Hi. We got our new 2010 Prius III with nav/solar this past January. The car is amazing and we couldn't be happier. The car currently has about 280 miles and it's fun to see the average mpg increase every time we drive. Yesterday, we dropped off our other car at the mechanic. I was driving the Prius and my wife was driving behind me. On the way she noticed sporadic puffs of white smoke coming out of the Prius's tailpipe. We switched cars and I saw the same thing. We're in Maryland and the temperature yesterday was in the 40s. Is this normal for a new car, or new Prius for that matter? Should we be concerned the engine is burning coolant? I tried to search PC but couldn't find anything helpful. Thanks, Ben
Probably just condensation/steam when the engine starts up. As long as it is not blue, shouldn't be a problem.
Its normal for a catalyst equipped car to emit some water vapor since that is a byproduct of combustion and catalyst conversion of unburned HC to CO2 + H2O. In a normal (non-hybrid) car, it will emit water vapor as the exhaust system warms up and then not be noticeable except when the air temps are really cold. On the other hand, if you have a bad head gasket or other leak into a combustion chamber, it will undoubtedly get worse within the 5 yr/60k powertrain warranty and then you can get the dealer to fix it gratis. Just check the coolant tank from time to time to make sure you aren't losing coolant.
