Exhaust smoke

D

DMC63

Active member
 London
I have the M54 engine. My friend was driving behind me in cold weather in the dark and said there was a lot of smoke coming out of the car. I think it was the hot exhaust gases hitting the cold air. If the car is idling there's a steam that quickly disappears. When I put my boot down there's no sign of smoke from the back. He's made me paranoid now :| does anyone else have visible steam or smoke while idling? Also my bonnet gets real hot an in the rain the water turns to steam on the bonnet..at first I thought it was coming from under the bonnet but it's not. is this normal ?
 
If it's white and disappears then It's just steam caused by liquid in the exhaust. If it's darker and doesn't disappear quickly then you many have an issue, but I get lots of white steam from the exhaust in the cold
 
Hi, it's normal for the bonnet to steam, it's single skinned with no insulation underneath so gets hot-this time of year exhaust gasses are steamy as well so don't worry :thumbsup:
Rob
 
All my bimmers have produced voluminous buckets of steam/condensation in the cold. No biggy.
But thebonnet of my zed was steaming too in the rain the other day and i thought my pesky cam cover gasket problem had returned. Popped the hood in a line of stationary traffic to investigate much to the chagrin of some impatient and irate Dutch commuters but couldnt see anything, so assumed it was also steam from rainwater on the bonnet and carried on...
:driving:
 
Most people drive tiny engines cars that produce very little steam in cold driving therefore when they see large engined cars pluming steam hey think it's on fire. Until MOT picks up heightened emissions I would pay no attention, much more in life to worry about.
 
I have experienced the same steam from the exhaust since owning the car and had the same worries. Looks like it may be nothing to worry about after all. Phew ! :)
 
Love sitting in traffic with a cold engine in winter. The whole place fills with steam from my exhaust :lol:

Nothing to worry about, as said. I've had my Z4 for 4 years and it's always done that. The engine takes a while to warm up.

Also, the steam off the bonnet is very cool. Usually spotted when raining and the engines is up to temp.
 
I was thinking the exact same thing sitting in traffic in the dark last night, lots of smoke, it was white so I wasn't too concerned. But yeah it seems to produce a lot.

It's not really steam flying out the back it's money, my 1.6 cooper s used to read 7mpg when sitting idling in traffic I dread to think what the 3.0 gets
 
Cornwall1888 said:
It's not really steam flying out the back it's money, my 1.6 cooper s used to read 7mpg when sitting idling in traffic I dread to think what the 3.0 gets
Click to expand...
0mpg as should the lying Mini have said too! :lol:
 
Thanks everyone for all the replies, this has settled my beating heart and paranoid head somewhat...I've taken a vid of the exhaust this eve in the dark and cold, I'm going to take another tmrw morning in the light and cold and I'll pop them up for comment. I'm guessing that it's nothing to worry about. The engine never misses a beat, purrrrs, and runs as smooth as a Swiss/German watch. :oops:
It's reassuring to read that you've all experienced the same. :thumbsup:
 
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