sounds like either your spark plug tube seals are leaking badly or ( this is the likely option) your valve stem seals are starting to leak. its not a terrible leak if the smoke goes away quickly but it looks like its gonna be time to refresh your head soon.
Black smoke only when cold and slight sputtering
Hello and thanks in advance.
2.0t accord auto
phearable stage 3
PRL FMIC
Thermal Rnd exhaust.
63k miles
I'm wondering what this could be? It only happens on cold starts, the car it sputters slightly after I turn it on. I can hear it but no weird vibrations or anything. After i noticed the slight sputter i had someone accelerate it slightly to 2-3k rpm to see if i can see anything weird out of the exhaust and i noticed black smoke coming out. Just on the first acceleration after that it was totally normal no signs of black smoke or anything. I've been looking and checking for this and it has been pretty consistent after 3-4 weeks and a couple of tanks of gas, aways the same upon cold starts. When driving the vehicle car responds normally no issues no smoke.
I did have an issue months ago where the FMIC hose popped out and i drove it about 20 mins home not knowing that was the issue. Don't know if it is at all related but car drove perfectly after we tightened the hose.
Ordered some oem spark plugs will be installing next week.
2.0t accord auto
phearable stage 3
PRL FMIC
Thermal Rnd exhaust.
63k miles
I'm wondering what this could be? It only happens on cold starts, the car it sputters slightly after I turn it on. I can hear it but no weird vibrations or anything. After i noticed the slight sputter i had someone accelerate it slightly to 2-3k rpm to see if i can see anything weird out of the exhaust and i noticed black smoke coming out. Just on the first acceleration after that it was totally normal no signs of black smoke or anything. I've been looking and checking for this and it has been pretty consistent after 3-4 weeks and a couple of tanks of gas, aways the same upon cold starts. When driving the vehicle car responds normally no issues no smoke.
I did have an issue months ago where the FMIC hose popped out and i drove it about 20 mins home not knowing that was the issue. Don't know if it is at all related but car drove perfectly after we tightened the hose.
Ordered some oem spark plugs will be installing next week.
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Thanks for the reply. Sorry for the ignorance but what does refresh your head mean?
No need to apologize! Assuming it is indeed your valve stem seals failing, you would have one of two options. replacing only the valve stem seals which can be done with the head still on the engine. it takes some special tools but any shop familiar with Hondas can knock it out.
option two would be a head refresh like i talked about in my previous post. that would be removing the head and sending it to the machine shop to have them replace valve stem seals, make sure your mating surface for a new head gasket is perfect and checking that your valves are sealing. they also clean it to perfection. this method would insure that you are 100% sure that your issue is fixed and any other issues are found and addressed. this route is obviously more expensive but if you plan on keeping the car id say its worth it!
option two would be a head refresh like i talked about in my previous post. that would be removing the head and sending it to the machine shop to have them replace valve stem seals, make sure your mating surface for a new head gasket is perfect and checking that your valves are sealing. they also clean it to perfection. this method would insure that you are 100% sure that your issue is fixed and any other issues are found and addressed. this route is obviously more expensive but if you plan on keeping the car id say its worth it!
Thanks again. I was going to do the spark plugs this weekend. Would those type of leaks be noticeable by looking in there or inspecting the spark plugs and surrounding areas?
you may be able to see ontop the pistons once the spark plugs are out. but there isnt much room to see as the holes are tiny.
here is a link to a youtube video describing and showing a valve stem seal and how it works in your engine. its a really cool animation
here is a link to a youtube video describing and showing a valve stem seal and how it works in your engine. its a really cool animation
Thanks ! I appreciate it.
before you go chasing that issue down the proverbial rabbit hole, why not try something else first? I'd suggest start by returning your car to stock with regards to the tune. black smoke could be something mechanical, but could just as easily be the result of your tune. try it first and if that wasn't the issue, then you could always go back to where you are today. painless, no cost troubleshooting. let us know.
Didn't think of that . Thanks .
black smoke is indicative of a mechanic failure starting to happen. be it the valve stem seals or your turbo seals. putting it back to stock tune would be a band aid at best. all it would do is lessen the stress on whatever is already failing. it would help in the diagnosis of the problem. but this issue is not tune related. the tune may have caused the wear but the damage is done.
Blue smoke (burning oil) is what it would be if mechanical I would think. Black is usually a rich condition and that could be caused by the tune. I would also try flashing it back to stock and reset the ECM. Car is always running rich until it reaches normal temp. Since you have very little mufflers it might be normal with that exhaust on there. Just a thought.. This winter being very cold I have noticed black soot on my chrome tips if I go driving or get into it before fully warm didnt notice it during summer but during winter it does and I have stock exhaust.
black smoke is emissions related, blue or white smoke would be oil burning
Sorry, Taz69 I didn't realize you already said this. I'm unable to delete my post 😳
Sorry, Taz69 I didn't realize you already said this. I'm unable to delete my post 😳
we would need to see a video or picture of the smoke. as a shop owner most cars that show up with a "black smoke from tailpipe" concern its usually, in fact, dark blue. not to mention its only on startup and goes away after a few throttles, thats classic valve stem seals. if it was dumping enough fuel to cause actual black smoke it wouldnt just be at startup.
Have you seen valve seals wear on a 2.0T with only 63k? Yes blue on start up is classic valve seals but just have not seen any other posts at all about warn valve seals in the 2.0T. Since you own a shop you would have seen lots of 10th gens and would know..
i own a euro shop so i dont see more than a Honda a month usually. I personally have a love affair with Hondas. There are a few guys on youtube that have ran into this issue. AccordingtoJoel ( held the record for the quickest accord for a while) had them start leaking around 70k his turbo blew and he sold it before he got around to refreshing his head.Have you seen valve seals wear on a 2.0T with only 63k? Yes blue on start up is classic valve seals but just have not seen any other posts at all about warn valve seals in the 2.0T. Since you own a shop you would have seen lots of 10th gens and would know..
while i dont see a ton on Hondas i do live daily in the realm of turbo GDI engines. Oil changes over 5k miles and a turned up turbo will absolutely put some wear on those seals. even in the low mileage of 67k. again, this is from Mercedes, BMW, and Porscha experiance but seals are seals no matter the brand.
I'm in a warmer climate but it has been a lot colder than usual. And I've noticed recently when I get out of work and the car has been sitting all day the symptoms like the idle and the black smoke are not there around 4pm vs in the early morning around 6:00am. Im going to continually look at it.Blue smoke (burning oil) is what it would be if mechanical I would think. Black is usually a rich condition and that could be caused by the tune. I would also try flashing it back to stock and reset the ECM. Car is always running rich until it reaches normal temp. Since you have very little mufflers it might be normal with that exhaust on there. Just a thought.. This winter being very cold I have noticed black soot on my chrome tips if I go driving or get into it before fully warm didnt notice it during summer but during winter it does and I have stock exhaust.
I'll try to provide one asap.we would need to see a video or picture of the smoke. as a shop owner most cars that show up with a "black smoke from tailpipe" concern its usually, in fact, dark blue. not to mention its only on startup and goes away after a few throttles, thats classic valve stem seals. if it was dumping enough fuel to cause actual black smoke it wouldnt just be at startup.
update: So I changed the spark plugs and everything inside was clean i looked inside using a flashlight all clean. Car started smooth idle no issues at the beginning. Now when I accelerate after 2.5rpm car sputters only when driving in onece instance it loss power and was running very weak. I can go to 4k rpm when accelerating in park and no issues. This is weird. I'm going to change back to the old spark plugs see if maybe i got a defective spark plug or one of the gaps is off. one of the sparkplugs was outside of the spark plug box probably tossed around during shipping maybe that could be the issue.
Was a spark plug that was bad. replaced the defective spark plug with one of the old ones car has no issue now. car running 100%update: So I changed the spark plugs and everything inside was clean i looked inside using a flashlight all clean. Car started smooth idle no issues at the beginning. Now when I accelerate after 2.5rpm car sputters only when driving in onece instance it loss power and was running very weak. I can go to 4k rpm when accelerating in park and no issues. This is weird. I'm going to change back to the old spark plugs see if maybe i got a defective spark plug or one of the gaps is off. one of the sparkplugs was outside of the spark plug box probably tossed around during shipping maybe that could be the issue.
Thats good news. Something simple looks like it was black smoke you were seeing..
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