I have a 2006 Camry SE 4cylinder. Started the car this morning and heard a vibrating noise from under the hood. Popped the hood and listen closely and it was the alternator wire vibrating. I put my hands on the wire to confirm the vibration. I shook the wire and the vibration stop, but then smoke was coming out of the alternator. Is this a sign of a bad alternator?
View 11 RepliesSaturday I was driving to my friend's house. My A/C is broken (just happened 2 weeks ago) so my windows were down. I hear a loud boom. I hear a clicking noise when I accelerate but it stops when I take my foot off the gas.
I am 5 minutes away from his house and he's a mechanic so I just wait until I get there but as I'm turning left, I notice my car is smoking. When I get there, I couldn't even put it in reverse to park and there was smoke coming out of my hood. He and another mechanic friend said it was a blown head gasket.
I had it towed to a mechanic and he said it was a blown head gasket and quoted me $1,800. I know nothing about cars so there's no way I'm fixing it myself.
Is this worth fixing or should I just get a used car and sell it as is or for parts?
It has 230,000 miles on it and I drive 80 miles per day for work. No other problems except the A/C as far as I know.
My mom was driving to pick me up and she said that all of a sudden about half way here that the car started making a knocking sound and white smoke started coming from hood, the car was also trying to shut itself down while she was trying to pull over. It is a 2000 ford taurus with like 130k. I am so scared that it is the head gasket because my mom, myself and my daughter, and my 16 year old sister all share that car to get around. Is there anything else it could be besides that or is that probably what it is?
View 19 RepliesThe wife came home with a really loud screaming noise coming out from under the hood. I used my stethoscope and I'm 95% sure it's the alternator. It was a pretty easy removal process, sending it out to be rebuilt tomorrow. I guess at 90k I have no reason to complain.
I chose to get it rebuilt because of info that I had heard true or not, that Toyota alternators have an internal clutch and aftermarkets may not work properly.
Where the heck am I supposed to get a Saturn part as none of the dealerships exist! It's a maybe 8-inch small hose that goes from the top of my engine to some kinda shaft; the shaft goes to my air-filter. That's all I need is this skinny hose as smoke is coming up from beneath the hood! Is there a name for this particular hose? Embarrassing as heck but I don't think (am I right?) that this will cause any major harm. (I've already begun cleaning beneath the hood.)
View 4 RepliesSo I was going to get the truck washed, but 2 blocks down the road smoke out of the engine bay.
Pulled over popped the hood and the alternator is on fire. Extinguished it self out but the burnt electrical smell.....sheesh..
Anyways, could I potentially drive the truck to the dealer, or will it catch on fire again????
Got my joe z exhaust put in today. After getting it installed i was obviously getting on the car to see how it sounds.. I came to a stop and smelled that sulfur smell that people normally do when getting on their engines but also noticed some smoke/steam seeping out from under the back of my hood. No overheating though. Immediately got alarmed and shut off the car. Popped the hood and everything was fine. No smoke at all. Turned it back on and all was normal and drove the car again and there was nothing.
What could this be? something serious i hope not. i do not drive me car hard at all. its got almost 14k and changed the oil at 10k. this has never happened before. It was hot today though like 90+ ... Maybe it was just from driving it hard?
I've got this weird problem , it started a month ago. Sometimes I would drive for half a hour, park the car, stop then engine and some white smoke comes out of the hood after a few seconds. But sometimes I can drive the same amount of time, park, stop the engine but no white smoke.
The only time I did notice it happening is when my temperature gauge isn't working properly , sometimes it will give the right reading (which is right on the middle) and while driving it will drop to 0. Also sometimes there is a smell of rubber burning I think (Doing my best here). But I've checked Google for people with my problem but all I read is either people with tail pipes issues or smoke directly in the drivers cabin. My white smoke is only when I kill the engine. There is no smoke coming out of the tail pipe nor in my cabin. Only a rubber burn kind of smell.
My wife just sent me a text saying she noticed her car (2005 Elantra GT, auto, 140k) making a chugging sound and then saw white smoke coming from under the hood on her way to class.
I'm at work, so I'm trying to pinpoint the problem from my office, but I'm guessing the white smoke is the result of a coolant leak? Bad seal somewhere? What would cause the chugging that's related to a coolant leak? Or maybe it's not coolant-related at all.
My 06 Elantra with 115K miles on it broke down in the middle of the road on Thursday. The smoke was coming from under the hood. Towed it in to a Hyundai dealer, they looked at it on Friday and told me I needed a new radiator, the old one cracked at the upper seam line (whatever that means). I told them to go ahead with replacing a radiator, which they did. Today, Saturday morning, same problem, the car is blowing smoke from under the hood, spilling the coolant on the road. Towed it back to the dealer again. They say that the new radiator broke down, it cracked in the same spot as the last one and they're trying to figure out what's going on. Haven't heard from them again today and they're closed right now. I hope they will fix it on Monday. What might be causing this problem? Are there any other parts that might be causing the radiator to break like this? Is this a common problem for Elantra XD?
View 4 RepliesI've tried replacing it, and while it fits in there nice and snug, within 10-20 minutes it vibrates itself loose again and I have smoke coming out from the hood from the oil spilling out onto the engine. Is there some easily-removable caulk I can fasten the oil cap in with? (so that when I need to fill it with oil I can still get to it, natch).
View 3 RepliesOriginally, the inciting event was a plume of smoke coming from under my hood. I had the car towed and they said my radiator blew up and did the repair. A week later, I was smelling what I thought was radiator fluid. I took it back and they said I had three major oil leaks. My wife didn't understand why they did spot the leaks just a week earlier, if they were that major? All that said, I had been going there for awhile, so I trusted them. They fixed, or they said they fixed, all three leaks but when they returned the car, it would kind of rattle intermittently whenever the car was stopped but running.
I had no such problem before bring it in for the other issues. They kept it for another few days, almost a month in total with all the repairs and they said they got it to where it was barely noticeable. Well now, just two weeks late, it has been getting worse and worse, the rattling of the car when the car is stopped. And tonight, all of my warning lights suddenly came on- engine warning, brakes, everything all at once. I spent two and half grand with this shop and they returned it with a problem it didn't even have before. It needs timing belt, that was the next thing to get repaired.
I parked my car last night in front of the house at 11:30pm last night. The car has not been driven since. At around 1pm the next day my car alarm went off and I went to shut it off and noticed very minor misty smoke coming out of the hood by the windshield. I opened the hood and could smell electrical smoke. I could not find any noticeable damage. Checked fuses and relays. Does not seem to be a problem. However when I get close to the fuse and relay panel under the hood I could hear a clicking and very distant occasional hiss sound. I tried to start the car and everything seem to work but when I push the start button nothing. At this point I disconnected the battery. I called lexus and the rep said he had seen this before and indicated that it is probably a ground or something that corroded and shorted out.
View 5 RepliesI have a 1985 Silverado where a mouse must have chewed through the main electrical wire that goes from the battery to the starter. Without knowing this, I tried to start the truck, it turned over a couple times, then a burnt electrical smell and smoke was coming from under the hood.
I replaced the wire and the starter. Now I have all electronics restored but when I turn the key, nothing happens. The lights don't dim and it doesn't even click. If I arc the solenoid on the starter, it turns over and runs just fine.
I have checked all the fuses and relays under the dash. Those don't appear burnt out and I've tried swapping relays and that doesn't work either.
Is there anything else that could have shorted out? Are there other fuses or relays that I'm missing? Or is there something with the ignition that could be causing it?
I have a 2001 nissan altima. About 4 weeks ago it started over heating, smoke coming from under the hood, not the gauge raising. I took it to my mechanic and he replaced the big hose going from the radiator to the engine. I got it back and about 2 days later it started again overheating again, smoke under the hood. Took it back and he said the radiator is leaking it was under a year old so he replaced it, i drove it home on a sunday and monday morning I drove to work 5 miles at 10 am break it had two puddles under it. He said it's the radiator again, replaced it and we went to pick it up and he said it blew again. Sounds odd to me He finally said they thought it was the fans. The gauge never ran hot only the smoke coming from under the hood. If your looking under the hood it was wet on the left side. Needless to say he has had my car for almost 2 weeks and it's still not fixed. My question is should I go get it and take it somewhere else. What damage will it do to drive it somewhere else?
View 19 RepliesMy 2001.5 Passat traditionally does not start easily when it is less than 6degrees outside. Today it was that cold..it started easily..but about 30 minutes into my drive to work..I realized it was a little smoky and exhaustish smelling in the car..once I realized it wasn't the car next to me..i realized if I turned off the heat..the smell went away..but at the stoplight..i could see smoke coming from under the hood..out the corner by the passenger/dashboard... Car has 80,000, recent oil change, what it is?
View 1 RepliesWhen I drive home from work at night I see a thin white smoke come from the right side on my hood. (Headlight area) I open the hood and I can't pin point it....smells vaguely on burnt rubber. I am new to a TDI so maybe I'm just being an idiot, but what is it? I drive spirited on the way home, but dont floor it. I do have one hill thats pretty steep I usually charge up...(fun to burn the rice rockets who struggle!) I thought maybe parking brake? Its only got 750 miles on it, so maybe its oil burning? 2006 v10
View 24 RepliesOn my way home from work traveling at 65 miles an hour, all of a sudden the oil light came on and i got steam or smoke coming from under my hood, and had to be towed home, after it was towed home I tried to start it and and the engine makes this whining sound now.it sounds as if it is trying to turn over but with less of a cranking sound. is the engine gone in it or could there be another issue?
View 2 RepliesI purchased a Certified Pre-owned 2008 Lexus LS 460 in January 2011 with 29,000 miles. On April 2, 2011 I was parking my car and smelled wires burning and then saw smoke coming out of the hood. I immediately cut the engine, got my kids to safety and called 911. The firemen threw water on the engine and disconnected battery. It was towed to a local Lexus dealer and has been there since. They believe it was the starter, but the repairs as of yet are not complete. I submitted a claim with headquarters to give me my money back or a comparable vehicle. I am concerned about the safety of this vehicle and any residual chemicals and smoke that may remain with the vehicle.
View 12 RepliesI own a 2008 Camry 2.4L with almost 200k miles. The Camry is losing oil with occasional smoke under the hood.
I have found a TSB for a rubber hose but that was for the V6.
Yesterday I made a 3 hour round trip with my car, and on the last leg coming back into town, I noticed my check engine light came on, and I saw white smoke coming from underneath the hood of my car, along with a burning smell. Luckily I was able to make it home just fine. I've googled this issue, some people have suggested coolant leak.
Also, I checked the oil levels today and they appeared to be slightly below the lowest level tick, which could be why it was having issues yesterday. Last time I got an oil change was November of 2015. I'm surprised it's this low considering I normally don't commute farther than a couple miles each day.