Too much White Smoke from Exhaust Silencer

[Mat]

Hi,

I have recently bought this A4 SE Technik Petrol Manual from Authorised Audi dealer; In few days, I have realised that amount smoke coming out of exhaust silencer isn't normal or too much. I wouldn't expect this from a 3-year-old car.

I took the car to nearby Audi service centre, they had a look and they said it is normal.Below is their advisory about the issue

Ran off, No faults. Checked for TPI  none found. "Smoke" is water vapour being produced. no excess amount of soot is exhausted. unable to fault this as a characteristic of engine.

But, If I compare mine with other cars with same external temperature, I still think there could be something wrong with the car.  Sought the help of Audi roadside Assitance for a different issue, And the engineer who had a look at the smoke mentioned that 'It is vapour, but Ideally wouldn't expect this much as it should be controlled by Catalytic converter ".

I'm not sure what I should do next, as next Audi service centre may again say the same thing that it is not an issue. 

Any help would be appreciated.

Best Regards,

Mat

'

 

[Steve Q]

Welcome to the forum Mat, you'll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch :) 

It's off that the car is not flagging up any fault codes as id argue bit isn't normal. Has it been happening more lately in this cold weather? If it is happening in the warm then questions do need to be asked. 

However to be on the safe side you could always get a compression test carried out. I'd also watch your oil level as the petrol engines have been known to burn oil. Often the repair that is required is new pistons etc! This is a worst case scenario though. 

Cheers

Steve

[niedzial1983]

I think is the cold weather and vapur . Does it smoke white less when the engine is up to temperature ?

[Magnet]

Hello Mat,

It's always wise to be concerned, and then to clear or confirm those concerns.

If it were mine, this is what i would do:-

Check the coolant level with the engine cold and top up to the max. mark. If it's only about 1/2in. down it would be fine to top it up to the mark with water. If it happens to be above the max when cold then put a mark where it is. Worth just checking the oil level when you are at it.

Take the car on a run of at least 10 miles- ideally on a dry day. The "at least 10mls" bit is essential. 

At the end of this run, get an assistant to rev. the car to 2000rpm and hold those revs. for about 3 minutes. 

During this time you stand at the back of the car and look for any smoke from the exhaust. If things are not as they should be, you might see white smoke which might just come in bursts, also look for any blue or black smoke if you don't have white smoke. If there isn't any significant smoke, then you can stop worrying. If there is, video it and the rev. counter and temperature gauge.

Smoke or no smoke, run the car for a few days and recheck the coolant level when cold. It should be still at the same level. If it's not, measure how much you have to add and note the mileage covered since you last topped it up.  

Let us know how you get on Mat.

Kind regards, Gareth.