I have a 2013 Nissan Altama that I bought new. I always wait for my engine notice to come on with I am in need a an oil change. For about 7 months this didn't happen and I forgot about it. I just took it in for an oil change Sat and found the oil was very dark, and crusty, per mechanic. They did change the oil and now I am wondering if I have ruined my motor. The vehicle has always ran fine *& I still get good gas mileage. What do you recommend I do at this point? Would an engine flush work? Do you feel I will have issues with my motor now? Again, there are no signs of any issues. Please advise. Thank you!
Dark Crusty Oil
- Thread starter dgilleylen
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What do you mean by "crusty" oil? That term makes me very nervous when talking about a substance that should be nothing but liquid. There is nothing wrong with the oil being dark. Had you been waiting for the oil change light to come on, and it never did? If it didn't come on, you haven't necessarily done anything wrong. How many miles was it since the last oil change?
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Change the oil and filter again after 500-1000 miles and you are good to go. If you only ran 7ooo-8ooo miles or 1 year - you don't need to be too worried about anything - Maybe just do a 5K OCI on this fill.
IIRC this car does NOT have an automatic OLM -is it not driver programmable for time mileage? At least MY Rogue with the same engine is not an ECM calc'd OLM - Just a dumb time or mileage of DRIVERS choice.
IIRC this car does NOT have an automatic OLM -is it not driver programmable for time mileage? At least MY Rogue with the same engine is not an ECM calc'd OLM - Just a dumb time or mileage of DRIVERS choice.
Pics?
I think for sure change it again soon to get the "crust" out.
I think for sure change it again soon to get the "crust" out.
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I think your mechanic was joking when he said oil looked crusty and was trying to put a guilt trip on you.
Approximately how long do you normally run before the "engine notice"? If you normally was notified for an oil change at 4 months or XXX miles and you doubled it, I doubt ANYTHING has hurt your engine. People often run many thousands of miles over the recommended change interval and still get exceeding long engine life. Ed
Approximately how long do you normally run before the "engine notice"? If you normally was notified for an oil change at 4 months or XXX miles and you doubled it, I doubt ANYTHING has hurt your engine. People often run many thousands of miles over the recommended change interval and still get exceeding long engine life. Ed
I have noted actually* the many yearsand times iused CITGO gas, always replaceing spark plugs as well, 98 corolla, every 3 months and 980-1,2000miles in, the oil was horrible,thickish BLACK. Used shell, uing pennzoil now, 1,700 miles in, t only slightly dark. MY gut feeling s CITGO dosnt have a god amount of detergency in it. use top teir gas.
Maybe the kind of gas used caused your oil too look like this?
Maybe the kind of gas used caused your oil too look like this?
You haven't ruined the engine. Just keep it topped off in between changes and keep following the oil life monitor light. Keep a spare quart of oil in the trunk and check the level once a month. Add when half a quart low. You likely let it run low on oil last time. It will be fine.
Oh. My Maxima just rolled 140k miles. Im considering upping the OCI to 15k. I've done OAs in the past and the oil is fine at 12k and still has TBN left. Im using full Syn Mag1 5w30 or 10w30 depending on season. I've used tons of different oil filters. Been using fram UG the last few years.
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