An owner, eight months into owning the car, saw white "smoke" from the exhaust on start-up every so often. It always cleared once the engine was up to temperature. One morning there was more than usual, with a lot of water coming out of the exhaust. When warm there was no smoke or water. The car was not using coolant or oil and ran well. He worried about a head gasket, valve stem seals or a failing turbo, which he had read can cause smoke.
What the replies said
- All the replies said it was most likely condensation in the exhaust, and not to worry.
- One owner used to get a lot of it, with water dripping out of the tailpipe. It was worst on short runs on a cold day.
- The owner asked whether there would be less in warm weather. Nobody answered that directly. In the end he drove the car about 250 miles each way over two days, found it perfect, and decided it was just more condensation than usual.
What points to condensation in this thread: the vapour only appears on a cold start, it goes once the engine is warm, there is no coolant or oil loss, and the car runs well. That is one owner's experience and his replies, not a diagnostic procedure. Smoke that continues when warm, or a falling coolant or oil level, is a different matter.
Help wanted
We don't have a reliable way to tell condensation from a head gasket or oil-burning fault by looking at the exhaust. If you have a test you trust, please tell us what it was.