question about exhaust and turbo

Joined
Aug 6, 2020
Messages
50
THANKS for all your previous help!

So I have a 2020 Acura RDX. I think it has one turbo. If I am driving at 60 mph on the highway and stomp the gas to pass a truck, I get a cloud of SOMETHING from the exhaust.

to me looks more like steam, and less like white, blue, or black smoke.

any ideas? only 13,000 original miles. lots of oil changes done
best

bob and thanks
 
What is your location and conditions when this occurs.

Typically it would be unburnt fuel.. possibly moisture/steam in winter.. since gasoline+air = water as a byproduct.
 
Could just be carbon build up from driving at half throttle around town. You need to open it up more often.
 
How cold is it where you live? Do you short trip it often?

My first guess is water build up in the exhaust system that turns to steam when you get on it enough to heat up the exhaust. Happens all the time in colder environments.
 
thanks! I absolutely drive mostly around town at 35 mph. go to daughter every 2-3 weeks. I don't see it cruising at 60 mph on the highway, but DO see it if I really put my foot down. I believe it is not impending doom, might be ?water in exhaust? ??unburnt fuel?


thanks
bob i love this car
 
Johhny: thank you! where is the carbon coming from?

should I do more high throttle driving once in a while?

great car.

thanks
bob
 
Try running some injector cleaner or top tier gas in it, and drive it hard once in a while. That will clean it out the piston deposits and the exhaust system build up. The carbon occurs during combustion and is a normal in most engines, but some are more effected then others.
 
Deposits can build up in the exhaust system. Many of us have been behind a vehicle that smells terrible and puts out a visible cloud as the driver floors it to get on the interstate (or similar). Most likely, they drove many miles before "getting on it" and simply blew out the deposits.

If this happens all the time, keep an eye on your fluids.
 
great! THANKS guys!!

most of my driving is 25-30 mph locally, very little throttle

bob
 
Start at slow speed and take say 2 seconds or so to floor it (don't just stomp it) Let it shift a couple times at red line (keep it floored) My wife drives her 18 Forester and every couple of weeks I ring it out. Unless you have a serious problem this should fix it.
 
It's actually condensation from the intercooler that builds up while driving gently being sucked through the engine when you stomp on it. In a properly designed system (which your RDX has), it's a non issue as the amount is still small enough to vaporize during combustion.

It is a common issue on the 3.5 ecoboost from ford in the years from 2011 to 2014 due to the intercooler design. It causes the Ford engine to stumble/misfire and even hydro-lock at worst case. Ford designed all kind of work arounds for the intercooler, but a wholesale design change updated in 2015 was the real fix. People drilled a small hole in the bottom of the intercooler to dump the condensate before it can get sucked up.


 
Johhny: thank you! where is the carbon coming from?

should I do more high throttle driving once in a while?

great car.

thanks
bob
All things being equal it's the gasoline additives doing their job. The Northstar engine had similar issues, which isn't really an issue. Most of the time Caddy's were driven gently for long periods, so normal carbon buildup would occur in the combustion chamber (along with those additives of course). When it was time to go out and floor it, there was usually a small cloud of white powder that would come out the exhaust.
Don't forget, some if this can be burned oil residue also, and it's not ALL in the combustion chambers. It can be in the CAT or muffler, or even the manifolds.
 
I am leaning to believe TC 71

just went to daughter's.

cruising highway at 65 mph, around 1700 rpm.

hit the gas, got the usual cloud of "water" appearing. second time LESS, and third time NONE.

looked like water vapor or droplets. condensation from intercooler SEEMS RIGHT!

thanks everyone!

best,
bob
 
Back
Top