Are Your Car’s Fluids Trying to Tell You Something? Warning Signs You Shouldn’t Miss

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your Renault could automatically tell you, out loud, when something was wrong? While car’s may not yet be capable of speech and diagnosing themselves, they do have very effective ways of communicating with us: their fluids. Understanding what fluids like the engine oil, transmission fluid, and coolant are trying to tell you isn’t easy, but if you learn to understand what they are attempting to say, you can quickly figure out what is going wrong with certain Renault parts.

Renault Parts, Fluids, and What They Mean

Engine Oil

When it’s new, engine oil is golden brown and smells fresh and lovely. It is the nectar that keeping car parts moving within engine and keeps your Renault running smoothly. As it ages and absorbs contaminants and combustion byproducts, it turns black, but this is completely normal. So, how do you know when something’s wrong? You trust the dipstick.

• Thick Globs- When you check the oils, look for thick globs on the dipstick. This is often a sign of sludge, a thick substance that can block lubrication channels and oilways.

• Metal Flakes- Seeing a few small metal flakes in your engine oil isn’t unusual. However, if you rub the oil between your fingers and can actually feel the flakes, it could indicate problems with certain car parts- particularly the engine. This needs to be evaluated by a mechanic immediately.

• Gritty Particles- Rubbing oil between your fingers when you check it can tell you a lot. If you feel gritty particles, this often means that carbon is not being filtered out of the engine. Fixing it means replacing your oil filter or changing the oil.

• Milky Look- Does the oil look milky when you check it? This often means it is interacting with water in some way. In most cases, there are two possible causes: a blown head gasket or an cracked engine block.

Transmission Fluid

Automatic transmission fluid is translucent and clean when it’s new, often with a hint of red. Checking the dipstick and paying attention to the fluid can tell you when something’s wrong.

• Metal Flakes- Like the oil test, if you can feel metal flakes between your fingers, this often means that the transmission is failing.

• Black and Burned- Black transmission fluid or fluid that smells like it has been burned often occurs when the clutch is slipping. The fluid gets caught under the clutch and burns.

• Bright Pink- Pink may be the colour your pre-school daughter adores, but it’s not something you want to find under the bonnet of your Renault. It often means that other Renault parts, like the radiator, is attacking the seals of the transmission, which allows coolant to mix with the transmission fluid. Finding the leak may not be difficult, but it will require you to replace the outside and internal seals.

• Sticky, Foamy, or Bubbly- If you check the transmission fluid and it is bubbly, sticky, or foamy, you are most likely going to need to replace some car parts or fluids. Why? This often means that the transmission has overheated or you have filled the reservoir with too much transmission fluid. The problem won’t right itself, as the bubbles in the fluid will prevent any lubrication from occurring.

Not sure what your Renault is trying to tell you? Pay close attention; even though your car can’t talk, it may be attempting to show you which of its car parts need a closer look.