Coolant leak on my 2012 LR4

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jlglr4

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I notice jlach993 is in New York. If the car is left overnight in the cold, white smoke (steam, actually) on a cold start is normal. Moisture condenses in the exhaust and comes out as steam when the car is warming up.

Otherwise, I don’t think this is normal. I’m in California (fairly warm), and never have much visible exhaust. Coolant leak in head can cause this, but leaking injectors are more likely. When the car sits overnight, the injectors continue to leak fuel into the cylinder, resulting in white or gray smoke.
 

greiswig

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Yeah, steam looks and behaves very differently from burned coolant or even just poorly-burning fuel. But the “cold weather” comment made me lean toward it being steam, too.

Modern engines and emissions systems do a pretty good job of controlling things even on a cold engine. If you have smoke (not steam), I’d say something isn’t working properly.
 

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