Toyota Previa 2001 Letting Out Smoke And Won't Start

March 22, 2011

Basically I recently (1 month) bought a Toyota Previa 2001 model which was in really good condition. I knew the guy who I bought it off and he had it serviced and told me of all minor problems. However today I started driving and it started letting out smoke which was white/ a bit black in colour. This was really thick and purid and made me choke because of the smell. I carried on driving but the smoke was so thick I couldn't see the person behind me and I was leaving a huge trail of smoke. I pulled over and opened the bonnet because towards the end it was making a weird noise when I accelarated ( a bit like knocking) but it seemed ok. I tried to start it up again but now it wont even start. This issue is quite annoying cause I just bought it and it seemed in good condition. What do you guys think it could be cause Ive had 3 mechanics check it and they keep coming up with different stuff. Any help would be appreciated so please give me your opinion!

Oh, can I just say when I checked after it broke down the oil level was really low which was suprising as I just bought it and it was meant to have been serviced. I hadnt checked (silly mistake) so could this be linked.

July 31, 2011

My Previa did the same Monday , I've been told my turbo is shot , what I've been told is when it fails it dumps oil into the system hence the blue smoke ,if yours did the same as my one the engine revs will have gone up on their own then settle and be fine then go up again then the blue smoke , I was lucky when mine did this , i was only a few mins from home so just drove it carefully back home , if it's the turbo , be prepared for a nice repair bill , I've been quoted just shy of 1500 quid , that is the cheapest quote i've had .