Blue Smoke Coming From Exhaust

Siguy

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So over the last 2 months of owning my 2017 civic si i have noticed a very concerning trend. After I leave my car at idle for 5 to 10 minutes while I'm eating or waiting on someone I notice some blue smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. I can actually see it in my rearview mirror and I believe it must be oil due to the color and strong odor. When I take off it will blow a cloud of smoke for a few minutes and then begin to clear itself out. This has happened probably 4 times starting shortly after I bought the car in July. I'm wondering if its a bad turbo seal or possibly bad valve seals? I've never owned a turbo direct injection car before but the amount of blue smoke that the car is emitting can't be right. There is even a thin glaze of oil that forms on the end of the exhaust pipe when this happens. I made an appt. With the dealership on Monday. Any ideas or previous knowledge on this matter would be great. Thanks in advance.
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Axatax

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No special knowledge pertaining to this particular car. I would perform leak-down and compression tests. If those are OK, it's probably in the turbo (I'd be willing to put money on that).

If you can feel oil around the exhaust tip that's too much to be the head gasket.
 

Rickmeister 48

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I'd take some video so that when you get to the dealer,your problem doesn't all the sudden disappear. Seems to be happening a lot.
 

rapjunkie

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So over the last 2 months of owning my 2017 civic si i have noticed a very concerning trend. After I leave my car at idle for 5 to 10 minutes while I'm eating or waiting on someone I notice some blue smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. I can actually see it in my rearview mirror and I believe it must be oil due to the color and strong odor. When I take off it will blow a cloud of smoke for a few minutes and then begin to clear itself out. This has happened probably 4 times starting shortly after I bought the car in July. I'm wondering if its a bad turbo seal or possibly bad valve seals? I've never owned a turbo direct injection car before but the amount of blue smoke that the car is emitting can't be right. There is even a thin glaze of oil that forms on the end of the exhaust pipe when this happens. I made an appt. With the dealership on Monday. Any ideas or previous knowledge on this matter would be great. Thanks in advance.
I'm interested in hearing what the dealer says th problem is, but aside from that, leaving the car idling for 5-10 minutes doesn't sound like a good idea. Even if that practice doesn't cause damage, why not just turn it off?
 


motoguy128

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Wonder if its just oil accumulating in the air box. I'd be more concerned about an oil leak on the turbo. COuld be mfg defect of some sort from that supplier.
 

darkness975

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I'm interested in hearing what the dealer says th problem is, but aside from that, leaving the car idling for 5-10 minutes doesn't sound like a good idea. Even if that practice doesn't cause damage, why not just turn it off?
Well in the winter up north here you will need to run it for at least that amount of time to allow the defrosters to clear the windows/mirrors in the morning. Plus it's not good to take right off when it's that cold.
 

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Blue smoke is oil , I'd film it doing it and take it to the dealer , see if you can speak with their shop foreman or service manager and demonstrate it for him/her if possible.
 
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Siguy

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Leaving a car ideling for 10 minutes is pretty common practice from time to time unless you want to roast your butt off on a 95 degree day or freeze it off during the winter. Anyway, the dealership could not replicate this to any degree, go figure!! It hasn't happened since i took it in almost 3 weeks ago so ill keep my fingers crossed and film it if it does happen again. I'm beginning to wonder if it's moisture that builds up in the exhaust system? The last time it happened was after a good rain. Doesn't really explain the bluish tint of smoke i had a few times though? Oils still at the same level and no loss of power. I'll keep you guys posted, thanks for the advice!
 

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My last turbo car (2006 Mazdaspeed 6) had a blue smoke issue just like you explained and turned out it was a leaky turbo gasket and got a new turbo under warranty. I took a video of the blue smoke to prove in case the dealer couldn't replicate the problem. Showed the video as proof but there was already a TSB for it so it was an easy writeup but the car was in the shop for 2-3 days at the time
 


Shankmeyster

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Make sure you are checking your oil level constantly until you get it to the dealer. Even with that smoke I doubt they will warranty it if you let it run out of oil.
 
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Siguy

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Took it back to the dealership and they couldn't get it to replicate the problem. I have driven another 4k since I took it in and I haven't seen excessive smoke again? Not sure what caused it or why I have not encountered it again but I'm still keeping a close eye on it. I have my own opinion on the cause but I'm not positive. Each time I saw excessive exhaust gases were after a rain or a day or 2 after a car wash. I believe that it could have been excessive moisture building up in the exhaust system after a hard rain or after the car was washed there could have been water that entered the exhaust tip and just sat there and mixed with all the carbon deposits and when it got hot enough it evaporated it all at once and made it have a bluish tint. The way the exhaust is shaped could let more water into it then a standard exhaust tip or it could just hold moisture better. I don't believe honda has ever used a tip like this before so there's no way of knowing or drawing from previous experiences. This is all speculation though so please don't take my opinion be factual.
 

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Same thing is happening to me. After the car gets warmed up and I Spool the turbo up a couple times. I idle at a stoplight for about 5 minutes and when I go to take off, blue smoke shoots out the tailpipe. It seems to be building up only at a complete stop. Gonna take it to Honda soon for a compression test
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