white smoke
 

Hi can anyone tell me why I get white smoke about 10 seconds after start up which lasts about 5 min , the car runs fine and oil and water levels appear to remain the same...

You didn't mention how many miles on your Boxster, so, white smoke can be the AOS starting to fail which is the most common with the Boxster. Your symptoms sounded a lot like mine before it completely failed. :cheers:

white smoke
 

Hi many thanks for your quick reply, the car is a 2003 tiptronic with 45000 miles the clock. Most owners seem to talk about blue smoke and have fitted a new oil seperator but no one seems to mention white smoke so hope your right fingers crossed John

Are you sure the white "smoke" is not water vapour - seeing that you have had some very cold weather in the UK?
If it is indeed smoke, that can also mean water vapour in the combustion chamber, usually from the cooling system - not a good sign.....
A quick check on the operation of your AOS - try romoving the oil filler cap while the engine is idling - if the cap is difficult to remove ie being held on by a vacuum, theres a good chance the AOS has gone west.

white smoke
 

took oil filler off while engine running and no vacume,the white smoke only comes after at least 10 to 15 seconds after start up then no sign of it once engine has warmed up! all very strange,may be I should renew oil seperator and see if this cures the problem..

fairly common attribute of our motor it seems and likely the number one occurrence that brings people to this forum, Welcome!

My 06 Boxster S has burnt oil smell, puff out white smoke, whinning with high speed, windscreen rattling, IMS may blow up anytime. And loving very minutes of it.

I guess it all normal.

It is normal for oil to puddle in the Flat Six and it can lead to that initial smoking issue.

When you smoke driving down the road doing 40mph, then it's the AOS.....or worse!

Some smoke at start up!? Uh oh, that's a sure sign your engine is about to 'plode.' The only known cure is to replace it with an LS1.


You know you've been here awhile when you've seen at least a 100 white smoke threads. :rolleyes:

white smoke
 

Why are some people telling me my engine is about to blow up! its just white smoke or steam which all goes away once the engine has warmed up,she does not burn oil and she dont use any water !! goes like a dream so please can someone give me a sensible answer please please !!!!

LOL, your engine is fine. Drive your car and enjoy it. All Boxsters puff alittle smoke at startup sometimes and it's been covered a billion times on here before.

hey!!
 

Its what brought me here...lol... :cheers:

And welcome John!!

John - don't worry about the comments from these mad Yanks - they're only kidding you. :p Theres been a lot of threads lately regarding the fragile nature of the M96 engine.
If you use the search function, re smoke on startup, you will have enough reading to last you a week.... though usually its blue oil smoke not white.
I would keep a close eye on the oil & water levels just to be sure there are no intermix problems and maybe change the oil - so you can see if the clean oil goes milky if is mixing with the coolant, though more often its the oil getting into the coolant.
Another observation is that if my car has sat around and had only shortish trips, the smoke on startup seems to be worse, but after a long fast run the smoking is reduced considerably.
Where abouts in Norfolk are you - I lived a few years in Lincolnshire, used to be good driving roads around there.

Ok, ok....here's the inside scoop about "The Smoke": If it smokes upon starting, you aren't driving it fast enough.

Seriously, my wife putts around in our P-car and it smokes, I drive it like I stole it, no smoke. :D

Mine smoked. I was advised it was an oil overfill. Drained the oil completely, replaced with 8.75 quarts, and no smoke yet (3 days since).

caught
 

mine smoking yesterday......she has been put on restriction in the garage for two weeks,lol!

"bad boxie!!!!no!!!" :D

mine smoked, but didn't inhale

another smoke victim
 

Hi guys, similar issue with my '98 2.5L, 110k. I know the smoke thing is 'old hat' but my exact symptoms might clarify things for someone (i hope!)...

the car has been fine for ages and after not driving it for a few weeks it produced a thick cloud of white smoke immediately after start-up and cleared 100% less than 5 seconds later, leaving perfectly clear, normal hot exhaust afterwards, as if nothing had happened! the smoke didnt smell like burnt oil exactly, sort of different. it was as if some fluid (not sure from where) had dripped somewhere inside the engine while sitting un-used, agreeing with the 'puddling up' theory i guess.

it did it again the next day after sitting over-night, but suspect it will improve in the next few runs... will look into the AOS replacement procedure just in case i reckon.

PS: not sure if im happier or sadder that there's lots of white smoke posts!!

Well known non-issue or minor fix.

Occasional white smoke is normal, depends how engine internals happened to be positioned when it was last stopped..certain positions will create puff of white smoke for a few seconds at next start.

Now if you have it every start, and car does not seem to be running with usual smoothness or power, then it is likely MAF sensor or AOS needs replacing.