If the exhaust smoke from your car is one of these colours, you may be in trouble

The health of the car can be determined by many factors, from how it behaves on the road, certain noises and vibrations that appear on start-up, and other things that can be detected easily. When something deviates from normal behaviour, you must be ready to take it to the workshop and avoid more serious breakdowns. One of the points that can determine that something is wrong is the colour of the exhaust smoke.

The exhaust can show that something is not right and indicate what type of fault may be found in the engine or whether there is a problem with the normal operation of the car. The first thing you may notice is that the smoke is denser and comes out more than usual from the exhaust. This already indicates that something is wrong. But the colour of that smoke can also give an indication of what is happening.

White exhaust smoke

This colour may indicate that the exhaust pipe is blocked. This can be due to several causes, although the most common is a small leak in the fuel delivery system or a fault in a supply valve. It may be an oil or fuel obstruction, so it is best to check it as soon as possible.

Black exhaust smoke

When the exhaust smoke is this colour, it may indicate that the engine is burning fuel inefficiently. It may mean the engine is no longer working properly, that too much fuel is being injected, too little air, or any other reason why the fuel is not burning correctly.

Grey exhaust smoke

In this case, there may be a coolant leak. If so, a sweet smell may also be detected. This would indicate that the coolant is burning. The leak may be in the cooling circuit or it may be seeping through a faulty gasket.

Blue exhaust smoke

If the exhaust smoke is blue, this indicates that the engine is burning oil. The causes can vary, but there is likely a leak of this fluid. It must be fixed as soon as possible, because oil is vital for the proper functioning of the engine.

Yellow exhaust smoke

Exhaust smoke can also come out in this colour. This may be due to several causes, from a fault in the fuel pumping system or a faulty ignition coil. In this case, you should check whether there are further faults in engine performance. In any event, the car must be taken to the workshop immediately.

Green exhaust smoke

If the exhaust emits green smoke, it is possible that the engine is burning power steering fluid.

In all these cases, the presence of strongly coloured smoke and the abundance of smoke indicate that things are not working properly in the engine. The car must be taken to the workshop and checked by a mechanic. Even if it is a small leak of any fluid, quickly detecting the fault can prevent major breakdowns and allow the problem to be solved swiftly.