Driving and car upkeep both depend heavily on colour. When it comes to driving, you are aware that green denotes “go”, yellow “slow down” or “be careful,” and red “stop.” Your dashboard lights are often colour coded, similar to traffic lights, so you can evaluate their level of importance, as we explained in one of our more recent posts. So, what does the exhaust’s colour indicate about your car?
Different things might be indicated by changing exhaust colours. It can be nothing, or it might be an indication that there is a problem with your car that needs to be looked at.
The four various exhaust colour options and what they can indicate for your car are shown below.
Exhaust Smoke That Is Pale or Thin White
When your car’s exhaust is thin or light in colour, it is deemed typical. Typically, all of this smoke is merely water vapour. When you first start your car, especially on chilly days, you will sense it. Condensation naturally gathers in the exhaust system, which is the cause of this type of exhaust. In all automobiles with gasoline engines, this exhaust is typical.
Bluish-Gray exhaust smoke
It is not regarded normal for your car to be emitting blue or grey exhaust smoke. Typically, this kind of exhaust signals an oil leak and oil combustion in the engine.
A number of problems, including worn cylinder walls, leaking valve seals, and broken piston rings, might result in an oil leak. When there is blue smoke during acceleration, the piston rings are most likely the issue. The blue smoke may be a sign that the cylinder head valve guides are broken if it occurs during deceleration. Your car has to be sent to a specialist in either scenario. When you bring your car in for servicing, make a note of the blue smoke you notice and tell our technician about it so they can diagnose your car.
A dark exhaust hazes
Black exhaust smoke coming from your car is not seen as usual. When it is, it usually means your car is using too much gasoline. This might be brought on by a number of issues, including a blocked manifold, a clogged air filter, and a broken fuel injection system, to name a few. Bring your car to Meridian Automotive if the exhaust smoke is black so that one of our skilled experts can determine why your car is using more gasoline than usual.
A persistent, heavy white or grey exhaust smoke
If your car is emitting a steady stream of thick exhaust smoke that is white or grey in colour, this is abnormal and most likely indicates that your head gasket is leaking.
The coolant would eventually wind up being heated in the combustion chambers and blasted out the exhaust once the engine started, in the case of continuous, thick white or grey exhaust smoke. This might easily result in an overheated engine throughout the summer. A fractured cylinder head or block, both of which are major issues that require immediate attention, is another potential for this type of exhaust to originate from your car. If you ignore the persistent, heavy white/Gray exhaust smoke coming from your car, it might cause extremely expensive damage.
Do not hesitate to contact the professionals at Smart Mechanics, Car Servicing in Bishops Stortford if you have observed a colour change in the exhaust of your car. You can rely on us for all of your vehicle repair requirements. We offer comprehensive vehicle repair for the majority of automobiles.