Q: Car smoking and smelling

asked by on February 17, 2016

My car will start to smoke and have a weird smell after I start driving it for a while.

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If the smoke coming from the tailpipe is white and has a sort of sweet smell, it is coolant getting into the exhaust system, due to one of the engine head gaskets being blown, and leaking coolant into one of the engine cylinders. All spark plugs should be removed and inspected to see if coolant is getting a plug wet. A pressure test will reveal any leaks. A combustion leakage check can be done to see which cylinder is the cause. I recommend having a mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, run a diagnostic on the smoke coming from your car, and recommend the best path to repair.

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