Q: Engine shuts off, white smoke coming out - 2001 Toyota MR2

asked by on September 14, 2016

My car has been having some issue for a while now. The cylinders number one and three were misfiring. So, several months ago I had the spark plugs replaced, along with the spark plug boot and coil plug boot. The car is idling poorly now. The car shuts off if it's not in motion. The engine runs as if it's under load. I also noticed the burning smell in the car. I'm currently not driving the car, because the engine is releasing white smoke and even though the car would start, I cannot get it to move. Is my engine going out? What should I do?

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Hello. White smoke (steam) makes me think that this is antifreeze. Check to be sure your radiator coolant level is not dropping. If so, could have internal leak to cylinder. A misfiring cylinder is caused by mechanical problems or an ignition or fuel problem. It would probably be wise to do a compression test to rule out mechanical problems. Also, a basic engine timing test would rule out an easy to address issue. Beyond that, both the ignition and fuel systems would have to be thoroughly examined. Since there are quite a few possibilities, I recommend having a qualified professional, like one from YourMechanic, diagnose the smoke problem in order to have this corrected.

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