I started my car this morning and there was considerable smoke coming out from under the hood on the driver side within seconds. The car has 168.5k miles on it. I searched google and it looks like maybe the coolant is leaking, maybe the head gasket?
Anyways would this be worth the cost of repairing, and would I have to get it towed to the repair shop?
When you say the smoke came after starting your car in the morning within seconds it makes me think electrical smoke not steam from coolant (the time frame is not right)
How did a google search lead you to conclude you have a coolant leak? Have you opened the hood and made a inspection?
Don’t be afraid to open the hood and look around. If you want to test something do a cooling system pressure test (you may need to google for instructions)
I agree with oldschool. There are many reasons for smoke. Coolant smoke will have a sweet-syrupy smell. Electrical will have a burnt-ozone type smell. Oil will have it’s own smell. Also, if you have an exhaust leak, the smokey exhaust from a cold engine on a cold morning will leak out from under the hood.
I doubt it is coolant. A coolant leak coming out of a cold engine seconds after it was started will not steam or smoke, because the coolant is too cold. Coolant will only steam out of a leak when the engine is warmed up.
This does not sound like a coolant leak to me. The coolant would have to be hot to make steam, and it’s not hot immediately after starting the engine.
Head gasket leaks seldom produce smoke or steam under the hood.
You need to have someone who knows what he/she is doing diagnose the problem, IN PERSON, not over the internet.