It happens all the time. Someone takes your car for a drive, and after they have pulled out of the driveway you notice a puddle sitting where your car used to be. How do you determine if the puddle is a problem, and what do you do about it? Here are a few tips to help you diagnose what’s happening.

1. Hopefully, the puddle is clear water. If this is the case, there’s nothing to worry about. Because your new Nissan car has moving parts designed to heat up and cool down, water often condenses and drips from the vehicle. Most often it is simply condensation from the air conditioner.

2. Antifreeze and engine coolants are usually colored with a bright colored dye; blue, bright green, etc. If the puddle you have noticed is brightly colored this means that you have a leak in a hose, radiator, or water pump.

3. Any red liquid pooling on the ground would indicate that you are losing power steering or transmission fluid.

4. Oil leaks, perhaps the most common, will appears as black or brown spots or puddles. This could be from a bad gasket or seal.

Once you have determined what is causing that ugly puddle, you have a few options on what to do next. There are a number of different “stop leak” products available, which normally involves adding the product to the fluid that is leaking and it will patch up the leak for you. This involves very few tools and can usually be handled by the vehicle owner themselves.

If this method doesn’t seem to stop the leak the next step would be to try and locate the part that contains the leak and determine if it can be patched. This may involve tools the average car owner would not have.

Thirdly, you can return to the dealership where you purchased your new Nissan car and have a qualified mechanic examine it. As all new Nissan cars come with a warranty, this may be the best option as the work would be covered.