CEL + White Smoke = ?
 

Another day, another fun RX8 moment.

So I leave the house today to pick up my son from school. We get in the car and when I start up I notice the happy CEL light. "Hmmm", thought I. "Well, guess I'll stop by the dealership and have them pull the CEL after I drop the lad off at his mother's house".

I get on the freeway and head to the mall. The boy is a rabid lego collector and the LEGO store is his Mecca. We exit the freeway and stop at the first light. "Geez, who the hell is driving that POS throwing up all this smoke?" I look around and then notice it's coming out from under my hood. "Uh oh, I need to get off the road" Right about then the smoke starts shooting out the vents into the cabin. :icon_no2:

I pull into a parking lot, get the lad out of the back and pop the hood. Smoke is gone but there is a faint odor. It didn't smell like coolant or oil. I took my son into a pizza place and called mazda roadside assistance.

So now i'm sporting the super pontiac g6 rental and the dealership said they won't even get a chance to look at it till Friday... woot. :banghead:


So, cel, white smoke, doesnt smell of oil or coolant. Any suggestions?

Oh yes, the car did not run or idle any differently then normal. Everything felt the same as it always does.

Don't be surprised if the dealer wants to void your warranty with all those aftermarket parts. I doubt that he really can, but some of them try.

As far as the white smoke, if it didn't smell like oil or coolant (or fuel?), what did it smell like? Could be a plastic bag stuck to your exhaust system. If you park outside, could be vermin and their nest burning.

I had some white smoke b4 and it turn out to be some foam thing got stuck into the engine area.

Pull it out and the smoke is gone. (The smell stayed for like 2 days,however)

plastic or coolant

that's what my $$$ is on

ding ding ding

plastic bag sucked up next to the manifold. CEL was from gas cap not on tight enough (damn you full service gas station!)
Just coincidence that they happened so close to each other.

All covered under warranty. They're scraping the plastic off for me after giving me the option to "drive it off". As much as I like nasty smells in my car, I think I'll pass.

As far as the dealer ever trying to void my warranty, I had them put everything on just so they could never try to wiggle out of coverage :-)

glad it was something insignificant.