Frank996

I was going to the supermarket this evening and started up the car as always by making sure the oil level was fine etc, and upon firing the engine tons of white smoke came out in one big burst. I switched off the engine after maybe 5 seconds (nothing sounded unusual, and the RPMs were as normal) and could smell the exhaust smelling exactly as, erh, exhaust and nothing unusual except for that is was white (like in not blue or grey) in the direction of water vapour like in appearance (only it was not).

So, I started it up again to see where exactly the smoke came from, and was told (someone was looking for me) that there was a little more from the left pipe (when looking in the car's direction from behind) and then it disappeared. Started to drive and only a tiny white smoke came out but nothing after I'd say 2 min. Parked the car at the supermarket, was nervous as hell, came back after 30 min, fired the car up again, and no smoke this time. It started without any problems no error indications, or unusual sounds and everything was back to "normal".

Came back home and looked at the floor where the car is parked, and there was no indications of oil or water dripping. Opened the engine hood and could not see or smell anything unusual other than (call me crazy if you will) that lovely Porsche engine smell, that only Porsche has...

I drive the car about once a week and it stands still for a min of 5 days in a row (or at least for long enough for the wireless locking system to switch off).

What could have caused this and is this something to worry about or is this something that happens once in a while? Is it some self cleaning thing?

brianpizzuti

I have an 03 Carrera. My car will do this on occasion as well. The longer it sits the more it will emit white smoke.

Frank996

Thanks brianpizzuti... brings my heart to rest

DTMiller

There are a ton of threads on this. I would recommend doing a search and reading some of the threads which have a ton of helpful tips. One possible outcome is that nothing is wrong and that you have nothing to worry about. That's probably the most likely outcome.

Another is that the AOS is starting to fail. With the engine running, remove the oil filler cap and see if the engine stalls or runs ragged. Is it difficult/impossible to remove the cap in the first place? Those are signs of something you need to look into. Etc. etc. etc.

5CHN3LL

What's "a ton"?

Enough to make a car-sized cloud, or enough to shut down the interstate? An occasional big puff is common and probably nothing. Closing down the freeway with your own smokescreen is definitely something different and worthy of repair.

Frank996

Yeah ok, a ton was maybe a bit exagerated, but it just felt like there was more than it probably was as I went into a state of "panics". Yes about half a car size I'd say...

Btw what's an AOS?

And thanks for taking your time with your input. Highly apreciated as always...

5CHN3LL

The AOS is Porsche's $200 solution to a $1 problem...

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti..._Separator.htm

rysagreg

I have had that same thing every once in a while. I tend to keep my oil level around half or just below half and it pretty much eliminated this. I find when it is on the upper half closer to full (max) level, is when I see a little smoke on start up. Something about the oil seeping through the cylinders and it burns through the exhaust, especially when full and your riding the car hard and fast around corners. Last time I unscrewed the oil filter canister carefully and just emptied what was in there (1 cup maybe) and that was enough to stop the smoke. I havent seen smoke on start up since....maybe once or twice months ago.

sjfehr

A small cloud of white smoke is normal when first starting your car up if you turned it off while still cold- it's just a tiny bit of oil that seeped past the piston rings the last time you turned it off, and nothing to worry about. It's usually only noticible when you turn the engine off cold, because that's when the seal between the pistons and block is the loosest (heat expansion and all).

It's easily reproducible- wait until you car car cools down, turn it on, and turn it right back off. Come back a couple hours later and start it up, and you'll get a puff of smoke every time. That *should* be it, though- if more smoke keeps coming out, or if it smokes on startup even when put away hot... something else is amiss. Chances are that you'll get a CEL to track it down if that happens, though.

Frank996

Thanks for all your extremely detailed answers and differnt views on the issue. I'm learning as I move along so this is very valuable info...

Will take my beloved car out for a spin today and see what happens when I fire her up.

Thanks again for taking your time answering a novice :-)

Frank996

OK, started the car up again this morning, and to begin with (the first few seconds) it all seemed fine, but then the white smoke came out again but much lmuch ess than yesterday. Let the engine run for a little and there was no vacuum holding the oil cap back so stopped the engine again.

Instead of speculating in this and that, I have booked an appointment with Porsche in Bern and will drive it up on next Saturday and just leave the car in the basement until then. The drive is less than 20 min away (36 km) and it seem like it's only at startup it's not as expected. Will also get the indicator module replaced while they have it so need to work overtime again this month ;-)

I will get back with their verdict and share for the record.

Cheerio

DTMiller

That's normal.

Frank996

I gather you mean that the AOS is ok then or that the extra white exhaust came as expected?

DTMiller

Being able to remove the oil filler cap is normal. Not being able to is a sign of a problem.

I will repeat my advice from my first post in this thread, do a search for white smoke on start up in this forum. You will find a ton of helpful posts from people who know a lot more than I do about these cars. You can then decide what to do based on your circumstances.

rysagreg

Oil level is to high. White smoke is the sign. I'll await your verdict from the dealership.