Smoke / Steam coming from engine when stopped

[Scottski]

Hi,

I've recently started seeing smoke/steam coming from my bonnet when stopped at lights or in traffic. I'm not sure if its because of the heat wave we are currently experiencing or something else more sinister.....any ideas or experiences welcome.

Thanks
S

[Silverbullet767]

Give us a clue.....

What kind of car is it?
What does it smell like?
Do you have a temperature gauge? If so what does it say.
Open the bonnet, where's it coming from?
Is there a tiny person smoking in your engine bay?

[Scottski]

Ford Fiesta 2012
Smells like slight burning
Temp gauge is fine
Not much under bonnet so can't really see where its coming from - It does comes out of both wheel arches though.

[HustleRussell]

Ecoboost?

Check coolant level ASAP

You must be able to give us some clues?

[Hoofy]

Might be coolant or washer leaking onto something hot eg exhaust pipe.

Might not be, of course.

[Rickyy]

How black are your wheels getting? My MX5 did similar, it was a sticky caliper.

Have a feel of your wheels, if they are hot to touch,it'd point towards a brake issue.

[Scootersp]

Almost feels like a joke......however.

On the flat release the handbrake and try and push/pull the car it should move fairly easily, if not it could be the brakes.

I suspect not as the steam from the bonnet is unlikely from the brakes.

So locate your coolant reservoir (when the car is cold/not run for a few hours) and see if it's above the min (I suspect not!)

Top up coolant, drive around close to home, stop occasionally, if it happens, drive the short distance home, stop, leave engine running, open the bonnet and look for the source (or at least narrow it down to an area)

Coolant when it dries tends to leave a residue often white in colour. You may have a pin hole in a rubber pipe.

Post up here the car type and where you saw the steam a picture would be good, help us to help you!

[Scottski]

Ok, so after a trip to my friendly mechanic friend I now know the problem.....I had an oil leak under the turbo unit which was dripping onto the front part of my exhaust. Hence the smoke coming from the wheel arches when I stopped. Apparently I could have been one of those poor sods on the side of the motorway.....car engulfed in flames....nice!

[Hoofy]

Eek. Glad you identified the problem. And thanks for coming back with an update.