Poor acceleration and white smoke, engine will not turn over?

Tiny
CEGAN84
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 PEUGEOT 307
  • 2.0L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 205,000 MILES
I started my car today and it seemed fine. Last night it was fine. I noticed that the fuel light was on through, but it wasn't on last night. Anyway, as I reversed out my driveway and then put into Drive (Auto) it had a real lack of power and then white smoke came out of the exhaust. I got it halfway down the street and pulled over. Then I tried to start it up again and it wouldn't start again. I waited a little while, and then it started up again and decided to take it straight home. As I made a three point turn the steering went hard and when I accelerated there was a lack of power again and white smoke coming out of the exhaust again. I managed to get it home but as I went to turn up the driveway, it just turned off and now it will not turn on again. Could I have just somehow run out fuel (even though the fuel light just came on) and it needs petrol, or have I done damage to the head gasket or engine? I have attached a picture of the lights that came on in my dashboard. The engine light and air bag light were already on. Please note that it is 205,000 kms not miles.
Tuesday, July 4th, 2023 AT 7:37 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,772 POSTS
Hi,

White smoke from the exhaust is most often caused by coolant entering the combustion chamber. White smoke that has a sweet smell suggests that coolant is entering the combustion chamber and being burned along with the fuel. This could be due to a faulty head gasket, a cracked cylinder head, or a damaged intake manifold gasket.

Take a look at these links, they explain what to look for when questioning a possible head gasket issue and related symptoms:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/recognizing-the-symptoms-understanding-a-blown-head-gasket-in-your-vehicle

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

Let me know.

Joe
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Tuesday, July 4th, 2023 AT 11:29 PM

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