Steam from front grille after car wash?

[DanF861]

I just took my ‘17 Sport through its first car wash (temps slightly below freezing). When I got home and shut the engine off I noticed a bunch of steam venting out through the front grille (pic attached). It almost looked like my car was exhaling smoke as if it had a cigarette. Is this normal?

 

[blwnsmoke]

Mine does the same. I notice it too when I am just idling outside.

No leaks, no overheating, no temp issues whatsoever.

 

[DanF861]

Good to know! I’ve never seen a vehicle do this before - it’s quite funny actually when watching it.

 

[bigtexan99]

That's interesting. How long from when you washed it till the picture was taken?

I have noticed on a couple of occasions, something odd and maybe similar. I've driven home from work, hot sunny day with no rain, car and roads completely dry, and pulled the car into the garage and shut the garage door. To enter the house I have to walk in front of the explorer, and on several occasions I've noticed a hot damp sensation from the front grill. The hot i expect as the engine was just shut off, but its the damp wet sensation that has puzzled me.

 

[Mlarv5]

It has electric fans. If the fans are not running snow and etc build up on the radiator, and then melt off. At least that is what I figured out on my wife's Wrangler. It would steam off at stop lights and any other time I stopped, most of the time. Coming out of a car wash there must have been a lot of moisture on the radiator just steaming off. No worries

 

[peterk9]

That's interesting. How long from when you washed it till the picture was taken?

I have noticed on a couple of occasions, something odd and maybe similar. I've driven home from work, hot sunny day with no rain, car and roads completely dry, and pulled the car into the garage and shut the garage door. To enter the house I have to walk in front of the explorer, and on several occasions I've noticed a hot damp sensation from the front grill. The hot i expect as the engine was just shut off, but its the damp wet sensation that has puzzled me.

I also have an entrance from the garage to the basement of the house but have never noticed what you described in any of the cars I've had no matter the weather conditions. I certainly have never noticed any steam.

Peter

 

[RonExSport]

I just took my ‘17 Sport through its first car wash (temps slightly below freezing). When I got home and shut the engine off I noticed a bunch of steam venting out through the front grille (pic attached). It almost looked like my car was exhaling smoke as if it had a cigarette. Is this normal?

View attachment 152888

My 16 Sport does the same thing everytime it rains. I am picking up an 18 Sport tomorrow or Saturday, and am wondering if again the same thing will happen. I was told by my Ford dealer it is due to water hitting the hot pipes on one of the turbo chargers.
I think that this may only happen on Sports, as I had a 13 Limited and it never happened on the normally aspirated V-6 it had.

Just my two cents.

Ronnie

 

[ENG53INE]

My 16 Sport does the same thing everytime it rains. I am picking up an 18 Sport tomorrow or Saturday, and am wondering if again the same thing will happen. I was told by my Ford dealer it is due to water hitting the hot pipes on one of the turbo chargers.
I think that this may only happen on Sports, as I had a 13 Limited and it never happened on the normally aspirated V-6 it had.

Just my two cents.

Ronnie

I've noticed my 11 XLT with the 3.5 do it.

 

[RonExSport]

Well, if that is also the case then I guess the turbo answer I got it not true. Maybe just the way the water drains off the engine, or the way the grill allows water in?

 

[Mlarv5]

Again you have electric fans if they are not running and you are stopped the steam comes out the front because there is no airflow across the grill. If the electric fan is running it sucks the air across the grill and you will not see the steam. Don't matter if you have turbos or not.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Well, if that is also the case then I guess the turbo answer I got it not true. Maybe just the way the water drains off the engine, or the way the grill allows water in?

My 11 does it too. When I pop the hood, I don't see any steam.. it is coming from the radiators.

 

[RonExSport]

Again you have electric fans if they are not running and you are stopped the steam comes out the front because there is no airflow across the grill. If the electric fan is running it sucks the air across the grill and you will not see the steam. Don't matter if you have turbos or not.

Thanks for your input again, I was only repeating what I was told by the delaer. It only made sense to me because my 13 Limited never did that, my 16 Sport does do it, so when I inquired about it, that is what I was told.
When I pick up my 18 Sport today, I am going to re-visit the question with the service manager, and not the salesman this time.

Ronnie

 

[Halwg]

They all do it, relax.

 

[RonExSport]

Halwg,

It is not about relaxing. No one is uptight. We were just going back of forth with it. I have owned many vehicles over the years and have not had that issue with any of them until owning Explorer's. Its definitely not a good look for it, and I was hoping the Ford engineers would figure out a way to to stop it.
I have had quite a few people in my Explorer's over the years who have made mention to me that there was steam/ smoke coming out of my hood when stopped in rainy weather. In a vehicle for $50k or so, it should be rectified. That is all I am saying.

Ronnie