Smoking on startup after sitting

[JohnE]

Thank you all for your reply. It has taken me awhile to get some info as I’ve been trying to work with Ford and my dealer. This only occurs on cold start-up, and when the SUV is parked on an incline (engine facing uphill). When I park it backwards (engine facing downhill), the smoking issue has yet to occur. For clarity, anytime the vehicle does smoke on startup, it smells burnt/like oil.

Here is where we are with the issue:
I enlisted the help of Ford, and they worked with my local Ford dealer to address by having the dealer communicate and troubleshoot with a Ford engineer. After two weeks of troubleshooting, they came back and said they have found no issues with any potential part failures, and are tentatively ruling it like this: that this is a normal situation that when the SUV is parked on an incline, it will smoke under those conditions and will not cause harm.

The only other thing they are having me do is drive my car for 3k miles, and then I have to take it back for them to see if there has been any oil burn off. If so, they will continue to investigate. If not, that is where Ford is leaving it. Doesn’t really make sense to me and I hope to get something figured out.

That is NOT normal and do not accept that explanation from Ford. That’s one of the craziest “that is normal” excuses I’ve ever heard. Maybe that would make sense if one or more of the rear cylinders valve seals are leaking but still that’s not normal.

 

[Jeff]

Thank you all for your reply. It has taken me awhile to get some info as I’ve been trying to work with Ford and my dealer. This only occurs on cold start-up, and when the SUV is parked on an incline (engine facing uphill). When I park it backwards (engine facing downhill), the smoking issue has yet to occur. For clarity, anytime the vehicle does smoke on startup, it smells burnt/like oil.

Here is where we are with the issue:
I enlisted the help of Ford, and they worked with my local Ford dealer to address by having the dealer communicate and troubleshoot with a Ford engineer. After two weeks of troubleshooting, they came back and said they have found no issues with any potential part failures, and are tentatively ruling it like this: that this is a normal situation that when the SUV is parked on an incline, it will smoke under those conditions and will not cause harm.

The only other thing they are having me do is drive my car for 3k miles, and then I have to take it back for them to see if there has been any oil burn off. If so, they will continue to investigate. If not, that is where Ford is leaving it. Doesn’t really make sense to me and I hope to get something figured out.

I have the same burning oil issue, Ford thought it was a valve leaking oil into the cylinder, they replaced valve and cylinder head and the problem persisted. After 4 tries they are buying back the vehicle after we threatened to use Lemon Law. I highly recommend going the buy back route. We are still driving the vehicle, (until replacement arrives at which time it will be traded in on a Toyota or Acura) and it smokes daily burning about a quart of oil every 2 weeks. Not only is the engine burning oil, the transmission is hesitating and stammering, glad it will be going away soon.

 

[kneedragger]

I have a 2020 Explorer ST that has been experiencing the same problem for a few months now. After being on the waiting list for 3 months with the dealer where I purchased it, I finally told them to get lost after they kept telling me "two more weeks" 4 different times. I got on the calendar with another local dealer and they looked at it today and said they couldn't find any codes so there was nothing they could do. No misfires, no low coolant/oil. They said Ford won't pay them to go ripping apart the engine with no codes so they had to give it back to me. The guy said he's going to engage Ford to see if there are any upcoming service bulletins this dealership may not be aware of.

I'm mad as you can tell every morning that the problem persists. I keep the ST in my garage that is pretty much level so there is no uphill/downhill facing issue. I'm pretty pissed off here and plan to engage Ford myself. Any advice on where folks on here got that conversation started that led to the Lemon Law buyback? I love my car and don't really love going that route but I do want the smoking issue resolved to my satisfaction.

Here's a video:

 

[kneedragger]

I have the same burning oil issue, Ford thought it was a valve leaking oil into the cylinder, they replaced valve and cylinder head and the problem persisted. After 4 tries they are buying back the vehicle after we threatened to use Lemon Law. I highly recommend going the buy back route. We are still driving the vehicle, (until replacement arrives at which time it will be traded in on a Toyota or Acura) and it smokes daily burning about a quart of oil every 2 weeks. Not only is the engine burning oil, the transmission is hesitating and stammering, glad it will be going away soon.

Out of curiosity, who bought it back, Ford or your dealership? How did they determine value?

 

[TMac]

I have a 2020 Explorer ST that has been experiencing the same problem for a few months now. After being on the waiting list for 3 months with the dealer where I purchased it, I finally told them to get lost after they kept telling me "two more weeks" 4 different times. I got on the calendar with another local dealer and they looked at it today and said they couldn't find any codes so there was nothing they could do. No misfires, no low coolant/oil. They said Ford won't pay them to go ripping apart the engine with no codes so they had to give it back to me. The guy said he's going to engage Ford to see if there are any upcoming service bulletins this dealership may not be aware of.

I'm mad as you can tell every morning that the problem persists. I keep the ST in my garage that is pretty much level so there is no uphill/downhill facing issue. I'm pretty pissed off here and plan to engage Ford myself. Any advice on where folks on here got that conversation started that led to the Lemon Law buyback? I love my car and don't really love going that route but I do want the smoking issue resolved to my satisfaction.

Here's a video:

It's only coming from the left side from what I see. An intelligent guess would be a turbine seal on the driver's side. Take the video to your service writer and also involve the owner if possible. Show them the evidence. A good tech would make this diagnosis. And no, it wouldn't throw any codes until it gets really bad and possibly compromises the cat or o2 sensors.

 

[Jeff]

We started the buyback and are now getting a 2022 replacement for our 2020. We worked with the Ford RAV department. The replacement is a better option because they compare MSRP of the current vehicle and new vehicle, the MSRP was reduced 5k from model year 2020 to 2021. This allows you to get more options, the loan on the new model will continue from the old one, only the vin number will change.

Ford Reacquired Vehicle Headquarters
2717 Schust Rd. Saginaw, MI 48603
T: (877) 477-1023 | F: (877) 489-3091

 

[Jeff]

Out of curiosity, who bought it back, Ford or your dealership? How did they determine value?

Ford RAV center bought back, they use the purchase price less a mileage formula. I figured we were better off taking a replacement and trading that in. A trade in reduces the tax on the new vehicle by the value of the trade. If you cant locate a replacement you will need to order one and drive the bad one until new one arrives with no additional mileage charge
Ford Reacquired Vehicle Headquarters
2717 Schust Rd. Saginaw, MI 48603
T: (877) 477-1023 Ext: 1910| F: (877) 489-3091

 

[kneedragger]

It's only coming from the left side from what I see. An intelligent guess would be a turbine seal on the driver's side. Take the video to your service writer and also involve the owner if possible. Show them the evidence. A good tech would make this diagnosis. And no, it wouldn't throw any codes until it gets really bad and possibly compromises the cat or o2 sensors.

I showed them the video when I brought it in and got the result I mentioned above. I'm going to take another video tomorrow morning to prove the issue still exists since they sent me home with paperwork that said they couldn't duplicate the problem. If that doesn't work, I'm going to park it in their lot over night and take the service manager to my car and start it on video in front of him.

 

[TMac]

I showed them the video when I brought it in and got the result I mentioned above. I'm going to take another video tomorrow morning to prove the issue still exists since they sent me home with paperwork that said they couldn't duplicate the problem. If that doesn't work, I'm going to park it in their lot over night and take the service manager to my car and start it on video in front of him.

IF it is the seal, once it warms up everything tightens up and it's not noticeable. There have been at least three turbine seal problems I'm aware of and all of them had the same symptoms you describe. Starting it cold at the dealership is a good start. Advise them of the possibility that if it IS a seal issue it could compromise the O2 and Cat. Those fall under emissions equipment and for a dealership should warrant a higher priority. Make sure you tell them you want documentation that it's normal or no problem, be nice, but firm.

 

[Wendell wallace]

I have a 2020 Explorer ST. On startup, smoke appears out of the exhaust, sometimes it is light, other times it is heavy smoke. I took to 2 different dealers and they said they could not replicate it and thus could not address. Has anyone else experienced this? I have attached 3 different videos showing what I'm talking about.

Was this ever resolved??

 

[Jeff]

Was this ever resolved??

the issue was not resolved after 4 visits to 3 different dealers, currently it is burning about a quart of oil every 2 weeks. Ford is buying the vehicle back tonight. Keep track of how many visits you make to get repaired and how many days it is in the shop. In Wisconsin we qualified as a Lemon Law. We are receiving full purchase price as a settlement. Replacement vehicle was an option however they cannot estimate when that would be available and with all the problem with this one I do not want another.
Let me know if you have any questions

 

[Ms.Beth]

Did you get this resolved? My 2020 ST is in the shop today for the same issue

I joined this group specifically because I started having this issue with my 2020 ST. It’s sporadic though. Doesn’t happen every time and only does it after it’s been sitting overnight. Yesterday, was the worst I’d seen. A large amount of smoke (80 degrees out) upon initial start that morning. Didn’t happen today, but did a couple times last week. Any suggestions would be great!

 

[Jeff]

I joined this group specifically because I started having this issue with my 2020 ST. It’s sporadic though. Doesn’t happen every time and only does it after it’s been sitting overnight. Yesterday, was the worst I’d seen. A large amount of smoke (80 degrees out) upon initial start that morning. Didn’t happen today, but did a couple times last week. Any suggestions would be great!

Ford could not resolve and lemon lawed the vehicle. keep track of how many time and days it is in the shop. i can get you the name of who we worked with at ford if you need it. After talking to multiple dealers most of the 2020 models have some sort of serious issue. I really miss the car and performance but not all of the headaches

 

[boiler662]

So took our 2020 in for a sunroof rattle yesterday which of course they cant replicate and got a call this morning the tech noticed blue smoke coming out of the exhaust during a cold startup which I also noticed on Sunday...... It smelled of oil and was a fairly big cloud, I chalked it up to sitting at the airport for a week and was going to monitor it which is why I didn't mention it.

 

[kneedragger]

Well, here's my update. My ST has still been consistently smoking on cold start. The first time I took it to the dealer for service, they "couldn't find any codes" so did nothing. This was my second time at the dealer and I emailed a video of extreme smoke on cold start to the service manager, advisor and client advisor......very hard to refute.

Here's the response from the service advisor after a few days with my ST:

We pinpointed your smoke at engine start up to a right side turbo charger. The turbo is leaking oil that is getting burnt and causing smoke

So, as of this moment, I still have my rental and the service tech claims I'll have my ST back in a few days. Hopefully this solves the problem. Stay tuned.......

 

[kneedragger]

Well, for anyone that is still following this saga, here's the response from my service guy:

We replaced that right side turbo charger and all the related hardware and gaskets

So.......it's been started up a handful of times since I got it back and it's still smoking. I'm going to drive it a bit more and see if the problem persists and if it does, I'll be curious to see what they say when I bring it back for a third time.

 

[Cruising68]

Bummer, sorry about your troubles.

 

[boiler662]

They are pulling a cat on mine to see if any oil has pooled up.....

 

[boiler662]

And they are blaming the Thermal exhaust because water builds up which causes the BLUE smoke....

 

[kartman]

Mine is in now for the same symptoms. Smoke after parked on incline, not decline etc.