here is why oil color is useless.

[friendly_jacek]

2 cars at about 54000 miles each. prius has 0W20 penzoil platinum with 5,500 miles on it. RAV4 has 10W30 penzoil platinum with 2,700 miles on it. prius oil is straw yellow, RAV4 oil is dark brown. sure, it's not exactly apples to apples, 0w20 vs 10w30, 1.8 I4 vs 3.5 V6, 4qt sump vs 6 qt sump, 120 miles daily drive vs 30 miles daily drive, etc, but still, quite refreshing.
note, at the highway speeds prius engine is on all the time; so, it's not the hybrid thing.

 

[JC1]

I Agree, on my wife's 97 Civic the oil is black after 1,500 km. On my 98 Sienna the oil doesn't get black even at 7,000 km. Her engine has no varnish under the valve cover. On the Sienna there is varnish and small amounts of sludge in the corner. Civic uses Mobil 1 5w-30 and Sienna is using PP 5w-30.

 

[Lapham3]

If you've had these wheels since new with good maintenance, I wouldn't expect any 'black oil'-I never have. After I quit buying new cars, sometimes with a used one I've had an engine that had some deposits, but after my 'clean up' maint schedule, they moved away from any 'mud'. Some luck involved too as I've thus far been able to avoid buying a 'bad one' with any pre-existing issues.

 

[supton]

Oil in my car was black at brand new. Still kicking at 309k.

My yodas are now starting to turn the oil a darker brown after 10k, with 90k on the clock. Just means the oil is holding junk properly. Seen too many mills with black oil that ran just fine to worry about color.

 

[Danno]

Oil on my 2013 2.4L Sonata is black every oil change - at 3,750 Mile OCI. 60% highway miles.
Med brown on my Venza V6, mostly city. About the same OCI.

 

[camrydriver111]

Originally Posted By: Danno
Oil on my 2013 2.4L Sonata is black every oil change - at 3,750 Mile OCI. 60% highway miles.
Med brown on my Venza V6, mostly city. About the same OCI.


I assume this is due to DI engine in the Sonata.

 

[sicko]

Some oil additives will darken when exposed to heat. It's still working, but it simply darkens. Some people view oil color as a way of measuring oil life, or the oil's cleaning abilities, but sometimes something as simple as the additive package can make the oil darker.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: sicko
Some oil additives will darken when exposed to heat. It's still working, but it simply darkens. Some people view oil color as a way of measuring oil life, or the oil's cleaning abilities, but sometimes something as simple as the additive package can make the oil darker.


i agree.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Only time I really paid attention to oil color was when I purchased a car that had some neglected maintenence and sludge. Changed it whenever it got dark. Think diesel black after a couple hundred miles. Aside from that I maintain a reasonable OCI and don't worry about it

 

[Merkava_4]

I can't deal with black oil. Makes me think it's loaded with dirt. I could never own a diesel.

 

[Danno]

Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
Originally Posted By: Danno
Oil on my 2013 2.4L Sonata is black every oil change - at 3,750 Mile OCI. 60% highway miles.
Med brown on my Venza V6, mostly city. About the same OCI.


I assume this is due to DI engine in the Sonata.


I agree.

 

[WobblyElvis]

This video discusses oil colour and oil condition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi_J4SZUlSo

 

[Lapham3]

I'm a little older with engine teardown/repair/rebuild work and also my own life experiences that help me out. I'm not going with diesel and haven't had to deal with DI yet-hope that gets further refined-so my world is a bit different than some. Since I've always been more about engines=that are expensive and oil=that is cheap, my 'eyeball' most always says to change the oil before my GM car tells me to. You fellas that take them out to 10-15k miles have more guts than I do!

 

[Urshurak776]

Originally Posted By: Danno
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
Originally Posted By: Danno
Oil on my 2013 2.4L Sonata is black every oil change - at 3,750 Mile OCI. 60% highway miles.
Med brown on my Venza V6, mostly city. About the same OCI.


I assume this is due to DI engine in the Sonata.


I agree.


+2. My 2014 Kia Rio has a DI 1,6L. Just checked oil today (4,000 miles on oil) and it is dark. Something with that DI engine. My wife's Hyundai 2.4L (non DI) stays golden up to 5,000 miles.

 

[gfh77665]

I dunno about the "color does not matter" premise. One oil has been hysterically criticized for being purple for years here.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
I dunno about the "color does not matter" premise. One oil has been hysterically criticized for being purple for years here.


you have a valid point. i remember one oil worshiped here because of green color.