It often happens that smoke comes out of a car's exhaust. In most cases, it is water vapor, which is produced on cold days from the so-called condensation. But when the smoke is "real", it suggests damage to the engine and its main components and assemblies. We will briefly tell you what to check for and what the damage could be according to the color of the exhaust smoke in question.
White Smoke
The presence of white smoke from the exhaust system is most often associated with damage to the engine head gasket. When it does not seal well, coolant penetrates the pistons. This problem can become quite serious if timely measures are not taken. Check and replace the head gasket.
Blue smoke
Blue smoke is most often produced by burning engine oil. The reasons may be wear on the piston rings, which allow engine oil to penetrate the combustion chamber. Oil consumption increases, but this problem should not be ignored either. The solution is to replace the piston rings.
Black smoke
This type of smoke is produced by incomplete combustion of fuel, which can be caused by several things - poor fuel quality, airflow problems, faulty spark plugs or a malfunctioning ignition coil. This causes the fuel to burn inefficiently and requires checking the spark plugs, coils and fuel injectors.
Gray smoke
Gray smoke is a relatively rare phenomenon, but when it appears, the first thing you should check is whether the oil consumption has increased, whether there is a transmission fluid leak or whether the turbo (if your car has one) is working properly. The so-called PCV valve, which may be defective, should also be checked.