I have a 1991 Honda Accord EX with 195K miles. I had noticed for the past several months that there was a lot of white smoke from the exhaust after a cold start, no smoke once the vehicle is warmed up. After this started happening, I started having a miss on cylinder 3 with low compression. I have pulled the head, replaced three exhaust valves, got a valve job (head was warped), replaced all the valve seals, etc. Also put in new timing belt, balance shaft belt, water pump, drive belts etc. I had hoped this would also resolve the white smoke issue. Now the car runs great, very smooth idle, great pickup etc., however, I am still having a lot of white smoke from the exhaust after a cold start. Since I thought the problem was probably a bad head gasket at the time it started, I had hoped that the work I did on the head would fix this issue when I replaced head gasket and all other seals as well. I am not losing any coolant apparently as it is always full and I don't even have to add to the overflow bottle. No oil leaks or burning oil either, I don't have to add any oil between changes anymore. Can anyone help me with this white smoke issue? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

It could possibly be condensation.... That would be my guess... If the car runs fine and you aren't leaking any fluids and it only happens when you first start the car I wouldn't really worry...



Q. My BMW is always giving off white smoke. I noticed it does not overheat or anything like that. The outside temperature is 38 deg F. All the other cars are running fine. Sometimes I smell coolant inside the car but have been unable to find a wet spot in the car. Help.

A. White smoke when first started is normal. If white smoke continues you have an internal coolant leak, i.e., cracked head/blown head gasket. Black smoke is caused by a rich fuel condition. Blue smoke is caused by oil consumption. The smell of coolant inside your car is caused by a leaking heater core.

 

Thanks for the response. Perhaps it is not a problem, the only reason I am really concerned is that there is a lot of white smoke when I start the car cold. It does go away completely once the car warms up, but there is a large amount of white smoke when I start it cold. By large amount I mean it actually hangs in the air around the car for a few minutes.

 

My guess is that it will start becoming a smaller and smaller cloud... I bet when your head was warped you sucked a bit of coolant into your exhaust and it's just slowly burning it off.... I wouldn't be horribly concerned about it unless you have some other issues going on... Mine does it HORRIBLY during the winter...

 

Thanks again sir_nasty.

 

yea i have a 91 ex and i get some white smoke when i first start it when its cold out. its just condensation