Has anyone's car smoked on a cold start up? My car puffed a small cloud of white smoke when I started it yesterday. I let her sit for a couple hours and restarted her and another small amount of smoke. It smelled like raw fuel and I thought I saw a hint of blue. I'm hoping the blue was my mind racing with $$$ for head guides, head gaskets or rings!!! I know she starts a little bit rough and with 76K on original plugs....I have new ones and I'm thinking it's time to replace them. I drove the car this morning and didn't see any smoke during start up or driving. It was about 50 out and raining. The coolant has slightly dropped over the last 6K miles, but the upper hose on the reserve has an orange ring around it and is wet, so I think it has a slight leak. The oil has about 4K miles on it and has dropped about an 1/4" on the dipstick, as far as I can remember. I have an 2004 XJR.

 

Drew,

Check out the possibility that you have a leak in the brake master cylinder (BMC). The BMC leaks into the Vacuum Brake Booster. (big round thing). When you start the car, engine vacuum draws this small amount of brake fluid into the intake and presto, white smoke on start up only.

Clues are small amounts of brake fluid usage, white smoke at start up only and sometimes wetness on the bottom of the vacuum booster. Hope this helps as it's a relitively cheep fix.i.e.Rebuilt BMC

 

Good idea! Ill check the vacuum line for fluid. I drove the car twice in the the last two days and smoke. I'm starting to think I'm just crazy.