals out of 3,605 listings starting at $2,650
Used Ford Mustang
1,062 Great Deals out of 20,798 listings starting at $1,100
Used Toyota RAV4
2,008 Great Deals out of 33,947 listings starting at $2,495

Used Cars for Sale

2024 Honda Accord For Sale
103 Great Deals out of 4,819 listings starting at $20,498
2023 Honda Accord For Sale
40 Great Deals out of 848 listings starting at $18,495
2022 Honda Accord For Sale
173 Great Deals out of 2,115 listings starting at $16,995
2021 Honda Accord For Sale
160 Great Deals out of 1,891 listings starting at $13,400
2020 Honda Accord For Sale
122 Great Deals out of 1,407 listings starting at $12,996

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.