2003 Toyota Camry White Smoke

JRENE

MEMBER
2003 TOYOTA CAMRY
4 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
105,000 MILES

I was driving my husband's car this morning and when I turned on the ignition white smoke came from the exhaust pipe. There was only one puff of smoke and it disappeared quickly and no other smoking as I was driving. What could be wrong?

Monday, November 16th, 2009 AT 2:03 PM

3 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

white smoke can be a sigh of coolant burning, but just for now I would not worry, may be get the cooling system checked, keep a close eye on the level and temp, and if you start to notice more smoke and coolant loss, have a head check done first,

Mark (mhpautos)

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Monday, November 16th, 2009 AT 3:51 PM

PUMPMAN 44

MEMBER
1 POST

My wife's 2003 4cyl. Camry started doing the same exact thing about a month ago at 87K. Dealer told me it was worn valve seals and my engine would need to be replaced in 6 months if I didn't take care of it. Called "my guy" my family has used for over 20 years and he said don't do it. It's very common in this year model and to use a 10W oil instead of the factory 5W and it'll run fine. Performance won't be effected and it's not worth putting $2K into the car (which is right at what they are figuring at the dealership). I was just bragging about how this has been a great car. I didn't expect to start having problems like this before 100K miles. Kinda disappointed a little. I'm just going to watch closely it and see. Hope this helps.

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Friday, November 20th, 2009 AT 10:22 AM

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there, if the calve stem seal are worn, you will get a puff of blue smoke on startup, this will clear up, and if the lower end is in reasonable condition, there should be no smoke at all. White smoke is coolant, I would still keep an eye on coolant levels.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Saturday, November 21st, 2009 AT 1:01 AM