White smoke from the exhaust, what to do?

If you see white smoke coming out of your car's tailpipe, this is never a good sign and it is important to quickly identify the source of the smoke or you risk paying dearly for repairs! In this article, we present the possible causes of white smoke in the exhaust!

?? Where does the white smoke from my car come from?

Do you drive away and see white smoke coming out of the tailpipe? However, it is 20 ° C, it cannot just be condensation due to the heat of your engine! If you continue to drive and the smoke does not pass, then the problem is clearly a malfunction.

🚗 Why does my car smoke?

Your engine is cold

When your engine is cold, the fuel—gasoline, such as diesel—does not burn completely and releases water. At temperatures below 10 °C, the mixture of water and unburned gas condenses and forms a white cloud. Don't panic, once the engine has warmed up after a few miles everything should be back to normal.

Head gasket defective

The cylinder head gasket may gradually lose its tightness and coolant will enter the cylinder, which will then mix with the engine oil. This creates fat, also called "mayonnaise", in your cooling system and hence white smoke. In this case, you need to replace the cylinder head gasket in the garage as soon as possible.

Defective oil exchanger

An engine oil heat exchanger allows your engine's cooling system to transfer excess heat away from the fluid, but sometimes its gasket will wear out. Consequence: Oil leaks and the engine loses its ability to lubricate itself.

This leads to a rise in the temperature of your engine and therefore excessive heat. Lack of lubrication will also cause premature wear on all of these parts due to friction.

Incorrectly adjusted injection pump or faulty injector

The injection pump is usually perfectly synchronized with the engine cycle and delivers fuel at the right time. Any delay or advance in injection caused by the pump causes incomplete combustion and hence the release of white smoke.

Poor alignment is rare and only appears if engine parts have been repaired or replaced recently. If your injectors are faulty, you will run into the same partial combustion problems that cause white smoke!

Warning: White smoke emissions for your vehicle are much more serious than if it's black. You need to act very quickly so as not to carry out even more critical and, therefore, more expensive repairs. We advise you to return the car for inspection: you can order a free diagnosis in the garage.