Hi,

I bought an 2013 Fiat 500 1.2 recently.

And now i noticed when parked in my garage that after i have driven the car there are water underneath it.

It seems to be leaking somewhere from under the front left tire and a bit down to the center (when watching the car from the front).

I have had it sitting for 24 hours now and when i checked today there was no water under the car at all, so my question is where is the water coming from and does anybody else have this problem?

I have checked the water coolant level also and its, when cold just above the "min" line and when i have driven the car so it's warm it's in the middle betweend min and max.

Where should the water level be when cold?

Thanks in advance guys for any kind of help!

Nordboj said:

Hi,

I bought an 2013 Fiat 500 1.2 recently.

And now i noticed when parked in my garage that after i have driven the car there are water underneath it.

It seems to be leaking somewhere from under the front left tire and a bit down to the center (when watching the car from the front).

I have had it sitting for 24 hours now and when i checked today there was no water under the car at all, so my question is where is the water coming from and does anybody else have this problem?

I have checked the water coolant level also and its, when cold just above the "min" line and when i have driven the car so it's warm it's in the middle betweend min and max.

Where should the water level be when cold?

Thanks in advance guys for any kind of help!

Click to expand...

Hi , and welcome,

I'm 99% sure:
it's condensed water from the airconditioner / dryer

you'll often see small puddles under cars at fuel filling stations - due to this,


COOLANT,
I go for between MIN and MAX when cold.. but yours sounds fine,
as long as it's not BELOW MIN.

Charlie

varesecrazy said:

Hi , and welcome,

I'm 99% sure:
it's condensed water from the airconditioner / dryer

you'll often see small puddles under cars at fuel filling stations - due to this,
Charlie

Click to expand...

So if i run the car with ac turned of next time i wont be expecting a waterpuddle under ther car? If so, then i can try that?

In the 80's and 90's I was forever getting told my car was leaking, no its the ac (really unusual for the time ) I told people, nothing unusual and NEVER turn the ac off!!

Nordboj said:

So if i run the car with ac turned of next time i wont be expecting a waterpuddle under ther car? If so, then i can try that?

Click to expand...

Yes, that's a good way to verify this.

Tegarding the coolant container, where should the coolant be when engine is cold? Thanks!

John202020 said:

In the 80's and 90's I was forever getting told my car was leaking, no its the ac (really unusual for the time ) I told people, nothing unusual and NEVER turn the ac off!!

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Why should you never turn ac off?

If you leave it on, the whole system will last longer without issues(normal re-gassing every few years and my old Honda system was still working fine at 15 years old) rather than only using it in summer, when you find it does not work, also the system removes water such in winter here in the UK it demists the car far better than when off. Those people who say (usually manual ac) "it gets too cold", err, that's what the temperature control is for, not the ac on/off button, whilst it may use more fuel the advantages far out weigh the poorer economy in my opinion.

Yes, if you have air con, leave it running permanently.

We have a Clio we've has since brand new in April 2001. Air con has been on since we bought her. It's had no maintenance at all, other than changing the cabin filter and works perfectly.

To the OP:
Yes, turn it off to check that the water goes, but you will find that the water you see is condensate and completely normal.

Good luck,
Mick.

John and Mick are totally correct regarding leaving the aircon on, it will be more reliable and less likely to smell. I've also carried out fuel consumption comparisons and cannot detect a difference with a/c on or off. Your idea of turning it off to check for moisture under the car is a good one, and I'm sure it will put your mind at rest.
Regarding the coolant level, when cold I like it to be midway between max and min. Very easy to check on my TA engine, not sure about the 1.2.

Mick F said:

Yes, if you have air con, leave it running permanently.

We have a Clio we've has since brand new in April 2001. Air con has been on since we bought her. It's had no maintenance at all, other than changing the cabin filter and works perfectly.

To the OP:
Yes, turn it off to check that the water goes, but you will find that the water you see is condensate and completely normal.

Good luck,
Mick.

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Wow some members of this forum are proper flush = ) With AC on for me its 10% worse consumption, even more in towns so that adds up to a few hundred pounds a year if i use ac on all the time = )

So that would be the equivalent of servicing the AC every six months, which isn't necessary, even if you do not use the AC on all the time = )

If anything over use of the A/C stands to wear out the compressor, which is a three figure part usually.

I use my A/C as needed and have had a car go 20 years without issue, on the original gas. My Jeep's at 10 years, the A/C is used maybe five days a year, no issues.

An A/C compressor on a small car takes up to 3kW to spin, it can make some cars rather sluggish to drive.

My dad's Accord 190,000 miles the ac has been on for 17 years without problems so it shows the compressor can last a long time?

John202020 said:

My dad's Accord 190,000 miles the ac has been on for 17 years without problems so it shows the compressor can waste a lot of fuel?

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Fixed.

They can, my neighbor's Focus compressor died at about 50K so they certainly can fail too. I've had a few units (including a Honda) fail myself at around the 150-200K range.

From my experience, the idea that seals will dry out from non-use is pretty flimsy. I've got three cars that have gone 10-20 years without issue, and the Jeep only gets used every other month if that. There's also the argument of bacterial build up causing bad smells, but I don't seem to have issue with that either.

Now a 10% hit on fuel economy works out to about $4500 for a bigger car's lifetime (our fuel is a bit cheaper).

For my old Merc and Renault, I don't like using the A/C because it robs too much power, doesn't apply to all cars obviously. Twinair has no problem with it.

The same old arguments crop up every time we have a thread touching on this subject.

UFI & Ahmett are pretty much spot on the money regarding the extra fuel cost - just because some folks can't measure it, doesn't mean it isn't there. Noticing changes in short term fuel economy in the order of 10% is harder than you might think, and there is no doubt an element of confirmation bias going on.

Seals can dry out; some manufacturers recommend the A/C is run for half an hour or so twice a month, though my own experience is in accord with UFI & I've not had problems on cars where the A/C hasn't been used for several months at a time.

My own recommendation is to use it when you need it, and to turn it off the rest of the time. For me, that tends to be when the weather is damp, rather than warm - the A/C is also a very effective dehumidifier. Running with it on all the time is more wasteful than running with the heated rear window on constantly.

Wear is a consideration also. Although A/C compressors are designed to last the life of the car, they can and do fail; using them unnecessarily just wears them out faster.

ahmett said:

Wow some members of this forum are proper flush = ) With AC on for me its 10% worse consumption, even more in towns so that adds up to a few hundred pounds a year if i use ac on all the time = )

So that would be the equivalent of servicing the AC every six months, which isn't necessary, even if you do not use the AC on all the time = )

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I agree with you, but you are in Greece. It's hot there!

Here in UK, it rarely gets hot enough to make any real difference to the overall fuel consumption. I too have done fuel consumption comparisons, and find no real difference.

What I do find though, is in "hot" weather here, and the car has been standing in the sun, the power from the engine is sapped and the fuel consumption will rocket. However, as the car cools down, normal fuel consumption resumes.

The unit in the 500 is puny. No doubt the unit in our Clio is also small, but HUGE in comparison to the 500TA. Therefore, the 500 will use more fuel in HOT conditions ............. like you will find in Greece.

Regards,
Mick.

Mick F said:

I agree with you, but you are in Greece. It's hot there!

Here in UK, it rarely gets hot enough to make any real difference to the overall fuel consumption. I too have done fuel consumption comparisons, and find no real difference.

What I do find though, is in "hot" weather here, and the car has been standing in the sun, the power from the engine is sapped and the fuel consumption will rocket. However, as the car cools down, normal fuel consumption resumes.

The unit in the 500 is puny. No doubt the unit in our Clio is also small, but HUGE in comparison to the 500TA. Therefore, the 500 will use more fuel in HOT conditions ............. like you will find in Greece.

Regards,
Mick.

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Yes thats fair enough, at temperatures above 25c the ac really kills the consumption and even the radiator goes into overdrive (at slow speeds). You should see how hot the engine bay becomes when its 40c and ac is on full and you go for a drive in town! haha i could barely manage to check the oil!

If it's not the AC, it could be the washer bottle. I had a cracked one and it was ever so slightly leaking so I had to replace it.

I'd gladly pay extra 10% for the comfort of being cool in hot weather or having mist free windows when damp. I've spent money on stupider things in life...