White Smoke on Idle. Normal?

[Gordon Freeman]

Hi guys,

 

For a while now I've noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust when the engine is idle; even after the engine has warmed up.   When I'm accelerating it seems fine, just when the engine is idle, hot or cold.

 

I'm not sure how long it's been doing this, but it's been serviced since and the dealer didn't say anything.

 

My question is, is this normal or typical?  It's out of warranty this June, is it worth getting the dealer to look at it or am I just worrying over nothing?

 

Thank you!

[JakeBlade]

Can you check your coolant level?

[Gordon Freeman]

It seems OK.  I do around 12-13K miles a year and I do have to regularly top up the coolant.  Is this normal?

Edited 14 March, 2014 by Gordon Freeman

[JakeBlade]

You may have an internal coolant leak if you're regularly having to top up coolant levels.  Water doesn't compress very well in the combustion chamber of the engine!  Worth booking into the garage asap before your warranty runs out.  Unlikely that the garage would've spotted it as part of a routine service as it's quite normal to get white smoke (steam) on start-up.

 

Also worth putting some white paper towels under the engine bay and leaving overnight, to see if there is an external leak.

 

First could be building up to something serious for you to enjoy outside of warranty.  Second would just be replacement hoses or clamps.

[KenONeill]

As Jake says, my first thought was of a possible water leak, and if it's going down the exhaust probably an internal one.

 

Test you can carry out:-

Check for oil in the coolant (oily look on top of expansion bottle) and exidence of coolant in the oil (droplet on dipstick, mayonaisse in the rocker cover easiest to look inside filler cap, rising oil level).

Test a garage can carry out - There's a simple analysis of the coolant for exhaust gases, takes about 5 minutes.

[Gordon Freeman]

Thanks guys for the advice!  Great stuff.  I'll do what you've suggested and get it booked in.  Thank you!

[Gordon Freeman]

Well, I finally got the dealer to check and apparently after several tests they have not found an issue and have said that the white smoke is fine and it is simply condensation in the exhaust.  Any thoughts?  Thank you.

[Skoda4x4man]

Get them to put that in writing - in case after your warranty period ends, the engine goes bang with some water leak issue.

 

Chris

Edited 6 June, 2014 by Skoda4x4man

[Huskoda]

If you're having to regularly top up coolant then its not fine. Did you tell them that? If so, as above, get it in writing.

[Gordon Freeman]

Cheers Chris & Huskoda for the replies!

 

I did say that I feel it was going down quicker than usual, but in fairness, when I say I regularly top it up, I mean no more than normal.  It's just in this instance I have noticed it go down more quickly than normal despite doing the same number of miles in conjunction with the white smoke.  However, he said they've done several tests (including one involving a powder) and couldn't find any leaks or issues at all.

 

Thanks for the tip about getting it in writing, I'll do just that.  I also asked them to check the DSG as it has started (or at least I've just started to notice it) getting a bit confused at roundabouts and junctions.  Either being in too high or low a gear when I approach or pull away.  I understand the DSG can do this as standard occasionally, but I've started to notice it more and more.  Again, they couldn't find any problems.

 

Dumb question:  Will I have to pay for the dealer’s time in looking for these faults given they found no issue?  Thank you as always!

 

Cheers...

[Superb170]

If it's within warranty I can't see why they could charge you

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Danny 57]

It should not require topping up that often. My car is two years plus old at nearly 28k miles and has not been topped up once!

And yes it is still within limits.

Edited 6 June, 2014 by Danny 57

[james0james]

Its always an excellent idea to get everything in writing,this is fairly easy now as you can book your car in for checks/repairs etc and you can do it in the comfort of your own home via the dealers email.

 

When the dealer phone's you to say your car is ok and before you collect it get then to email you a report of what they have found.

 

Relying on verbal explanations is not the best way.

 

Best of luck.  James.

[pinkpanther]

I would suggest any degree of topping up coolant is potentially abnormal.

 

I've had a "back-up" bottle of G12 in readiness for several years now, but have yet to top up any of the last 6 Skoda's I owned - both new & second hand / petrol & diesel. The oldest one is around 13 years old, but uses no appreciable quantities of either oil or coolant.

 

I seem to recall the current owner of my old 1.8 TSi Octavia estate did have an issue with coolant usage. This was investigated by a main dealer, but no fault found. 

 

Surely it has to be either leaking (water pump / expansion tank cap), or disappearing through the exhaust (head gasket).

Edited 8 June, 2014 by pinkpanther

[peterposh]

That's right, it's a sealed system and shouldn't need topping up, if it does there's a leak

[LS108]

Cheers Chris & Huskoda for the replies!

 

I did say that I feel it was going down quicker than usual, but in fairness, when I say I regularly top it up, I mean no more than normal.

 

'Normally' you should not add any coolant at all. Exception can be done during first 1000 km - when air gets out of the system. 

 

The dealer shall check if there is any coolant in exhaust gas and print you the measurements. 

 

By the way - what's the smell of that smoke? 

[JakeBlade]

I'm assuming that when you have topped up the coolant level, it has always been after the car has been laid up overnight (i.e. when cold), and on a level surface?

 

The other thing to check for is coolant crusting on the vent cap, which won't help vent air from the expansion chamber if it is all gunked up with dried coolant.

 

With the engine cold, you can remove the blue cap and check for crusting around the rubber seal, and the vent itself.  If air is unable to escape the system if the pressure gets too high, then the coolant will try to find its way out from the next weakest point on the system: either will pop off one of the rubber hoses, or if the hoses are connected on nice and tight then the coolant will make a nice little hole in a rubber hose in the least accessible part of the system - just to annoy you even further.

[Guest]

Retired M.V.Tech. with over 40 Years in the trade. Coolant water level on the modern sealed cooling systems should not need topping up. Always check cold and after leaving overnight is best, never warm or after a run, very high risk of scalding water and steam all over you.

You say white smoke,  do you mean water vapour ?.  You will always get water vapour from a cold engine and exhaust if the temperature is low and high humidity, this is quite normal.

It is just condensation in the exhaust system but this always stops when the system is hot, no water is lost from the cooling system, so if you are always topping up you have a leak, this is not normal. I am sure on the forum there has been threads on failing head gaskets and seals.

As stated above get a report in writing, Unfortunately these days actual manual checking for problems is rarely done, if there is not a fault code there is no problem because fitters are trained for this.

 

With diesel engines white smoke was quite common, usually caused by low compression or faulty injectors.

No such problem though with petrol engines.

[Mr Ree]

I had an almighty massive cloud of white smoke emit from my Octy vRS (CR) when pulling away gently from traffic lights once, and only once.

 

Nothing to do with the ash from a re-gen is it p'raps, as was suggested to me at the time?

Edited 9 June, 2014 by Mr Ree

[JakeBlade]

I had an almighty massive cloud of white smoke emit from my Octy vRS (CR) when pulling away gently from traffic lights once, and only once.

Nothing to do with the ash from a re-gen is it p'raps, as was suggested to me at the time?

Sounds like the work of a DPF regen to me. Very popular in traffic jams.

[peterposh]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0094JURYM?pc_redir=1402201598&robot_redir=1

[Supurbia]

Possibilities

 

1 - Turbo, this will include eggy sulphur smell and won't clear, highly unlikely anyway after just 12k

 

2 - DPF re-gen, also stinks

 

3 - Coolant burn, you will see it in the header tank if it is though

 

4 - Cold morning

Edited 11 June, 2014 by Supurbia