ponnu

Have you been using regular from BJ's all the while?, couldn't it be this contributed to this issue?

TheRab

The baby started right up without hesitation today, albeitthe weather was dryer/warmer. I am thinking the weather had the most effect,anyways then I went over to the auto store and picked up some Lucas fuelinjector cleaner. After putting it into my tank (it had only < 1/8th tank),white smoke was billowing out everywhere creating an copious amount of smoke(now I learned how to pull a get-away batman style smoke screen maneuver ).


I went to Mobile to fill up the tank (super grade from here on out, I swear).And everything is working like nothing ever happened (the CEL is still glowingstrong however that is from previous day).


My conclusion is:


1. I had terrible gas (I'm suspicious as to if it was even gas either watereddown, or just the bottom of the station's tank), combined with being the bottomof my tank which in turn caused a misfire in positions (1,2,3) that the enginewas working through with the assistance of injector cleaner/more fuel.

2. This all began during a cold weather start (40F, 7 am, high moisture), ifthis misfire issue only arises during a cold weather start what does that mean?

3. The misfire issue is not related to the ignition coils (in this instance).

4. Smoke screen get-away ----> priceless



Thank you everyone, I really appreciated everyone's support.

AchtungE60

Sorry to chime in late. Initially it sounds like a coil or a plug. You only have 58K mi. Can a plug or coil go that soon? sure. Likely? no.
A coil is only about $38 and is very easy to change. Now that you mention you had misfires on multiple cylinders and your car idles down and dies and the fact that you have an N52 engine leaves me to believe it's a valvetronic issue. There is a sensor inside the valve cover and that goes bad. I believe its an eccentric shaft sensor.

Also a friendly suggestion. I notice you add a lot of your own details and assumptions. Don't do that. Just state facts. When you go to a Dr. do you tell him what you think is wrong and then let him diagnose you based off your assumptions? Just state what is wrong and get opinions and counter questions. You'll probably get a more accurate diagnosis. The reason I bring this up is because you could have went to the dealer and they'll gladly take your $ to swap out a coil or two because that's what YOU wanted when the actual problem is bigger and you never asked them to actually tell you what the problem is. Instead you told them what the problem was. Although most will diagnose as a courtesy before starting any kind of work don't count on it. it's not an honest world With all that said. I have read of a few people using BJ's and having problems. But normally when you see white smoke coming out of the tailpipe, you're burning off oil. Check your valve cover to make sure it's not leaking and also if your changed the plugs and you had oil in plugs did any drip into the cylinders? If so this is probably why you're seeing smoke.

TheRab

Achtung, thanks for the input. I'll make sure to double check the valve covers tomorrow morning. Today I drove about half a tank the white smoke has really subsided, however I do notice a distinct smell of gas surrounding the car every time I come to a stop. There is no pooling or dripping that is visible on the outside.