Hello everyone. I own a 2012 Nissan Versa. The car has 23500 miles on it. It is driven mainly on short trips around town with a road trip maybe once a year. Well this month alone the car has been from VA to AL and then from VA to SC. That has happened in the last two weeks. I change the oil and filter in the car based on the Nissan OCI of 3750 and do not worry about the months. The oil in the car has always been clear to light gold on the stick. Now after all this road trip stuff the oil is dark brown and smells of gas. Is that normal? The car turns nearly 3500 RPM at 70MPH with the 6 speed manual. It still got 42MPG on the highway even though it was turning up so hard. Is the darker oil normal? The car has SuperTech Synthetic 5W-30 and a Puralator Classic oil filter on it.
Does oil color and smell matter?
- Thread starter s1mp13m4n
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No, not normal-could be leaking injector(s), might want to pull the spark plugs & see if any of them look gas fouled/wet.
3500 rpm at 70 mph? lol
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Probably so.
It takes nothing but heat to turn motor oil dark. I poured new synthetic motor oil into a saucepan and heated it using an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature.
All you have to do to get it to darken is heat it, nothing else. I have new black oil that has never been in a motor.
But it SHOULDN'T smell like gas. I would suggest you either have the fuel system checked out or do a used oil analysis to determine if there really is gas in your oil.
It takes nothing but heat to turn motor oil dark. I poured new synthetic motor oil into a saucepan and heated it using an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature.
All you have to do to get it to darken is heat it, nothing else. I have new black oil that has never been in a motor.
But it SHOULDN'T smell like gas. I would suggest you either have the fuel system checked out or do a used oil analysis to determine if there really is gas in your oil.
Let me rephrase a bit. The oil has a light smell of gas to it....not soaked with gas smell. To pull the spark plugs in this car you have to remove the plastic intake manifold to expose the 4 coil packs for the spark plugs. Spark plugs on this car aint coming out unless they have too. LOL
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The simplest easiest cheapest way to analyze your oil is with a few drops from the dipstick. Visit www.noria.com and enter sniff123 into the search engine. You can also enter blotter123, crackle123, drop123, glycol 123, patch123 and/or filter123.
I bought 100 patches of .45 micron cellulose paper on Ebay for $29. Pretty handy, you can also use a business card and get similar results.
I bought 100 patches of .45 micron cellulose paper on Ebay for $29. Pretty handy, you can also use a business card and get similar results.
Obviously if it smells like its burned, that is no good. Or if it looks milky.
For the most part, color does not matter too much. Do a UOA.
If it looks like driveway sealer, you may have an issue however.
For the most part, color does not matter too much. Do a UOA.
If it looks like driveway sealer, you may have an issue however.
Originally Posted By: s1mp13m4n
Let me rephrase a bit. The oil has a light smell of gas to it....not soaked with gas smell.
sounds normal to me. if you're still concerned , you can always pay for UOA.
Let me rephrase a bit. The oil has a light smell of gas to it....not soaked with gas smell.
sounds normal to me. if you're still concerned , you can always pay for UOA.
I was thinking the same thing. 3500 rpm at 70 mph?! Wow. My car is turning 2300 or a bit less at 70. I know the motor in mine is the 3.5 and that makes a difference. But my lady's Camry is at 2400 or less at 70 with a 2.2L motor. So the really are turning these newer 4 cylinder motors a lot.
What does smell have anything to do with it!
Get an UOA if you want.
Get an UOA if you want.
Originally Posted By: Stewie
What does smell have anything to do with it! :duh.....".
If you've ever smelled burnt oil you wouldn't have to ask that question. When you bite into a hot potato and burn your mouth do you need some testing equiptment to know your taste buds have been scorched ?
Every engine I've torn down that had burnt oil, and that number is in the many hundreds if not thousands, had moderate to severe engine wear, and usually had engine damage as well.
Burnt oil doesn't lubricate anymore, and it doesn't take an engine oil analysis to know that.. Any ordinary nose is all the scientific equiptment necessary to know if your oil is burnt.
Now a gassy smell is a differnt animal. If the dilution is not too severe, then a quick oil change will avert disaster.
Z
What does smell have anything to do with it! :duh.....".
If you've ever smelled burnt oil you wouldn't have to ask that question. When you bite into a hot potato and burn your mouth do you need some testing equiptment to know your taste buds have been scorched ?
Every engine I've torn down that had burnt oil, and that number is in the many hundreds if not thousands, had moderate to severe engine wear, and usually had engine damage as well.
Burnt oil doesn't lubricate anymore, and it doesn't take an engine oil analysis to know that.. Any ordinary nose is all the scientific equiptment necessary to know if your oil is burnt.
Now a gassy smell is a differnt animal. If the dilution is not too severe, then a quick oil change will avert disaster.
Z
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