Passat (B6) :: EPC Light Illuminated / Check Engine Blinked Now White Smoke When Trying To Start
Jul 4, 2013
Naturally, the dealer service close to me and my regular repair shop are both closed today, so my mind is racing. My check engine light came on a couple weeks ago and I have been waiting for my guy to get back for it's full 80+K workup/service. That was to be right away.
This morning on my 5 mile trip to work after my car sitting for a day, the check engine light came on as usual (with no seeming weird behavior) - but as I was going through some S-curves, the EPC light came on and it felt as if the engine was throttling down, not knowing how to shift, something.
I wasn't far from my parking lot so I drove on here, parked nose out and popped the hood. Nothing visible (not that there would be necessarily) but weird exhaust smell.
I just went back out after lunch and it cranked for a good 20+ seconds over three start attempts before it finally did. Tach went all low and jiggly before kicking in and revving steadily at 1K. However, white puffs of smoke began coming out the exhaust - weird smell (e.g., unburnt fuel perhaps...)
I'm only in a mild panic as I'll likely have to have this towed in and I don't have a clue what I'm facing. I get conflicting tales online as to what it might be but I'd love to impose on your brains if you have some insight to share. I've read about coil packs, throttle bodies, and more.
The only mechanical issue I've had with this engine was that I had the intake manifold assembly replaced right after my warranty went out. Had the throttle body cleaned then, too. Nothing since other than regular services according to vw standards.
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I've got a 01 passat 1.8t awm that I just replaced the head gasket and timing belt on. upon starting it up, i got a nasty tapping noise that went away above about 1200 rpms. also, white smoke came from under the turbo and out the back of the car.
I checked the cam bearings-all look good. also checked oil pressure at the sending unit-35 lbs idle at startup and 60 lbs at 2500 rpms at startup. Good compression on all cylinders.
Today I found a small piece of plastic laying behind the cam chain tensioner that had broken off. I'm thinking the tapping noise is probably from the tensioner.
So I'm thinking that 1 of 2 things is going on:
1) low oil pressure from a clogged oil pickup tube or something is starving the turbo of oil (causing smoke and maybe ruined seals), and also caused the tensioner to break.
2) oil pressure ok, turbo seals going on their own and tensioner broke from wear and tear.
I'm cool with replacing the tensioner, but i want to make sure that i've got good oil pressure before i ruin another one. if i had good oil pressure at the sending unit, does that mean my pickup tube is ok? any other way to check oil pressure? could I plumb a tee in at the turbo to check oil pressure there? i don't want to drop the pan if i can avoid it. also, it looks like someone else has dropped the pan before (lots of red silicone smeared everywhere) so i would guess that the sludge has been cleaned already.
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I have a '96 Honda Civic DX model, manual transmission. I replaced the battery, sparkplugs, distributor last summer. Yesterday, hottest day yet this spring, my car wouldn't start. When cranked, the lights came on the dash, the fuel line was running, the check engine light blinked, but then no ignition. Left it overnight, started up fine this morning. Took it to a shop,Mechanic said battery and alternator were good and a replaced starter later, I took it home. Driving home, the idle dropped way too low (no tach) and almost stalled the car (battery light came on) when I pushed in the clutch. Now when I turn it on, it starts, idles regular, then the idle drops again.
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I have a volkswagen TDi 1.9 automatic which is using coolant more on short runs than on motorway and produces white smoke/steam on start up even when not cold which disappears after a few seconds. Other symptom is doesn't accelerate though goes OK when once up to speed. Have has cylinder head checked and new gasket so that is not the culprit and also new heat exchanger. There is also a gurgling noise which seems to be coming from the dash board though I am not sure if these things are related. I have read that the automatic has a water cooled EGR, could this be it??
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I just made my first payment last friday and today my check engine light is illuminated. I did have one of those awful cold, knocking starts the other day!
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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.
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Coming home from spring break towing the TT, the Check Engine light illuminates. Seems to be sputtering at idle, but otherwise OK, so we continued home.
Scanner lists the P0171 and P0174 codes. Ok, where to begin? based on internet info, started by cleaning the MAF sensor and throttle body. When I pulled apart the intake, noticed that the grommet which feeds the MAF in the air intake had become separated letting air bypass the MAF. Hence the reason for the codes.
If you get these codes, check the grommet for the wires feeding the MAF in the air intake to make sure it hasn't become separated from the intake. No more codes.
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95 Toyota Celica wouldn't start. Jumped off the battery and it starts but kills after only a few minutes. White smoke pours from the engine area - smoke not steam. I'm selling this car and have been starting and running it a couple times a week. This is the first time it's done this.
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I have a 2005 Camry that is not leaking coolant (checking water level every morning) it has a puff of white smoke the first start of the day. I initially suspected condensation, as it only produces white smoke when temperature goes down to 65 degrees or cooler during the night.
However the longer it sits without starting, greater the amount of smoke. If I do not start the car at all on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon I start it, there is a lot more white smoke than I get every morning during weekdays. If it was condensation, by Sunday afternoon when temp isn't as cool, shouldn't all the water collecting evaporated?
Assuming it is condensation, what part failing would cause this? This car did not have this white smoke issue when it was new.
Not sure if it is related but the engine stutters on the first start of the day. Stutter also gets worse the colder the temp and the longer it's been sitting without starting. During summer when it's 85+, it does not stutter in the morning.
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My wife drives a 2004 passat 4 motion 1.8 T that for a couple of days has been acting up. By acting up I mean it will turn over but won't start. When this happens and after letting the key out of the start position, the epc and cel light will stay on. After letting it sit for a while it will start.
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Hate to take it to the stealership if not necessary. Burned 1/4 tank of gas on the way home. Should I add a second bottle of dry-gas and top off the tank with fresh gas before taking it in? Don't want to damage injectors or?
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Car dumbie back again with another question.The diagnostic for my check engine light indicates numerous cold start misfire codes. The cylinders are OK. That was checked during the diagnostic.The fuel intake is carboned up. It is recommended that I clean the intake manifold. Does this mean cleaning the fuel injectors, the throttle body or both? 2006 Passat VW....
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Truck: 1999 Ford Truck F 350 4WD Super Duty V8-7.3L DSL Turbo VIN F
Problem: Especially when it is cold outside . . . The truck takes forever to start and while doing so a ton of white/grey smoke comes out of the exhaust.
My starting schema: Turn the key on have the gas pedal pushed to the floor until the "wait to start" light goes out. Then, I turn the key off and back on while still pressing the gas pedal all the way down. When the "wait to start" light goes out again I remove my foot from the pedal and try to start it. I never leave it cranking for more than 5-7 seconds. If, after trying this process several times I will not push the pedal in at all. Also, sometimes I will leave the pedal pushed in while I am cranking it over.
The truck used to start after a couple of tries but lately it won't start at all, even after 20 tries. Sometimes it will spin up for a second as if the engine gets going but then just doesn't continue running. When it is warm out it will usually start after a few tries but doesn't seem normal to me. After I first bought the truck(used) it would start up within half a second after turning the key.This all started after I had to fix an o-ring that was damaged on the top/back of the motor that was dumping all my oil out of the top/back of the motor.
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I was driving my 2003 Passat 1.8T normally when all of a sudden I see "STOP" on my dash and my coolant light turned on. I pull over and see a bunch of white crap all over the engine cover. The temp gauge didn't go up however, so I drove it home. I am taking it to the dealer tomorrow. I am guessing it could be the water pump? Also there was white crap on the bottom of the hood which showed where it might have came from. I circled that area in the pic.
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