Why is my car blowing oil smoke from the exhaust at startup?
Vehicles often blow oil smoke shortly after starting up when they have been sitting for a while, though the smoke typically clears up and stops after about a minute. This momentary surge of smoke points to oil leaking past internal seals or components while parked, which then burns off once the engine runs.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Checking valve stem seals
- 2Checking for a blown head gasket
- 3Checking or replacing valve stem seals where oil leaks through overnight
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Smoke and oil leaking from engine bay after driving
- 5Engine smoke and burnt coolant smell while driving
- 2Propane boiler making puffing exhaust noise in extreme cold
- 2Cylinder misfire and white smoke from exhaust
- 4Grinding noise and smoke from under the car hood
- 3Car shaking and burning smell while driving