Seeing Exhaust in Your Rearview Mirror Is a Bad Sign
You’re driving along and you glance in your rearview mirror. You see a ton of exhaust reflected. You pull over and check to see if the exhaust is flowing out of your car’s tailpipe. It is. Should you keep driving your automobile? Total Auto Care recommends that you cut the engine and call for a tow truck. A ton of exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe is a sign that the engine is hemorrhaging fluid. Unfortunately, this can make driving your automobile dangerous and can also cause damage to the engine. Let’s talk more about excessive exhaust, its causes, and its dangers.
Black
Let’s assume for the moment that the exhaust that you see is the color black. The engine produces black exhaust when it is burning excessive amounts of fuel. Naturally, this can make driving your automobile dangerous because the fuel could ignite in the engine. To avoid the risk of an engine fire, stop driving your automobile and cut the engine immediately. Again, have the vehicle towed to our shop so we can determine why you’ve got an excess fuel burn going on inside the engine.
Blue
Continuing with our example, if the exhaust that you see is blue, your engine is hemorrhaging motor oil. While motor oil is not as flammable as fuel is, if you continue to drive your vehicle, you could damage the engine beyond repair. If the oil leak is bad enough to cause blue exhaust, it’s a safe bet that you have barely any oil circulating through the engine. You may not know this but an engine that runs without motor oil can seize up in fewer than 30 minutes. You don’t want to cause unnecessary engine damage. Call for a tow truck if the tailpipe is releasing a ton of blue exhaust.
White
Finally, assuming for the moment that the color of the exhaust is white, this is a sign that the engine is burning away the coolant. Generally, this happens when you have blown the head gasket. The coolant is pressurized under the gasket and it sprays throughout the engine where it is burned away. Naturally, as the coolant sprays out of the cooling system, the engine will start to overheat. Consequently, it is not recommended that you continue to drive your vehicle if you see white exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe. If the engine gets too hot, driving it will cause further damage.Total Auto Care in North Branch, MN, is here for all of your automotive service and repair needs, so give us a call today to set up a service appointment for your vehicle.