White smoke at initial startup - need help!

[Ninja]

Hi All

Need your help here! We've recently acquired a E70 X5 3.0d in Sapphire Black, Sport pack, 20" inch Y spoke, 7 seaters etc etc

Took it out for a drive this weekend and noted that there were excessive smoke from the exhaust during acceleration in the first 5-10 mins from a cold start, the smoke seems to be disappeared once the engine is warmed up.

I check the OBC, everything seems okay..engine oil is fine, no coolant leaks and the engine runs very smoothly without any hesitation.

Has anyone experienced this before? I know it is not condensation as it was a relatively warm day today. I was thinking perhaps the engine was running a bit rich during the startup, burning a little bit more oil than usual.

Honestly I don't know much about diesel engine, is this normal at all?

I'm probably just too paranoid given that we've only just got the car for a few weeks.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks
Leon

[Fraser]

Provided the white smoke disappears once the engine is warm you don't have anything to worry about.
If the engine is running rich (over fuelling) the smoke would be black. If the engine is burning oil then the smoke will be blue.

[Ninja]

thanks mate..it was an once-off incident. it hasn't happened since...was thinking perhaps it was due to frequent short trips from moving in/out of the garage last week.

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by Ninja

...was thinking perhaps it was due to frequent short trips from moving in/out of the garage last week.

That makes sense as white smoke generally means unburnt diesel.