Why Does the Color of My Car’s Exhaust Matter?

It isn’t just the color of your exhaust that matters; it’s also how much exhaust you see. You really shouldn’t see exhaust coming out of your tailpipe. You might see a little bit of steam on a cold morning, but exhaust smoke pouring out of your tailpipe is a bad sign, even if you drive a diesel engine. Total Auto Care explains below what the different colors of vehicle exhaust mean, and, as you can see if you keep reading, they mean that there is a serious problem with your automobile’s engine.

Black

A diesel engine will release a puff of black exhaust when you step on the accelerator in some cases; a gasoline engine won’t release anything that you can see. If your diesel or gasoline automobile is releasing a ton of black exhaust, there is a fuel leak somewhere in the engine and the excess fuel is being burned away. This could also be a sign of a problem with your engine control module, the mass airflow sensor, or the oxygen sensor. If any of these parts are failing, you may not have a fuel leak, but, rather, too much gas or diesel fuel in the combustion chamber that is causing the black exhaust.

Blue

Excess blue exhaust that is coming out of the tailpipe is usually a sign of serious engine damage. When motor oil burns, it releases blue smoke. Blue exhaust pouring out of the tailpipe could mean that the head gasket between the cylinder block and the engine block has cracked. Consequently, your combustion chamber isn’t only burning air and fuel inside of it like it is supposed to; motor oil is also leaking into the combustion chamber through the cracked head gasket and is being burned. An engine with burning motor oil can be dead in less than 30 minutes if the leak is severe enough.

White

If you see white exhaust flowing out of your tailpipe you’ll likely also see white smoke pouring out from underneath the hood. This is also an indication that you have blown the head gasket and you have engine coolant leaking into the combustion chamber. As the coolant makes contact with hot engine parts, it burns away and creates white smoke. If you keep driving your automobile in this condition, it will overheat and damage other parts. You may even wind up with a cracked engine block.Total Auto Care in North Branch, MN, can get to the bottom of your vehicle’s exhaust problems. Call us today to schedule an appointment.