When cold starting my 2000 Max Se, winter and summer, I have had "Blue Smoke" come from the tail pipe. Servicing dealer states in the winter the engine runs rich and using "winter" fuel....now it's summer and samething.....this "blue smoke" is not consistant and of course the dealer cannot duplicate the problem....I had it in two weeks ago and mentioned this again...again he replied that it was a rich fuel mixture........ANY THOUGHTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED !!! Warranty (36/36) has almost expired !!!!!

 

First of all make sure the dealer makes a note of your problem on Nissan Dealer letterhead. So you have proof that the problem existed BEFORE your warranty expired.

Now blue smoke is most commonly oil being burnt. (White is usually water and black/very dark brown is too much fuel) What it looks like to me is that during the night some oil is getting into the combustion chambers and gets burnt off when you go to start it in the mornings. Does it do it when you have been driving the car for awhile? Does it do it when the car is warmed up? If no, then I would say you have maybe some worn valve stem seals. If you you are getting blue smoke all the time, I would say you have a set of worn piston rings. But it sounds like a valve stem seal problem. It could also be something emission control related. If the PCV is not working, I guess it could pressurize the valvetrain and force oil into the combustion chambers.

 

Hmm...blue smoke to me sounds like oil. Has your car been consuming any oil? Does it produce it only when the vehicle starts?

Keep track of how much oil your car is using and the type of oil. When your cylinder rings go, you lose compression and start to burn oil as it seeps into the combustion chamber. Easiest way to ensure you aren't losing a cylinder (rings) is to have someone do some compression testing on your engine. This measures the compression within each cylinder by replacing the sparkplug with a gauge which can determine PSI. Also, they can do a compression check where they can see how long each cylinder maintains it compression (leak-down test).

You might hit google for "compression test" or if you continue to have problems ask the dealer to compression test your engine.

I have also heard of injectors leaking into the cylinders deposting fuel that can cause similar problems. The same sort of test would have to be done to confirm it. Leak-down test on your fuel system......dealer would know what to do and how to check for it.

 

powertrain warranty is 5 yr/60k miles and if it is an engine problem like that, it should be covered....

 

Nauman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

Definitely sounds like valve seals to me.....

 

wassup YJ

 

valve seal is most likely. Sound funny, but next time you start your car, run out there and smell the fumes. Then you will know if it's gas or oil.

 

This is a rare problem for a Max, especially such a new model. Could you tell us if your car is stock and what oil and filter are you using?

 

You can use this as a test as well. Leave the car running. Watch the tailpipe. After 10 minutes or so you should see blue smoke coming out. More will start coming out quickly so make sure you shut off your car. Definitely a broken seal. I have the same problem with my truck.

The winter fuel line is a load of BS. When my coils went bad in my 2k GXE and I had engine ping, the service manager told me that it was winter fuel. New cars do not ping unless they have a mechanical problem.

 

First off, I would like to thank everyone for all of their thoughts and the quick reply.

1)I did request the dealer to note the problem to Nissan, it was written down on my latest service request...I plan on calling Nissan myself.
2) The blue smoke only happens on cold starts.....as of now I cannot tell if I'm using oil as I check it occasionally and is still at normal level.
3)I know the powertrain warranty is in effect for 5/60, but I want it covered under the initial 36/36 warranty.
4) The car is stock, no mod's have been done. I use Valvoline 10W30 (regular oil) and a FRAM oil filter.
5) I have not experienced the engine ping, as of yet.

Overall, I'm pleased with my Max....Have had no major problems and just completed a 2700 mile trip to NYC and average 29MPG, using premium, only. I am also pleased with the servicing dealer, so far. Also, I've installed the In-Cabin filter at purchase and just replaced it, works like a charm.....can the filter be purchased as a third party item?

Any more responses are appreciated, thanks again.

 

in many cases when a car has a minor oil leak blue smoke would come out only during cold starts. because if your engine is cold then it must have been sitting long enough to collect enough oil in the cylinders to burn off producing a blue smoke. the smoke then clears when the majority of the oil present in the cylinder burns off. the oil may still be leaking in to the cylinder while the engine is on, however it may be leaking into the cylinder so slowly that it gets burnt immdediately and is too little to produce visible blue smoke. have you checked your spark plugs recently?? pull them out and see what they look like. i'm not saying the oil is leaking past the plugs, i'm talkin' bout if you'll see any carbon deposite on the plugs (signifying that it's running too rich) or a white-ish coating on it (meaning it's running too lean). if it's running lean then it's possible that one of your seals got too hot and melted enabling a little oil to leak through. i definately hope u find out what's going on with the car because blue smoke comin' from tail pipes is usually very bad news.

 

I use Valvoline 10W30 (regular oil) and a FRAM oil filter.

There are much better oil filters than FRAM, at one time FRAM made an excellent oil filter but not now. Some choices are Nissan OEM,
Mobil One with synthetic media, AMSOIL, Baldwin, Hastings.
Be well!!!!

 

i only use oem nissan oil filters cuz that's what i've been taught to use too.. and redline 10w30