If you see white smoke coming out of your vehicle’s tailpipe, then you should understand the various root causes to avoid any potential engine damage. One of two conditions is responsible for white smoke blowing out of your exhaust.
In most cases, especially in the winter, some white smoke from your exhaust is perfectly normal and not something to worry about. But other causes may be cause for alarm. Keep reading to help understand why this happens and when you need to worry about fixing the issue.
Top 7 Reasons White Smoke is Coming From Your Tailpipe
If you are in the unfortunate situation where white smoke continues to come out of your exhaust after you’ve let your car warm up for more than a couple of minutes, then you could have some internal problems taking place.
It’s important that you address the issue soon so that your engine and exhaust system do not get damaged in any way. Here are 7 of the most common causes of a car blowing white smoke from the exhaust pipe.
1) Condensation Burn Off
If you notice white smoke coming from your muffler, don’t automatically assume the worst. You may not have to worry because it could just be the accumulation of condensation causing that to happen.
In these situations, you will typically see this white smoke come out on cooler days. The smoke should only be coming out in small amounts after you start your engine. Then after about 30 seconds to a minute, the white smoke should clear up. If this is the case then you have nothing to worry about.
2) Cracked Cylinder Head
Whenever your cylinder head is cracked or damaged, coolant will begin to leak out of it. This doesn’t need to be a big crack either. All it takes is a little bit of coolant to leak out and get mixed in with the engine oil.
Once that happens, the oil will become contaminated. The first sign of having contaminated oil is white exhaust smoke coming out of the tailpipe. As this continues, the white smoke will begin to have a sweet odor smell that won’t go away.
3) Leaking Intake Manifold Gasket
Another area that can leak coolant is the intake manifold gasket. If your vehicle has water jackets that run through the intake manifold, a leaky intake manifold gasket could give you symptoms that are very similar to a head gasket leak, a cracked block, or a cracked cylinder head.
A bad intake manifold gasket is often cheaper and easier to fix than a bad head gasket. If you notice white smoke, make sure you do a bit of testing and diagnostics to figure out exactly which component is leaking. The cost of an inspection and diagnostics fee will pay for itself when you dodge an expensive repair bill for a part that didn’t need to be replaced.
4) Oil Leak
If oil were to ever leak out of your piston rings or valve seals, then it would flow into the internal combustion chamber along with the fuel. Once the fuel and oil get mixed together, it will cause to come out of the tailpipe. You’ll likely see a blue-ish color smoke from your exhaust but it may appear to be white smoke to some people.
You would obviously want to fix this leak quickly because if the engine components are not being lubricated properly by the oil, then they’ll start to get worn out and damaged rather quickly. This will cause a whole other flock of expensive problems that you won’t want to have.
5) Bad Fuel Injector
The fuel injector is responsible for injecting fuel into the internal combustion chamber at the exact right time. If you were to have a bad fuel injector, then it would cause white smoke to form because the proper amount of fuel did not enter the chamber at the right time.
6) Engine Control Unit Error
If you have a faulty engine control unit or one that simply is glitchy, it may throw off the timing of the fuel injector. This doesn’t mean the fuel injector is bad or anything. It just means you need to fix or reprogram the engine control unit so that it can correct the timing of the fuel pump injector.
Often, you can simply unplug your car battery for a few minutes to reset the computer and the issue fixes itself. But if not, you would need to go to your dealership to get this done because it requires expert mechanics who are familiar with your vehicle’s engine to reprogram the engine control unit.
7) Prasklý blok motoru
The worst case scenario is that your entire engine block has a crack in it. These are the kinds of problems that will be the most costly to fix. You probably aren’t going to know which of these problems is causing the white smoke to get produced until you have a mechanic look over your vehicle and perform a diagnosis on it.
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So basically, the only time you don’t have to worry about the white smoke is when it clears up within a minute or so of starting your engine. If the white smoke stays on longer than that, then you need to determine which of the other six causes above are the problem and hire a professional to fix it.
Kevin byl fascinován čímkoli automobilovým od jeho první motokáry v dětství až po dobu, kdy pracoval jako automobilový technik pro Dodge poté, co získal titul v automobilové technologii. Když zrovna nepracuje na autech nebo o nich nepíše, můžete ho a jeho E36 M3 najít na akci s místní pobočkou BMW CCA.
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85 thoughts on “7 Causes of a Car Blowing White Smoke From the Exhaust”
I have a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. Since I got a low oil warning I’ve been adding oil, 2 or more quarts until I’m able to get an oil change. Last night I put in 5 quarts and when I started the car today it was blowing white smoke. I’m optimistic that it’s nothing major because it goes away after driving on the highway but I could be wrong. Any help is greatly appreciated Reply
Sounds like you might’ve put too much oil in the vehicle. Did you check the oil level while you were adding oil to make sure it wasn’t too much? Reply
i was driving my 2014 Elantra at 100km speed on the highway then i exellerated to overtake a bus, and then my car blue a big cloud white smoke.Oil and water levels are OK .also no warning lights be seeing .Siggy Reply
I don’t know. Sounds like some diag may be in order. I would probably start with a leak down test. Reply
Hi
I have a Nissan Pathfinder 2016 that has been blowing white smoke from exhaust only on start up not on cold days. Have taken it to mechanics and they have changed fuel injector, coil and spark plug. Still have smoke on start up only for a few seconds at any time of day and on hot days.
any ideas on what the issue maybe? Reply
Are you losing any coolant? Reply
Hi I also have a Nissan pathfinder but it’s a 2019 and it’s doing the same thing! Reply
I have a 1996 Toyota Camry, Wife Drove it and seen White smoke coming from the Hood, She pulled over and a Crack in the Radiator. .. Replaced Radiator Now white Smoke coming from the Exhaust Pipe .. There is Water Mixed with the Oil as I looked at the oild cap.. No Oile in the Water as yet.. No oil under the Radiator cap… It it a Head Casket or the Head.? Reply
My BMW x3 2016 has white smoke every time when I start the car. Then the smoke would stop in 30 seconds or so; no such smoke during the driving. No other bad sign. Should I worry about it? Reply
How much smoke? A little smoke on cold start is normal, especially on a cold morning. Reply
I have a Toyota Corolla 2004, as soon as I start the engine, it smokes so much very very much especially when accelerating it becomes more worst .. please what do I do? Scared to take to the mechanic and don’t really have money to get a new engine what’s the way out please Reply
If you don’t have money, start reading everything you can about cars until you can solve the problem yourself. Watch YouTube videos, learn diagnostic tests and techniques, and see what you can do with your car. You can rent a lot of tools from auto parts stores so as long as you have some common hand tools, there’s a lot you can do yourself. If you reach a point where you can’t do some task because of a physical or space limitation, you might have to bite the bullet and take the car somewhere. Reply
I have a 2009 Nissan Versa. The starter and battery were replaced in 2021. It has been sitting, not being driven, but in decent California weather. I had been starting it and letting it run for a couple of minutes every few days. Last time I went to start it to let it run, it would crank fine but not turn over. I tried revving the engine but it wouldn’t start and white smoke came from the exhaust pipe. Tried jumping it, but it would still not turn over. It has 153,500 miles but in the past couple years only driven locally. It stay above 3 rpms on the freeway of you go 65 mph. So it hasn’t been driven for miles or at high speeds in the last year. A neighbor was able to rev the engine and get it to drive. Was wondering if it is time to stop investing in something that could be costly or what could be the issue based on the symptoms. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank so much. Reply
How long was it sitting? Reply
john c prioleau
I have a1991 turbo porsche that sat for over a year. When started recently it blows white
smoke out of one of the rear exhausts. Engine is 3.5cc turbo air cooled. Reply
Does it continue to blow white smoke when the car is running at operating temperature? Reply
You could try checking the spark plugs and doing a leak down test. It’d be worth making sure the turbo isn’t leaking coolant either.
Janna McClure Moore
We have a 2007 EC90 V6..After finding car 2.5 quarts low put in 2.5 in ..someone else had been using the car . I was driving it no issues when oil low light came on causing me to put this in immediately. It was driven a little about our small town and another person drove it about 25 miles round trip when I noticed when cranking car white smoke came out tailpipe and when I drove for just a few hundred feet then it cleared up then if I stopped at stop sign or red light and when starting to accelerate white smoke came out for about 3 to 5 seconds. It was not cold and no smell of the sweet antifreeze smell. No coolant in oil no history of overheating. I checked oil still a little low so put in Slick Fifty and Head Gasket Sealer . It had 35 miles to empty on tank I got 25.00 in gas fr Shell added fuel injector cleaner. Notice car was running better than ever super smooth more power..really noticeable more get up and go. Sometimes I drove it to town and back stopping at red lights and back and no white smoke seen at all. Usually small amount at cranking and depending how long you sit idling the more white smoke comes out before there is none after several seconds of acceleration..warm weather. I put another 25.00 in Shell gas and more injector clearer in gas . What do you think this is ? My next step is mass air flow sensor. Any ideas besides that. The other people using car had been getting gas at Ingles.
Usually Reply
No idea. Run a compression test and leak down test on the car and that should tell you more. Reply
I have a 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport and white smoke comes out of the tailpipe on startup and the smoke stops after a minute or two . What can cause that ? Mind you , it didn’t do that until I took it in for an oil change by a mechanic that I told their boss I didn’t want working on my car . The car does not over heat and I still get a 5 star performance rate . My car have never smoked before I took it to the mechanic . Reply
I started my chevy malibu early in the morning to go to work when it was about 25 degrees out, as soon as I started it, thick white smoke started blowing out of the exhaust, this lasted the whole time i was letting the car warm up about 5 or so minutes then as i drove down the street to the 7-11 to do my morning routine and see if it would stop before i took the long drive to work if it did not stop, my son said that it still continued to blow out the thick dirty white smoke but just not as much as it was while it was idling in my driveway. So what could possible causes be and how do i go about getting it fixed? Appreciate some feedback and advice, thanks. Reply
Does it blow white smoke when it’s warmer out? All cars make some white smoke when it’s cold outside. That’s just from the condensation in the air. It’s a bit like the mist that comes out of your mouth when you breathe the cold air. Reply
