Last week I purchased a '08 Malibu 2LT with the 3.6L V6. It had 5 miles on the odometer when I bought it and it now has 474. When I started it yesterday from a cold start, a large volume of smoke came out of the tail pipes. It smelled like burnt oil which lasted for about 10 seconds. I'm 100% positive it was not condensation burning. This is the second time it has done this. Any suggestions? I'll probably take it back to the dealer this week. This is very frustrating since I just traded in an '03 Traiblazer LTZ that had problem after problem.
2008 Malibu V6 Smoke
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All new car's burn off some oil that is left in the exhaust system to prevent rust if the car sit's for a very long time before it is bought.
When I sold car's, we would go and put 10 miles or so on the car right away because customers thought that the cars were crap during a test drive if they smelled the burnt oil.
With 474 miles it is no longer the exhaust pipe that can be blamed.
Good luck.
When I sold car's, we would go and put 10 miles or so on the car right away because customers thought that the cars were crap during a test drive if they smelled the burnt oil.
With 474 miles it is no longer the exhaust pipe that can be blamed.
Good luck.
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New cars can do weird things...dealer will be able to fix it.
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my g5 used to do that. put now with 17k on it the only smoke that comes out the tailpipe is when its cold the normal smoke. i wouldint worry about it. give it till its first oil change and see what it does.
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New exhaust smell, dont worry about it. Smoke is condensation, the smell is from the new exhaust.
Thanks for the replies. It appears that an LTZ that Edmunds tested did the same thing, but mine was on start up.
"So it's no surprise that our LTZ slithered through our slalom course in a composed and unruffled manner at a respectable 64.5 mph. It also hurtled around our skid pad at 0.80g — better than most similarly priced sedans. And that's no smokescreen.
But a cloud of smoke billowed from our Malibu's tailpipe during its clockwise run around the skid pad. Further investigation revealed that some oil had been slung past the valve cover breather and into the intake tract. We've tested our long-term Aura XR V6 the same way and have never seen this behavior. And we were unable to replicate the smoke by flinging the Malibu at a few freeway cloverleafs we know."
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=123695
"So it's no surprise that our LTZ slithered through our slalom course in a composed and unruffled manner at a respectable 64.5 mph. It also hurtled around our skid pad at 0.80g — better than most similarly priced sedans. And that's no smokescreen.
But a cloud of smoke billowed from our Malibu's tailpipe during its clockwise run around the skid pad. Further investigation revealed that some oil had been slung past the valve cover breather and into the intake tract. We've tested our long-term Aura XR V6 the same way and have never seen this behavior. And we were unable to replicate the smoke by flinging the Malibu at a few freeway cloverleafs we know."
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=123695
You might have a bad valve seal.
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Never seen that on an Aura with that many miles...
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This could be a major issue. Drive it around for 5000 more miles. If the problem persists, have 'em take it back or trade it in altogether. The new Honda Accord might be a good car to look into.
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My 1993 Toyota Camry (173k+ miles) occasionally starts up with a cloud of smoke. It's worn valve guide seals. The thing is, the tiniest bit of oil in the combustion chamber causes quite a bit of smoke. I have never had to add oil between oil changes (every 5k miles).....so I know it's not burning hardly anything. And it obviously doesn't leak.
So my point....if blue smoke is coming out of the tail pipe, then you have oil entering the combustion chamber somehow. If it were a high mile engine, I'd say "don't sweat it". But clearly your engine is pretty darn new. Hopefully it will go away on its own, but like you said, at least it's under warranty.
So my point....if blue smoke is coming out of the tail pipe, then you have oil entering the combustion chamber somehow. If it were a high mile engine, I'd say "don't sweat it". But clearly your engine is pretty darn new. Hopefully it will go away on its own, but like you said, at least it's under warranty.
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This is all called, "Drivetrain break-in." Happens for the first 3K miles.
I thought this was a car-guys forum?
I thought this was a car-guys forum?
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Y'ever see those limo Hummer's? Think of the Accord as a very long "limo econo-box."
The man has a great family sedan. Why on God's green earth would he want a stretched limo ecoono-box?
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