billowing white smoke from exhaust
 

at times, a billowing cloud of white smoke comes from the exhaust on my 2000 e-320. the engine overfill light and check engine light came on when this first happened. engine oil is accurate and brought the car into the authorized MB dealer. they changed and engine/oxygen sensor and replace plugs and wires and said they didn't see any signs of white smoke. no loss of coolant and no engine overheating, and oil does not appear to be contaminated (not foamy or discoloration as some have said may result from a leaky head gasket). still have the same problem, which appears sporadically, after spending a grand for the above. any ideas what this may be caused from?

thanks

I had this same thing on my 2004 E500. I could do it almost at will. I would drive for an hour, to get the car good and hot, pull in to a rest area for 20 minutes, & when I pulled out back onto the interstate at hard throttle the car would belch enough white smoke to totally envelope those behind me in a thick cloud of white smoke that it was impossible for them to see through. Its the "hot" and hard throttle that does it.

None of my fluids were contaminated, none were consumed, and no problem/solution was ever found... but I had a James Bond-like escape device.

sporadic white "smoke screen" behind car
 

Would like to revive this topic if anyone can add anything to it! I have a 2000 CLK 430 with 22k orig miles and sometimes it leaves a very thick white cloud of smoke behind me, enough to stop traffic. It smells like burning plastic or something, not coolant or oil...?

Mine had leaking cam seals that made the smell you described. After replacing them, the smell went away.

The smoke described is commonly linked to water build-up that could come from parking the car outside or shooting water up the exhaust (car washes, etc.), and when you floor it, it flushes it out. That said, I've never seen it so strong that it stops traffic, and it only happens after really hitting the gas.

I need to add that when the "white smoke screen" happens, the car runs poorly during this time!