Cloud of white smoke on startup

[wawro569]

Title pretty much covers it, upon turning the car on for the first time today a fairly dense cloud of white smoke came out of the exhaust for about 2-3 seconds. I immediately checked my oil level as soon as the engine cooled down and it was at the proper level, changed it about 1000 miles ago. After doing some research on the forum I then checked my coolant level and it was at or slightly below the minimum line so I filled it up to the appropriate level as well. Also checked the engine oil by eye and feel for any signs of a coolant emulsion to no avail, although I'd hardly call the test definitive. The white smoke hasn't shown again, even at high RPM, hopefully this isn't a gasket issue...

Background: My car has roughly 17000 miles on it, only mod is Nameless Offset Axleback exhaust. The past few weeks I've been running A/C on max and the car has never been raced or tracked. Had my HPFP replaced months ago due to crickets.

[Hawaiian]

Did the exhaust smell sweet?

Do you have a camera or gopro that you can video it (someone with a phone works too).

[bkblitzed]

most likely condensation

[spitz]

Condensation... If exhaust/oil smells sweet it would most likely be the head gasket. It would have a bit more of a bluish hue, and be quite thick.

[wawro569]

The exhaust smelled normal, which hopefully means you're all right about the condensation build up and would also explain why I've yet to reproduce the smoke. Can condensation really cause what I saw though? The cloud nearly completely engulfed the car. Really hoping the low coolant level was just a coincidence then...

[Chimpo]

Coolant level goes up and down with engine temp... are you checking it at consistent times?

[whaap]

That was a common problem with my boxer BMW R 1150 RT, especially when it had been parked on its side stand and oil was allowed, over time, to seep into the cylinder head.

I have an uneducated idea of what happens. It takes a few if's but if the piston rings happen to be aligned in just the right order oil will seep thru the small gap in the rings and work its way into the cylinder heads. It seems to only happen to boxer engines because the cylinders are laid on their side and there's no gravity to prevent the oil from working its way thru the rings. It should be only an occasional happening and I wouldn't worry about it unless it was consistant.

[civdaddy]

Most likely just condensation. If your car doesn't do it when it's at full temp don't sweat it. Gotta let the exhaust pipes get hot enough before you start worrying.

[Sportington]

If I take the car cold out of the garage, wash it and re-garage it, the next time I start it I can duplicate the white smoke every time. In that case at least, I think its due to a cold start followed by a quick shut down. Odor is one of unburnt fuel, not condensation.

[mav1178]

Just so everyone knows, I had this issue this morning.

Yesterday it rained, but after driving the car home (during cold/damp conditions without rain), I parked the car in the garage for the night.

This morning, upon initial startup there was a thick white cloud behind the car. The engine had just cranked so it was not normal condensation in the tailpipe (that takes a few seconds to warm up any water in the exhaust).

No CEL, no weird issues, just a cloud of smoke at startup. The smoke was mostly white with a slight bit of blue.

12xxx miles on my car.

-alex

[automatic]

I noticed this too...

But I also noticed that my car produces more condensation when driving in cold weather compared to other cars...and does not seem to stop producing condensation "smoke" even after driving a while. It doesnt smell funny or anything...anyone know why?

[humfrz]

More white stuff than this (at air temp of about 50 degrers F)

[ame]http://youtu.be/KJUxBJMlkQk[/ame]



If so, a video would help.

Does your "white stuff" smell like oil? Water? Wierd eggs?

humfrz

[mav1178]

It did not smell abnormal, however the "abnormal" part was the fact that I parked the car inside the garage daily.

Even if it was raining outside, the garage is generally pretty dry due to the location of the water heater (as well as the fridge) that dries the air.

Since it was the only time this has happened, I will now attempt to replicate the problem. Video will be hard to come by, as I usually do not have time in the mornings to film these things before going to work.

-alex

[Synack]

Could it just be that it's cold outside and most cars get hot exhausts and produce white fog when running?

I wouldn't worry until you see white smoke on a 60+ degrees day or you are losing oil or coolant.