White smoke from driver's side vent.

Hi

While driving my 1988 928 S4 this weekend I noticed white smoke (a burning smell) emanating from the driver’s side door vents. I noticed it while stopped at a stop light. When I drove off, the smoke was gone and did not re-appear. The smoke amount was minor but it’s kinda scary..thinking your car is about to burst in flames. My questions are:

1) has this happened to anyone else before?
2) will this result in a hefty repair bill or is it a simple fix?


Thanks in advance

RJ

Did it smell electrical or like plastic burning?

If your window motor somehow got stuck "on" then perhaps that could be it, or if a pair of wires met (positive and negative) then perhaps a wire could melt.

Anything can be expensive, it depends on who does it, how they fix it and most importantly what you consider expensive

Hi Stan,

it had a burning paper type odor.

I found this explanation while doing an internet search for this issue.

"I have the EXACT same problem. The smoke (in my case at least) is cause by the oil breather tube leaking. It leaks a little oil on to the top of the engine which is hot, and it burns off. Under driving conditions, there is too much air flow to allow the smoke to drift up towards the vents. However, when you come to a stop, it will be able to flow on up in to the passenger compartment. Check the tube and its clamps (all located at the back of the intake manifold, underneeth it. "

My question is where is this breather tube located..is it easily accessible? I'm thinking oil leaking on a hot engine is not a good thing.

RGJ;10303 wrote: Hi Stan,
it had a burning paper type odor.(

Sorry, I am confused, I read your post as that it was coming from the door on the driver side. I think you need to open the hood to find out whether the issue is there or in the door. Only after you determine that should you be considering how difficult it is to remove parts.

If you had oil dripping on to anything hot, it would not smoke in to your HVAC system. Take off your door panel and work you way to the front until you find out what was burning.

Hi Stan,

your initial assessment was correct. The smoke was coming from the driver's side door vents.

I thought maybe there was some linkage where if there was smoke under the hood it would be getting into the vents somehow.

I did open the hood and my novice eyes did not notice anything unusual...btw I just got the car saftied on Aug 3rd.

I'll drive it again to see if the problem presents itself again.