Kelly Durbin Munson

I just bought a 2009 Chevy HHR SS Turbo when I first bought it there was a little smoke coming from tailpipe. The car was cold and just starting up. The car has 71400 miles when I bought it I have driven 300 miles. I read Mahal it said to put premium gas in, so I did. Now car is smoking bad at start up. Smoke just bellows out. After warm up it seems to go away. Looked in tailpipe there was black suit so I wiped it all out. Next day started car no bellowing smoke but now it smoked a little all the way to work.. Drove app 35 miles. When I got to my job it was still smoking. The smoke seems to be white. So did I do more harm by cleaning the tailpipe. Should I be concerned that I got took on this car? Is there more underlying problems? Help!

RJ_RS_SS_350

Hi Kelly, to the forums!!

I moved your post from that old thread, into a new thread. You should get a little more attention now.

Premium fuel and wiping the soot from the tailpipe, neither would cause the vehicle to smoke any more or less.

If it truly is white smoke(sometimes the color is difficult to be sure of), then that would indicate burning coolant. Be sure to monitor the coolant level, at least every morning before startup. Check at the filler cap, as well as in the recovery tank. Here is a link about the recovery tank.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/main...ank-pic-55772/

You should try to determine if there is any particular odor at the tailpipe. In addition, stop by a local auto parts store and see if they will check for any CEL codes from the OBD2 system. Post just the codes up here, not descriptions, which can sometimes be misleading.

whopper

First off, welcome to the forums. Hopefully we can help you out with your issues you are having here.

WHITE smoke at the initial start-up typically means that condensation in the exhaust system is being expelled which is pretty much normal for all vehicles. That should disappear after a few minutes once the vehicles warms up.

However, if there is a large amount of white smoke at start-up, and it continues for several miles, it can indicate the engine is burning coolant. And that is not a good thing, as it can be caused by a head gasket needing replacement, or a cracked head or block.

Here is a good article that seems to explain it in more detail - https://motor.onehowto.com/article/w...-mean-395.html

Have you checked the coolant level in the overflow tank under the hood? It is important that a proper amount of coolant be kept in the tank - and it can be rather difficult to check as the proper level is quite hidden and is way down near the bottom of the tank. Your owners manual gives more info on how to check the level.

The digital information on the dash can be changed to read out the engine's coolant temperature. The analogue gauge on the left of the instrument panel is not very accurate, so most people use the digital read out. If you monitor the digital readout, the temperature should read in the 188 to 210F range. If it is reading in excess of ~220F, I'd suspect an internal problem such as described above.

Can you post some info on the coolant level, and the digital temperature readout?

Oldblue

Hi, Kelly, welcome to the site!!
What they said! And just a question , when you bought that SS was it from a reputable sales lot or as is from a private owner?
Sounds to me like the head gasket, I wouldn't drive it much more till you can get it fixed!
I'd suggest you replace the timing chain also!

donbrew

BTW, burning coolant will cause a carbon build up on the tail pipe.

In short, keep an eye on your coolant level, both in the bottle and under the pressure cap.