Q: White smoke from engine

asked by on December 09, 2016

Hi I have white smoke that comes from the engine when I stop my car, it has a funny smell too. Kinda like burnt and sweet at the same time. Also when I drive it seems like the engine is a little louder then usually from the start,like its trying to hard to get going......

My car has 1250000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

You may have an internal engine problem, such as a head gasket leaking coolant into a cylinder. If white smoke is blowing out from the exhaust during first 3 minutes of a cold start up in morning and has a sweet smell, stop driving it immediately. It is likely you have a blown head gasket or a cracked/warped head. Serious engine damage can occur if you continue to drive. Lots of white exhaust smoke on start up is usually a sign of a head gasket problem. If the leak is very small, or leaking into adjacent cylinders, there may not be much smoke upon starting up, and yet still enough coolant may be pulled into the combustion chamber(s) to produce a strong sweetish exhaust smell. Generally, over the long run, this particular problem will continue to produce more engine problems. I would recommend having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle.

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