Hey guys. I have an 07 TL with almost 261,000 miles. This morning when I went to start I got the engine to start to turn over. Caught of whiff of a funky electrical burn smell. Rolled it out of the garage an shot the following video. When it finally turned over my wife said big plume of white exhaust (did not see that). At first thought starter but white smoke had me worried. Right after the video ends I restarted no problem and she runs fine with no smoke or anything else unusual.
Hoping I can keep her running until the RDX arrives in the spring/summer.
You will admire the OEM hood strut in the video

Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Trying to stay away from the dealer.
Thanks

 

FYI I just did a block leak check with a kit to see if I was getting any oil/combustion products in the cooling system. Test came back negative so apparently no head gasket leak (or at least not bad enough to detect). No other obvious sign of head gasket issues (oil looks fine and coolant level was not down).

Would a bad starter even allow it to turn over at all?
Battery tests fine also.

Again, anyone with any similar experience or ideas, the feedback would be appreciated.

 

Starter turns the engine over fine, but sounds like a fuel problem, especially with the bloom of smoke.
Need to see if it continues to run/start fine or repeats the same after sitting.
Rather than jump into numerous tests, let's see what the future brings.

 

White is usually indicative of burning coolant. What prompted you to test for coolant/oil mix, are you losing coolant? Does it happen first start of every morning? Based on the video I don't think it's the starter at all. My initial guess is a slow HG leak after the vehicle cools down. That will cause the first hard start and subsequent starts will be fine.

 

It appears you and I are thinking along the same lines on this issue; well said.

To the OP, excess fuel typically produces a black cloud of smoke while excess oil produces a blue cloud of smoke.

 

Grey vs White vs Blue smoke...how many of your spouses can correctly identify and describe the difference? Mine can if I prompt her to pay close attention, but usually to her, smoke is smoke. Black sooty smoke is one thing...but at times just having unburnt fuel won't cause black sooty...just a cloud of darker grey smoke.

The OP has already claimed that the coolant isn't low.....yet.

Is the hard start repeatable every time? Or is it hard start only after sitting for a while? If it is started and running, turned off, and then restarted immediately, does it still struggle?

 

When my wife said white smoke I immediately thought Head Gasket. That is why I went out a got a kit to test for combustion products in the coolant. Coolant was not low and I actually had to remove coolant from radiator to do the test. The test came back negative....and I performed the test multiple times over a long period of time.

I just got home from work (other car for commute) and I just went out and started the car again. It had been sitting for about 32 hours without running. Turned the key and it started right up....no problem, no smoke....everything normal.

If you watch the video again and pay attention to when I turn the car off....there is a strange sound as it stops.

 

[QUOTE=Jackass;16195698

Is the hard start repeatable every time? Or is it hard start only after sitting for a while? If it is started and running, turned off, and then restarted immediately, does it still struggle?[/QUOTE]

The hard start only occurred yesterday morning at the first attempt. All subsequent starts were normal. I start, turn off and restart and it is fine. I just got home after the car has been sitting for about 32+ hours, and she started right up as normal. Restarted a few times after that with no issue.
Very strange and I have no idea where to try next.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone.
I was wondering if you watch the video and turn up the volume....listen to the sound when I turn the car off and it stops. I have never noticed that sound before, although not sure I have ever been listening so closely. Normal?

 

On the positive side, at least it is starting like normal! That sucking/release noise during shut off does seem a little odd. I think mine makes a slight sucking noise when I shut it off, it's the pressure relief sounds (almost like a blow off valve) that sounds off to me. Maybe there's a vacuum hose loose/cracked somewhere.

 

Just wanted to mention smoke color. If the car was running rich, pre-cat era, the smoke would be black/rich when running, but if you remember the OP, the car hadn't been started, and if excess fuel had been dumped into the cylinders, upon start up, it won't be black. Also after heating up the cats, the smoke won't be apparent.

 

Just an update that it was the battery. Voltage and charge were fine, but the Cold Cranking Amps were way low. Gotta get a real tester. New battery and seems to be working fine. Wife scared me with the "cloud of white smoke" comment. No beer for her.
Thanks again for the input.