tmac1955

I have 05 RX330 39000 miles on start up in morning car smokes and smells like oil . Car quits smoking after about a minute and i cannot see any smoke while driving. Does anyone have same problem? Car runs great.

bad co

What color is the smoke, if its blue its oil, if its white its either just steam or coolant

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like bad exhaust valve stem seals. 2JZ-GTEs are notorious for this. Mine's still doing it...

bad co

The RX has a 2jz?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

No, but valve stem seals do go across platforms depending on stem diameter. It's not unheard of for Toyota engines to blow oil smoke from bad exhaust stem seals.

RXSF

my 04 does the same thing. Its definately not white, but its not exactly black; so i guess its gray.

Will this be a problem in the future, or is it just something you can live with?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I've lived with it for about 8 years now. It only does this on initial start up. The car passed California Smog Check II at test only stations even with this defect, so I'd say it's nothing to worry about fixing. It surely isn't cheap unless it's a warranty defect you can have Lexus fix.

RXSF

I feel like my car is on its last legs. Im not quite ready for a new car, so Im hoping nothing fails; planning to trade the car in by June and not hoping to spend any more money on the maitenance.

the tires are about to go, this smoke problem, the rear door creaks in cold temperatures, the water pump has not been changed, nor the timing belt (im at 105,xxx miles), the rain sensing wipers decide to go on whenever they want, I cant put a CD in slot 6 because I got an error one time and Im afraid it will happen again, and im pretty sure the tranny is about to go soon. haha

mmarshall

If it only "smokes" for a minute or so and goes away as the engine warms up, it may not be smoke at all, but simply water vapor produced by the catalyst, which is normal. Catalysts produce water vapor and a very small amount of sulfuric acid vapor...which is why a too-rich fuel mixture sometimes gives you a sulfur-rotten egg smell. This water/acid vapor out the tailpipe is visible when the exhaust system is cold, but generally vaporizes more and becomes more invisible after warmup. And, because exhaust temperatures run 800-900 degrees and catalytic converters can reach over 1,500 degrees, it doesn't take long for the pipes to warm up. Air temperature/humidity can also play a role in how long the visible steam vapor lasts.

The G Man

If the exhaust smell like oil, then you are buring oil on start up. That would mean some oil is getting into the combusion chamber while your car sits over night. lobuxracer could be right about the bad exhaust valve stem seals, then again, lobuxracer is right most of the time

mmarshall

Agreed...........I only mentioned the catalyst/water vapor issue because the OP mentioned that it usually goes away in a minute or so, which is typical of many normal cold-starts, especially in humid weather. That is not necessarily the case if it is burning oil......the smoke is more continuous in nature, and usually has a bluish-white tinge. It is possible that the OP is getting a case of both, with a small amount of oil-usage as well. As lobuxracer says (and he is correct on this) valve-stem problems are relatively common on some Toyota/Lexus engines.

Lil4X

Valve guides were also a notorious plague on Chevy small blocks. I had several that began smoking on start-up by the time they reached 20K miles. All soldiered on for years and thousands of miles with no additional problems.

This particular situation arises when the engine is shut down and oil begins to ooze between the valve guide and the valve stem, puddling maybe a drop on top of the closed valves until the system is depressured and oil drains back to the pan. When the engine is started after several hours, that "leaked" oil provides quick lubrication before oil can be circulated up to the head, but the tiny portion sitting on top of the valve is burned in the cylinder immediately - accounting for the blue-white puff of smoke.

I've had Chevrolet (and GM) people tell me that their production choice was to leave the valve guides a little soft on the assumption that the puff of white smoke on startup was a better choice than a tight seal that would wear away the valve stem, especially before the oil pump reached full pressure to lubricate the top end.

That may sound like an excuse, but because valve guide leakage goes back to the 327 and 283 CID GM engines of the late 50's, they have certainly had plenty of time to solve it in the past 50 years if they wanted to. I suspect that the Toyota/Lexus engineers may have made the same engineering decision. For those bothered by the white smoke, the aftermarket offers plenty of replacement guides that won't leak.