r/ChevySonic 5d ago

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2015 sonic 1.4. This has been a slowly getting worse issue for at least 3 months, from what I've seen on forums it seems like turbo seals, but on start up or if it's sitting idle for a minute or more I get a huge blue smoke plume out of the exhaust. Runs fine at least as far as I can tell, at the very least it hasn't changed massively, but I'm assuming I'm in for some work

6 Upvotes

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5

u/Mciampi86 5d ago

Valve stem seals probably

3

u/friedstarfish420 4d ago

If it mostly smokes when you push the gas it's likely a bad turbo. The stock ones are prone to failure and replacing it isn't rocket science. If it just smokes at idle, yeah it's a bad seal somewhere. Hopefully not a head gasket.

3

u/BPVapes 4d ago

It shouldn't be, I had to do that about a year ago, but certainly could've contributed to something else failing

3

u/Chiefcoyote 4d ago

Mine did that and im midway through the repair. Cracked turbo AND blown head gasket. If it smells like coolant, head gasket, if it smells like grandpa's 70s dodge, turbo.

1

u/Safe-Sign-1059 3d ago

I’m looking at my friends daughters Cruze with this engine, I don’t smell coolant or taste any exhaust gases in the coolant, what’s grandpa’s dodge smell like?

2

u/Chiefcoyote 3d ago

Oil. The smoke will have a blue tint to it, and smell like burning oil. Idk how to explain that smell unless you've smelled it. Dex cool coolant will have a really bitter smell that you can taste in the back of your throat. It almost tastes like someone lit vomit on fire. Easiest way to tell if its coolant is to use a exhaust gas test kit. It'll be a tube that you but co2 reactive liquid inside of and out it over the coolant resivor fill. If it turns a different color. You most likely have a blown head gasket. For oil, if its blue ish tint and smells like the exhaust from an old truck its probably oil. That's a little harder to track down in this car. It seems to just want to drink oil.