White smoke coming from my car

Inishowen Girl

Hey bought a new car (03 bmw 320d) 2 weeks ago and every time i start it there is a lot of white smoke, i dont want to take it back to the garage until i know what it might be because my local garages always fob u off expecially when ur a girl.:rolleyes:

DublinWriter

Could be a problem with the Turbo - it's a known issue on that model, drive one myself.

Where is the smoke coming from?

Inishowen Girl

The Exhaust

nayorleck114

Girl + Car = ..... Ok. not being sexist here, but if you don't know much about cars get advise from people who do. I would suggest your brother, father or Boyfriend help you out.

El Guapo!

White smoke usually means head gasket. Bring it straight back to the garage and tell them to sort it. And if your not happy with what they say bring it elsewhere and get a report done on it and then go back to the original garage armed with the report.

beam99

The only way you will find out what is wrong is to bring it to a garage. It mite be injectors, cause by fuel dripping from them into the cylinders when you stop it, and when you start it the smoke you see is that fuel burning off.

Gran Hermano

The pope is driving?

Delta Kilo

Did you not get a warranty when you bought it from the garage? Bum it back to them, if they are fairly reputable they will give you another car while it is being fixed aswell!

snowman707

Dean09 wrote: »

White smoke usually means head gasket. Bring it straight back to the garage and tell them to sort it. And if your not happy with what they say bring it elsewhere and get a report done on it and then go back to the original garage armed with the report.

+1
white smoke is usually head gasket failure

robtri

snowman707 wrote: »

+1
white smoke is usually head gasket failure

+2 on that one...usually coolant burning through
but there are a few other possible causes...
get it checked ASAP by aqualified mechanic

Anan1

nayorleck114 wrote: »

Girl + Car = ..... Ok. not being sexist here, but if you don't know much about cars get advise from people who do. I would suggest your brother, father or Boyfriend help you out.

She's looking for advice on what's wrong with the car, not on which gender is better qualified to help her out.

biomech

robtri wrote: »

+2 on that one...usually coolant burning through
but there are a few other possible causes...
get it checked ASAP by aqualified mechanic

-3 when you 'burn' water or coolant you get steam not smoke..... if water or coolant leaks into a cyl it will under no condition compress it.... have had this issue for years with my yoke and its caused by crap injectors...def get it checked tho... im putting up with it cause its not worth fixin.

Anan1

A little bit of oil leaking down the valve guides can also cause white smoke on start-up, air-cooled Porsche 911 engines tend to do this if they've been left sitting for a few days.

Spiritoftheseventies

white smoke only if there are cardinals.

rccaulfield

Is it smoke or steam coming out? Smoke stays in air as it blows away steam disappears quick enuf!

Bobo78

I thought that white smoke coming from the exhaust is normal when engine is cold.

cavanmaniac

Just resurrecting this to hear peoples' fresh views.

I have an old '97 Mazda banger that's started blowing billowy, petrol-smelling white smoke on start up, usually when car has been idle for some time or left overnight. It's gone after about 30 seconds and car drives normally with no issues.

I googled possible causes and learned that it's almost certainly linked to the coolant, and now I am noticing the coolant level in the reservoir is diminishing fairly quickly alright.

Is this a problem that is worth fixing and is this, as I fear, a serious illness for the car? And will the car be alright if I top up with coolant to get me to a garage and get it looked at properly if so?

FearDark

nayorleck114 wrote: »

Girl + Car = ..... Ok. not being sexist here, but if you don't know much about cars get advise from people who do. I would suggest your brother, father or Boyfriend help you out.

Wow.

watsdstory22

+ 3 head gasket!!

Anan1

cavanmaniac wrote: »

Just resurrecting this to hear peoples' fresh views.

I have an old '97 Mazda banger that's started blowing billowy, petrol-smelling white smoke on start up, usually when car has been idle for some time or left overnight. It's gone after about 30 seconds and car drives normally with no issues.

I googled possible causes and learned that it's almost certainly linked to the coolant, and now I am noticing the coolant level in the reservoir is diminishing fairly quickly alright.

Is this a problem that is worth fixing and is this, as I fear, a serious illness for the car? And will the car be alright if I top up with coolant to get me to a garage and get it looked at properly if so?

Please read the charter and don't resurrect old threads. Start a new one instead.