Different Types Of Car Smoke - What Do They Indicate?

When your car emits dense coloured smoke, it denotes a warning signal that the time to take your car to the service centre has arrived. The emission of coloured smoke happens due to malfunctioning of engine or intrusion of more than required particles, which causes improper combustion of fuel in the engine. It is also worth noting that different types of car smoke indicate a specific kind of issue with the vehicle.

Now, the smoke emitted from the exhaust pipe of your car can be of different colours, with each colour of smoke denoting different root cause behind it. Following are different types of smokes which are emitted by the car in case of malfunctioning:-
1. Black smoke  It is the least worrisome of all the kinds of smokes mentioned here, but anyways is harmful to your cars engine. It is usually emitted as a result of the fact that the engine is burning out too much fuel, i.e., a very rich amount of fuel in the air-fuel mixture. In such cases, there is usually a problem with the fuel injectors, engine manifold or the air filter.
2. Grey smoke  This happens due to a multiple of reasons happening under the hood of your car, such as burning of transmission fluid, or a faulty turbocharger, the latter of which is a very common reason with diesel engines emitting grey smoke. In such cases, the exhaust pipe usually emits grey coloured smoke which has a burning smell to it.

Read Also: Reasons Behind Emission Of Black Smoke From The Exhaust Pipe Of Car

3.White smoke  This is one of the most common kinds of smoke witnessed from those cars which are ill-maintained, the reasons behind which are lack of engine oil, damaged engine gasket or broken engine block or cylinder. The root cause behind this is the faster wear and tear of engine components due to improper lubrication, which in turns result in overheating and emission of white smoke.
4. Blue smoke  When your car emits blue smoke from its exhaust pipe, chances are that there is a possible leakage of engine oil within the engine. This leakage usually happens as a result of damages caused to cylinder walls, piston rings or valve seals. If the smoke emerges during acceleration, the reason is most possibly related to the cylinder head, and during deceleration, it is due to damaged piston rings.

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