Audi A3 2.0 8P 2005 smoke /vapour

[Doughnut lord]

Hey guys 

Hope everyone is good, I’m new to the forum as only having owned an Audi a year or so. I’ve had an  2001 s3 and recently bought the A3.

so I have a 2005 A3, 2.0 8p with 87k miles. 

I seem to have this problem when idl and pulling off from lights, I get smoke from my exhaust , it’s not cloudy white smoke , more like if someone was vaping behind my car 🤣

coolant levels fine

oil level fine

engine sits at 850/900 idl

when warmed up temp is 90 and no more ,

 

no lag or loss of performance , it’s just this Smokey problem I seem to have .I don’t know if it’s cold or it’s just cold outside . We haven’t had any warm weather for me to tell any difference lol 

 

has anyone encounter the same problem ? Thank you 

 

[Magnet]

Hello Will,

Thanks for being in touch.

Can we take it this is a diesel? If so, any smell of diesel? 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Doughnut lord]

Hey dude

 

thanks for replying, no no it’s petrol ⛽️ 

[cliffcoggin]

Is the smoke white/grey or blue? Does it get worse during hard acceleration? Is there a thick coat of soot on the spark plugs?

[Doughnut lord]

18 hours ago, cliffcoggin said:

Is the smoke white/grey or blue? Does it get worse during hard acceleration? Is there a thick coat of soot on the spark plugs?

I haven’t checked the plugs , I’ll check them today , no no I wouldn’t say it’s any of those colours , the only way I can describe it as vape smoke 💨 , I’ll try and get a video 

[Doughnut lord]

So I just went out and started the car and revved it and nothing lol typical , could it be it’s still warm from when I drove to work this morning? I just don’t understand how the garage said it’s normal lol 

[Magnet]

Hello Will,

It’s possible (likely?) that the non-start is not associated with the vapour from the exhaust, but of course you now first have to establish why it’s not starting, and it would seem to me that you are first going to need some local hands-on assistance to diagnose why. Pretty impossible from this forum. 
Back to the vapour:-  any continuous white smoke would lead you to consider whether coolant is entering a cylinder/s and being burnt off and emitted with the exhaust. For this to be the case, the car would have to consume some coolant, so no (in caps) coolant loss would eliminate that possibility, and point to straightforward condensation as being the issue. In summary, it is vitally important here to be certain that the car isn’t consuming any (in caps) coolant, and to do that, you would need to ensure the coolant level when cold - first thing in the morning - is exactly (topped up) to a predetermined level - say the max. mark. Check again in a couple of days to assess where this level is. 
If you let us know how you get on with that Will, then we should be able to recommend the next test you will need to carryout. 
Of course, if the non-start is indeed diagnosed as being associated with the exhaust vapour issue then please let us know on that as well. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[cliffcoggin]

1 hour ago, Doughnut lord said:

I haven’t checked the plugs , I’ll check them today , no no I wouldn’t say it’s any of those colours , the only way I can describe it as vape smoke 💨 , I’ll try and get a video 

If you can see the smoke it must have a colour. Describe it.

[cliffcoggin]

1 hour ago, Doughnut lord said:

So I just went out and started the car and revved it and nothing lol typical , could it be it’s still warm from when I drove to work this morning? I just don’t understand how the garage said it’s normal lol 

Revving the engine whilst parked outside your house is not the same as accelerating hard. Take it to a suitable road where you can accelerate with your foot to the floor for at least five seconds, and report the smoke appearance.

You have not mentioned any garage until now. Tell us more.

[Doughnut lord]

Hey guys I really appreciate the replies 

I’ll try and answer them all in one message , so I took it to my garage last Saturday as I was concerned about the smoke etc he checked everything , he said I have a very small oil leak, which I’m booked in for , to sort that out and an oil change , I don’t know if that could be causing it . But with the smoke is wasn’t bothered at all, he just said it’s cold outside that’s why you can see it . 
it’s really hard to describe , it’s not thick white smoke , it’s almost transparent like when someone is vaping and you see the vape dissolve into the air, it’s just first thing in the mornings I notice it , I’m going to check when I leave work today at 2:30 , if it does it I’ll take a video .

coolent doesn’t appear to be going down, everything is as it should be engine wise , it’s very strange , as I’m not getting any other issues , temp rising , high revs on idl etc the car drives superb still and performs well. 
 

i will be back with a video soon , thanks for all the help so far guys 🙂 

[Doughnut lord]

[Doughnut lord]

Video uploaded guys 

[Magnet]

Hello Will,

Short video competition! 
From the little I saw, it seems typical of condensation due to moisture condensing in a warm exhaust and being pushed out on start up. 
Is this car running again now then?

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Doughnut lord]

3 minutes ago, Magnet said:

Hello Will,

Short video competition! 
From the little I saw, it seems typical of condensation due to moisture condensing in a warm exhaust and being pushed out on start up. 
Is this car running again now then?

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Car always started dude , never fails to start , I must of messed a message up and oh really ? 

[Magnet]

Sorry Will, ‘..........revved it and nothing....’ interpreted as -doesn’t rev! 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. As said - Accurately (in caps) check the coolant level. ‘Seems not to be losing coolant’ isn’t enough in my book. Be thorough and check to a level (after standing for a few hours) and report back. Sorry to be pedantic Will, but don’t like seems! 

[Magnet]

Sorry Will, ‘..........revved it and nothing....’ interpreted as -doesn’t rev! 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. As said - Accurately (in caps) check the coolant level. ‘Seems not to be losing coolant’ isn’t enough in my book. Be thorough and check to a level (after standing for a few hours) and report back. Sorry to be pedantic Will, but don’t like seems! 

[cliffcoggin]

Well I could see no picture in the video, there was only a faint sound; and telling me the smoke looks like vaping means nothing to me. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, such as coolant loss, sooty plugs, blue colour in the smoke, or a road test, I would go with the garage assessment of steam condensing in cold air. (Water is a product of the combustion process.)

Sorry Will, but you have not convinced there is anything wrong. Can you supply any other information?