Why is white smoke coming from the hood of my car? Why would a car blow white smoke? The most common cause of white smoke from under the hood of a vehicle is an overheated engine. In this case, the driver is actually seeing steam from the radiator instead of smoke. However, if a burning smell accompanies the smoke , there is likely another type of fluid leak.
The oil filler cap in almost all the engines releases a faint whiff of smoke , which is a residue of the burnt fuel inside the engine. Older engines produce more hot spots, which make the car smoking under hood but not overheating. Or maybe you completely forgot to add coolant at all, and the engine overheated.
Not that anyone would ever do that. You said white smoke was coming out from the hood area behind the engine: You could have a leaked manifold gasket. The cause could be a faulty water pump If the pump is not working well the coolant and or water is not being forced through the system well enough to keep the engine cooled thus creating overheat. I have white smoke coming from under the hood on the passenger side and it also comes out by the driver side front tire. I cannot tell for sure where it is coming from.
It only happens after the car has warmed up. What should I check first? When I drive the car for more than minutes I get white smoke coming from under the hood and a burning smell getting into my air conditioning system.