This is an issue when a vehicle releases white (thick or thin) smoke from the pipe’s exhaust. Checking on the thickness of the smoke can help you determine whether you are up to a major car issue or just a minor one. If the level of thickness is thin just like a vapour, you should not worry as much as the white smoke will disappear fast, but if it is thick, you are up for a graver car problem.
Causes Of White Smoke From Exhaust
To help you assess signals of white smoke, read through below:
- Broken fuel pump injection
If your car is running on diesel, and you see an abundance of white smoke as you start your engine, it could mean that the fuel pump injection timing stops to work.
Changing and checking the injection by you is not recommended at all. A professional auto mechanic is necessary to call as soon as possible to fix this issue and prevent further damages to your car.
- Leaking coolant
Another problem that causes white smoke is leaking coolant. This is the issue if you see white smoke while your car is already running and not on the time you started the car. The source can be the burning coolant that might have been mixed up.
You may also want to check if your coolant is still at a good level, as lacking coolant may also produce white smoke, as the vehicle gets heat up.
To this, understanding your car’s temperature is necessary. Never run your car when the coolant is low, as this may cause issues that are harder to handle.
- Condensation
This occurrence may be normal if you are living in colder climates. When it is cold, and you see white smoke when you start your car, then most likely there is nothing you should worry about.
Steam and condensation occur when cold air and hot or warm exhaust gases meet. After driving a short distance, the white smoke must lessen. Some may worry about this, especially those who lived in warmer climates and moved to colder climates, but basically, there is nothing they should be anxious about.
- Issues from the car’s other parts
More often than not, a huge amount of white smoke exhaustion, while your car is running, might be an indication of complicated and expensive problems. When the fuel filter, head gasket, a cylinder head is broken, or the car’s engine is cracked or clogged, there will be a large amount of white gas exhaustion that may happen. Replacing or fixing these parts might be very expensive.
The difficulty with such issues is that when you delay fixing the problem, the cost to have it repaired may be more expensive or worse, will make the car’s issue beyond repair. To minimise the risk of such problems, regular maintenance is recommended. This can help you trace any issues before things go out of proportion. Maintenance cost is a lot cheaper than having your car repaired because of these issues.
As immediately as possible, call someone to aid your car’s issues. Not all the time white smoke from exhaust means huge problems, but needless to say, consulting a professional car mechanic the soonest time possible is necessary to avoid problems, if there are any, from progressing.