Start Up Smoke?

[JtathBSC400]

I noticed today that when I started up my car that it smokes for a few seconds. Is this a common problem? I had my girlfriend drive behind me and watch to see if it smokes when I am driving and she said that it doesnt. I floored it a few times and she said that it never smoked. Is it ok to have some smoke come out of the pipes on start up?

[CLightning]

I noticed today that when I started up my car that it smokes for a few seconds.  Is this a common problem?  I had my girlfriend drive behind me and watch to see if it smokes when I am driving and she said that it doesnt.  I floored it a few times and she said that it never smoked.  Is it ok to have some smoke come out of the pipes on start up?

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I'm no automotive expert but i do know that if it's only on startup for a few seconds, then it's okay. Most likely it's just trapped water vaporizing, one of the main products an engine makes besides carbon monoxide. Same thing happens to me every morning.

[JtathBSC400]

I wish thats all it is, but its blue smoke... oil. I guess that its probably the valve guides but im not sure. Is this ok or am I going to have to replace the motor soon? The car only has 112k on it.

[CLightning]

I wish thats all it is, but its blue smoke... oil.  I guess that its probably the valve guides but im not sure.  Is this ok or am I going to have to replace the motor soon?  The car only has 112k on it.

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I don't know the answer to your problem but i'm just curious to know how much oil, if any, does your engine consume? My sc300 with 120,xxx miles consumes about 1 quart every 1000 to 1200 miles.

[lexusman400]

This problem is caused by valve seals, when the car is sitting if oil doesn't drain before the valve seals cool down and contract, the it allow a minute amount of oil to enter the cylinder, when you start the car it combust the oil that entered the cylinder. This should be worse as the oil becomes dirty. If the car sit for a long period is it worse than only sitting over night?

[JtathBSC400]

What happened is I drove the car for a little while and parked it. I just picked it up from the dealer who was doing a used car inspection on it because I just bought it. I drove the car home and I needed to drive to the store a bout two hours later and I started it up and a bunch of blue smoke came out the tail pipes. It looked like it stopped after a few second, but *&*@@#:( I didnt want to see that coming from my car! I dont know how much it consumes because I just bought it and the dealer changed the oil while they had it. Will switching to a full synthetic help this problem or will it make it worse?

[CLightning]

What happened is I drove the car for a little while and parked it. I just picked it up from the dealer who was doing a used car inspection on it because I just bought it.  I drove the car home and I needed to drive to the store a bout two hours later and I started it up and a bunch of blue smoke came out the tail pipes.  It looked like it stopped after a few second, but *&*@@#:( I didnt want to see that coming from my car!  I dont know how much it consumes because I just bought it and the dealer changed the oil while they had it.  Will switching to a full synthetic help this problem or will it make it worse?

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When I switched to synthetic, oil consumption got worse. I guess full synthetics are more thinner when comparing the same weight of dino oil. Dunno.

[APACHE31405]

Hello, I just drove my lexus from houston tx. to savannah ga. 17 hours and 1200 miles. I purchased it from houston tx and when i bought it, it smoked at start up every time. i was not worried. the oil they had in it before i dont know what it was but i changed it to mobile 1 full synthetic 0w20 and mobile 1 oil filter. when i got home today i cranked it about 4-5 times and all the times i let it sit for a while and no smoke from the tail pipes at all. What has happened when a car sits for a while the valve guide seals shrink which causes the oil to seep past the seals after shut off. whick causes the infamous white puff of smoke at start up. The car runs better than it did when i bought it, it quieter and no white smoke at start up. oh i forgot, when i first bought it i used a can of restore for the 8 cyl. motors for 500 miles before switching to mobile one. try this and i am sure this will help you. keep me posted

[jzz30]

When I switched to synthetic, oil consumption got worse. I guess full synthetics are more thinner when comparing the same weight of dino oil. Dunno.

yea switching to synthetics late in mileage seems to cause leaks in seals sometimes.