Hi all. I'm new to the forum.

I was parking my 2005 Escape on a gravel drive, but just now have started parking it in a garage. I'm noticing a small puddle of what appears (and smells) to be plain water. I've traced where it's coming from .. an open-ended pipe that comes forward from the firewall .. near the bottom of the firewall. Here are 3 images here to describe it better ...

The first one is from the ownership manual, showing the general location of the pipe ...


The second one is a general shot of the main engine components. The pipe is dark and out of focus ...


The third one shows the pipe itself properly focused and exposed ...


I'm suspecting it may be an air conditioner condensation draining pipe .. but I can't find mention of it anywhere. Does anyone have knowledge of this pipe?

Thanks in advance.