White smoke with turbo use on vRS

[SkodaAsh]

Please bear with the rookie question but I’m keen to know if I should take the car to the Škoda garage for a look in or not. 

 

2017 pre-FL vRS

driven mostly short distances

always warmed to 80-90 degrees oil temp before giving the turbo a push

turbo only used for a few seconds at a time (can’t do much with 60km/h speed limits)

just noticed (although it is likely it has been happening all along with turbo) that it billows white smoke from the exhaust whenever the turbo is being used

 

Question is how much is normal?

[shyVRS245]

Could be one of these reasons.

[Kenai]

Is it smoke or condensation/steam? 

 

If it's smoke something is probably very broken. 

 

If it's condensation, most 2.0tsi do it to some extent and the severity varies with conditions. Can look worse on estates as the entire rear screen can mist up briefly. 

[dsj20v]

As above condensation smoke/steam very common on petrol vrs's, if its 17 plate it will still be under warranty so pop into a dealer just to be sure 

[Excision]

White smoke typically caused by water. Blueish smoke more often associated with oil burning.

 

would not expect to see any smoke at all with a warmed up car. Cars still warming up will expel water vapour but should then stop when the engine and exhaust are fully warmed through.

[flybynite]

Smoke from the usual culprits in the turbo usually happens on the over-run or just as you come off the throttle, however it can fail in ways to smoke on boost.

 

Turbo is easy enough to check for play and backlash. Compression test will check for a leak from the head.

 

As above, very likely it is steam if you are only doing short runs. Does it do this when fully warmed up? 

[ChoonDoode]

Have you access to a diagnostic tool justin case there's an error code stored. It'll give you more of an indication as to what the problem is.

[Gti Jazz Blue]

My vRS does this if you boot it after a number of short trips - consensus at the time was that it was condensation from moisture in the exhaust, doesn't do it a lot - just under certain circumstances when giving it the beans joining a motorway.

 

No other adverse symptoms on mine, no oil use, coolant use or signs of anything left on the tailgate or exhaust tips.

[SkodaAsh]

On 04/08/2019 at 09:18, shyVRS245 said:

Could be one of these reasons.

 

Thanks. I looked into those and doubt it falls into any of those non-turbo categories. Only happens when really boosting power using turbo. Otherwise clean.

 

On 04/08/2019 at 15:57, Kenai said:

Is it smoke or condensation/steam? 

 

If it's smoke something is probably very broken. 

 

If it's condensation, most 2.0tsi do it to some extent and the severity varies with conditions. Can look worse on estates as the entire rear screen can mist up briefly. 

The way I see it, it's white "stuff" that I'm not convinced is smoke. Just a lot of it, and yes I see it clearly at the back of my wagon and clears up after settling down.

 

On 04/08/2019 at 16:57, dsj20v said:

As above condensation smoke/steam very common on petrol vrs's, if its 17 plate it will still be under warranty so pop into a dealer just to be sure 

Yes, I expected as much. It is under warranty, and I'll have it checked at the next service, but since there is no drop in performance, no change in noises, and no warning problems, I'll just monitor until then. Drives fine when not being pushed.

 

On 04/08/2019 at 18:53, Excision said:

White smoke typically caused by water. Blueish smoke more often associated with oil burning.

 

would not expect to see any smoke at all with a warmed up car. Cars still warming up will expel water vapour but should then stop when the engine and exhaust are fully warmed through.

It's definitely white. But it was when oil temp was >90 degrees. So that's where I'm under as to why it was still pluming out the back when pushed in turbo.

 

On 04/08/2019 at 20:28, flybynite said:

Smoke from the usual culprits in the turbo usually happens on the over-run or just as you come off the throttle, however it can fail in ways to smoke on boost.

 

Turbo is easy enough to check for play and backlash. Compression test will check for a leak from the head.

 

As above, very likely it is steam if you are only doing short runs. Does it do this when fully warmed up? 

Thanks for the explanation - it's beyond my scope to be able to diagnose, but I agree it is likely steam. Is this more of an issue with those cars that do a lot of short runs (as mine does, not using turbo much at all)? My test run above was when the car was fully warmed up, and that's where I'm questioning the steam/smoke.

 

13 hours ago, tunedude said:

Have you access to a diagnostic tool justin case there's an error code stored. It'll give you more of an indication as to what the problem is.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not privy to the tools to diagnose any problems, but the car itself issues no warning lights or problems in the OneApp through CarPlay.

 

3 hours ago, Gti Jazz Blue said:

My vRS does this if you boot it after a number of short trips - consensus at the time was that it was condensation from moisture in the exhaust, doesn't do it a lot - just under certain circumstances when giving it the beans joining a motorway.

 

No other adverse symptoms on mine, no oil use, coolant use or signs of anything left on the tailgate or exhaust tips.

Now that's my answer.

I assumed as much since there was no indication that the car had a problem (no power loss, no noises, no warning lights), but I wanted to confirm that. Yes, my vRS does almost exclusively short trips of <10km, but frequently (2-3 times a day) and it was only that test drive (when I booted it very briefly on 2nd gear) that I noticed the white smoking misting up the back of the car only whilst pushing it. The rest of the time, it is the standard clear exhaust.

 

Thank you for all of your answers.

 

[Kenai]

Even a warmed up car (in terms of oil temp) will throw loads of steam out of the exhaust if the exhaust itself has a lot of moisture in it and hasn't got very warm yet due to gentle driving. 

[Ootohere]

@SkodaAsh

What ambient temp is it that you start the car from cold in, and how many km do you drive the car before getting an indicated oil temp of 80-90*oC.

What octane of fuel do you use?

 

If you the coolant is not dropping and you are not burning oil then it is condensation / H20.  Your firing it out the exhaust.

Maybe don't drive so easy ozzy until oil up to temp, just normal. You can use the turbo, unless maybe you are in a really cold environment.

Just not full laldy.

[Saints92]

Mines done this, intermittently, and then started affecting the running of the car.

 

Cylinder 1 spark plug had burned its tip off. Replaced that and the smoke has vanished. Still not figured out exactly why as it's not repeated the issue yet, but hoping it was just an old spark plug that couldn't cope with a remap.

[FlyingGecko]

You can't really tell when the turbo is being "used", it isn't on/off. The turbo is always turning to a greater or lesser degree and providing boost the same way, even at low speeds. These days turbo lag is not really a thing.  (The nature of the internal combustion engine means that it can never supply instantaneous power, turbo or not, only an electric motor comes close to that.)

 

That said, I can't see anyone's mentioned the possibility of the turbo itself failing. White smoke can (and did, as my old Saab showed) be a symptom of turbo failure and unless you're really accelerating hard/travelling fast reduced power might not be noticeable. 

I'd sooner risk my garage laughing at me if it really is just condensation - though by the time the engine's warmed up fully that should have disappeared - rather than find eventual complete failure resulting in an engine stripdown.

 

There are so many possible causes, such as Saints92's spark plug, that you really should consult the professionals.

[Gti Jazz Blue]

1 hour ago, FlyingGecko said:

You can't really tell when the turbo is being "used", it isn't on/off. The turbo is always turning to a greater or lesser degree and providing boost the same way, even at low speeds. These days turbo lag is not really a thing.  (The nature of the internal combustion engine means that it can never supply instantaneous power, turbo or not, only an electric motor comes close to that.)

 

That said, I can't see anyone's mentioned the possibility of the turbo itself failing. White smoke can (and did, as my old Saab showed) be a symptom of turbo failure and unless you're really accelerating hard/travelling fast reduced power might not be noticeable. 

I'd sooner risk my garage laughing at me if it really is just condensation - though by the time the engine's warmed up fully that should have disappeared - rather than find eventual complete failure resulting in an engine stripdown.

 

There are so many possible causes, such as Saints92's spark plug, that you really should consult the professionals.

I would say the continuous white smoke under load would indicate a Turbo issue, once I've cleared the white smoke (condensation) on mine it is gone for that journey, I've not noticed it now that we are in warmer conditions.

[FlyingGecko]

22 minutes ago, Gti Jazz Blue said:

I would say the continuous white smoke under load would indicate a Turbo issue, once I've cleared the white smoke (condensation) on mine it is gone for that journey, I've not noticed it now that we are in warmer conditions.

 

 

Just to clarify, if the turbo's going pear shaped, the smoke won't necessarily be continuous and/or under load.  I speak from expensive experience...

 

Doesn't mean it IS the turbo though, but in my case it was. Smoke was sporadic and in varying conditions. I still suggest our Queensland friend gets it all checked out though, if only for peace of mind.

[SkodaAsh]

On 05/08/2019 at 21:42, Roottootemoot said:

@SkodaAsh

What ambient temp is it that you start the car from cold in, and how many km do you drive the car before getting an indicated oil temp of 80-90*oC.

What octane of fuel do you use?

 

If you the coolant is not dropping and you are not burning oil then it is condensation / H20.  Your firing it out the exhaust.

Maybe don't drive so easy ozzy until oil up to temp, just normal. You can use the turbo, unless maybe you are in a really cold environment.

Just not full laldy.

It’s currently winter here, and it takes 10minutes of normal driving to get to 90deg. But what’s normal compared to “easy”? And does that affect the longevity of the turbo? It’s often 4 degrees ambient temperature here in the mornings. 

i always use 98 octane fuel. 

Coolant doesn’t drop. Oil is not being consumed as yet. 

[SkodaAsh]

On 08/08/2019 at 21:09, FlyingGecko said:

 

 

Just to clarify, if the turbo's going pear shaped, the smoke won't necessarily be continuous and/or under load.  I speak from expensive experience...

 

Doesn't mean it IS the turbo though, but in my case it was. Smoke was sporadic and in varying conditions. I still suggest our Queensland friend gets it all checked out though, if only for peace of mind.

In my case, the “white” smoke, which is probably moisture, because it left a mist on the back window, was only seen under load. This was on a cold morning soon after the car got to 90 degrees oil temp. 

 

Nothing so far far indicates there is a mechanical problem. Would any warnings show up on the car notification system if there was ?