Smoking exhaust !!
 

new here and been reading up that it's normal for the Boxster to give off some smoke during startup. But the other day on the highway, I kind of got on the car pretty hard and when I looked back there was smoke continuously pouring out the exhaust. The engine light came on so I backed off cruising about 50. After awhile it went away. This has happened about 3x now ( whenever I accelerate hard or floor it ) Anyone know what this could be ? Is the car burning oil ? Thanks. :cheers:

Check the oil level. But not on the digital gauge, measure it through the dip stick. I dont know much about this but someone who does will need this information...

What model/year?
Milage?
What does it smell like?
Black/white smoke?

Do a compression test. If the smoke is bluish, and comes in when the engine is under load (heavy acceleration, deceleration by downshifting), you could have burnt up the piston rings. A compression test should be able to tell you which one if that is the case.

You need a shop visit. It is NOT abnormal to get some blackish smoke when you hammer the car at highway speeds. It is NOT normal to get a check engine light under these conditions. That is a troubling sign.

Hard to speculate on what is going on here. I once had a bad catalytic converter give me the exact same symptoms you describe but that could be total coincidence.

Just curious - black smoke on hard acceleration could be unburned fuel (seems unlikely with hi-tech engine management) or accumulated carbon somewhere along the line. Anybody have thoughts on what the source of the smoke is?

Impossible to diagose as you would have to see the smoke and observe other issues. The service shop is where you belong with this issue.

Esp if engine light is coming on!

Thanks for everyones insight. The car is a 2000 Boxster S with 47,000 miles. It's white smoke that billows out of the exhaust, even at idle it smokes. But after awhile, say 2 minutes, it goes away. I'll call up a shop to have it looked at.

Based on what you just stated, I would be more concerned about the check engine light than the white smoke.

Keep us posted.

Good luck!

The check engine light also went away. It's just weird. I'm gonna get it checked out to be on the safe side. I just went to check my oil level and it's really high. I'm gonna drain some of it out and see what happens. :cheers:

Ok, is it WHITE, or bluish/gray? A lot of people see light colored smoke and just say it's white. When it is white, it's not smoke, it's steam/condensation. If it is white when it is coming out, then you need to check your coolant, which is usually what is burning off when you see the white smoke. If the coolant is milky, you could have a crack in your sleeves. If the smoke is bluish or grayish, then you are burning oil. This could be caused by burnt piston rings, chipped pistons, etc...

Bottom line, any smoke coming out of the tailpipe when your engine is under load is not good.