7th Generation Civic 2001 - 2005 In the years from 2001 to 2005 Honda released it's 7th Generation Civic.
Chassis codes: EM2, ES1, EP3, EU1

White smoke coming out of AC vents

 
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Old Aug 30, 2016
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White smoke coming out of AC vents

I turn on the AC when I start the car and start driving, no smoke.

I get on the highway, drive few miles maintaining 70 mph, turn the AC off for a few minutes and turn it back on, I see white smoke coming out of the vents. There is no smell to it. It goes away in about a minute.

What could be the issue? Heating core? Coolant leaking? something else?
Old Aug 30, 2016
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Re: White smoke coming out of AC vents

It's not smoke.
It's water vapor.
Normal. Nothing wrong.
You just got it into a situation where you can see water vapor.
Same water vapor that makes up a cloud.
Old Sep 1, 2016
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Re: White smoke coming out of AC vents

once,white smoke came out of my acuras vents after the head gasket blew out. i don't remember if it had a smell though.
Old Sep 2, 2016
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Re: White smoke coming out of AC vents

If there is no coolant smell, then it must not be a failed heater core leaking coolant.
Old Sep 2, 2016
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Re: White smoke coming out of AC vents

Originally Posted by ezone
It's not smoke.
It's water vapor.
Normal. Nothing wrong.
You just got it into a situation where you can see water vapor.
Same water vapor that makes up a cloud.
A thought: You're more likely to witness this vapor phenomenon when using fresh air instead of recirculate.
Old Sep 3, 2016
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Re: White smoke coming out of AC vents

Thanks for the responses. This never happened in the 11 years I owned this car though.

The "recirculate" mode is always on when I turn on the AC. There's no smell and the smoke/vapor dissipates in about a minute. But it comes back when I turn the AC off for a few minutes and turn it back on. I haven't noticed this issue when I'm driving on the local roads where the speed limits are low.
Old Sep 3, 2016
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Re: White smoke coming out of AC vents

This never happened in the 11 years I owned this car though.
Still normal.
Old Sep 11, 2016
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Re: White smoke coming out of AC vents

I have an 01 LX. The first time this happened to me, I totally freaked out. I actually did not see much on-line about it either. It used to happen a lot. I never took the time to troubleshoot the exact conditions. But, it seems to have gone away and hasn't happened in years. I had actually forgotten about it until seeing your thread. I am glad it is considered "normal" :-).
 
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