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Writer's pictureCOCKPIT

The different types of smoke

If your car is smoking, it is sending you a signal about its health. To do this, you need to understand what it is trying to tell you.

In fact, depending on the color of the smoke we can understand what harm it wants to tell us.


1- If the smoke is white: it can tell you two things:


1.1. If the white smoke is light, don't worry, everything is fine, it's just water condensation that naturally accumulates in the exhaust system, it is particularly noticeable when cold.


1.2. If the white smoke is thick, it could be a cylinder head gasket leak. In this case, the coolant heats up in the combustion chambers and is expelled by the exhaust gases when the engine is started, which leads to overheating of the engine and, consequently, to the pure and simple failure of the engine. As soon as you notice thick white smoke, you must immediately take your car to a garage.


Of course, we have given you the most common cases of white smoke from your car, because it could tell you other things to check, such as: Injectors that are clogged, A poorly adjusted injection pump, Clogged spark plugs, A clogged turbo, The particle filter or the catalyst, A defective EGR valve, A clogged air filter, A leak in the air conditioning circuit, A defective lambda sensor... it's up to you to understand it with the help of a mechanic.



2. Black smoke indicates that the engine is burning too much fuel due to the air-fuel mixture running too rich due to poor fuel quality, lack of oxygen in the engine, or problems with the spark plugs or ignition coils. Black smoke coming out of the tailpipe usually contains more carbon monoxide and this should be fixed quickly to reduce its negative impact on the environment. Reduced combustion also means that your vehicle is not operating at peak efficiency and the engine is not as powerful as it could be.



3. Blue smoke is a clear sign that your engine is burning oil. The fluid can leak into the combustion chamber where it is burned along with the fuel. You may notice your car misfiring when you turn the keys in the ignition, or your vehicle shaking more than usual when idling.


The pistons in a car's engine help seal the combustion chamber, where oxygen and gasoline burn to power the engine. A worn or damaged piston ring can allow oil to leak into the combustion chamber; this will create a large amount of blue smoke that will come out of the vehicle's tailpipe when it is fired.



4. Gray smoke can indicate transmission oil in the combustion chamber. Like blue smoke, gray exhaust smoke can indicate that engine oil is burning. But it can also be caused by a transmission oil leak. Transmission oil keeps the transmission components lubricated. A broken transmission modulator can cause oil to leak into the combustion chamber. Without transmission oil, the metal components of your transmission can bind, which will soon cause it to fail.


5. Yellow smoke: Indicates a coolant leak into the combustion chamber and causes the engine to overheat. A clogged radiator can cause poor coolant circulation. Also, a faulty thermostat can prevent coolant from circulating properly, which can lead to overheating and yellow smoke. Check the coolant level and inspect the cooling system.

In any case, if your car is smoking, immediately look into the cause because there is never smoke without a reason.
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