White smoke from engine

Asked by Bobddstryr Nov 22, 2014 at 04:57 PM about the 1998 Honda Civic

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I took my car in for an oil
change/servicing about a week ago.
I noticed that once, when starting up,
the car seemed to shake more than
usual for a second or two, but then
was fine.  I had no other problems -
driving about an hour a day for work
- until today.

Today I drove about an hour and a
half north, picked up a friend, and on
a side street while going downhill we
both suddenly noticed a burning
smell and saw white smoke coming
from the engine.  The heat gauge
said the temperature was fine.  I
pulled into a parking lot and popped
the hood - but we couldn't see
anything smoking - or smell anything.  
I turned the engine back on - and
smelled the burning-smell again from
the vents - but didn't see any more
smoke or smell anything from the
engine outside the car.  I drive back
to my friends - about 5 minutes, but
including a steep hill - and the
problem did not recur.

Any idea what the problem likely is?  
Is it probably safe to drive home, so I
can see a local mechanic and not
have to spend the night up here?  
What precautions should I take?

2 Answers

143,535

May be a bad hose with small leak,if you seen white smoke and smell,be care full it ,could get worse,you may be alright to drive untill checked,just make sure you have radiator full,and keep close eye on temp gauge.

2 people found this helpful.

But i dirent stop till the car was over heated and it turnd off by it self dose the moter still work's

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