Oil turns dark quickly

[Drew7a]

I have noticed some cars (J35 Hondas specially) turn the oil dark quickly while the Toyota's I have owned stay much cleaner and lighter in color. These are in new vehicles that have always used synthetics and changed and 6k to 7k.

I used to be worried about it but have always put over 200K on these vehicles with no issues. Current J35 I have have 214k and 90K with no issues but oil comes out super dark.

 

[Kira]

You got this vehicle ~10 years and ~10K miles ago. You're early on in any clean-up timeline.

All I can offer for illustration is my sister's '99 Jeep 4.0l I6 purchased with 79K in which I used "sale jug dino & filters".
The oil drained dark at 5K intervals 5 times. After that it drained clearer so I upped the OCI to 6K.

I used her old oil as top off oil in cars needing 1 to 2 quarts of oil because it still had some clarity to it.
Also, my negligent friends' oil was black and chunky...and 1 to 2 qts low...so I figure "color analysis" has it's place.

 

[Duffyjr]

Originally Posted by ChrisD46
Castrol EDGE synthetic 5W30 turned black early in a late model , well kept engine on me that ran conservative OCI's using PP 5W30 (so I know deposits were few) . I personally think it's a Castrol thing - but I don't use Castrol any more as I believe I have found better all around oils versus EDGE like Valvoline Advanced and Pennzoil Platinum (stash being created) .

Don't be surprised if the Advanced turns a bit dark after a few hundred miles. Both by Lucerne and GMC did but never got any darker after that, just a nice clean brown.

 

[Rat407]

My understanding that oil is doing its job if it gets dark.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted by ChrisD46
Castrol EDGE synthetic 5W30 turned black early in a late model , well kept engine on me that ran conservative OCI's using PP 5W30 (so I know deposits were few) . I personally think it's a Castrol thing - but I don't use Castrol any more as I believe I have found better all around oils versus EDGE like Valvoline Advanced and Pennzoil Platinum (stash being created) .

Me too!
I'm hung on Pennz Ultra Platinum now. Valv Advanced, Valv Modern Engine and Mobil-1 AP comprise my Final Four (mid-priced oils, meaning -$35 for five quart jug)

 

[LeoStrop]

Some oils can get darker faster than others, that is a characteristic of the different base oils and additives.

But if you are using the same oil on your car and suddenly it starts to get very dark very soon, the safest bet is that your engine should be dumping more fuel into the oil.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I try to avoid exposing my oil to anger, jealousy and fear to keep it light.

 

[NavyVet88]

Update: just changed the oil to M1 vanilla synthetic 5w30 with an M1-209a. Will report the results of color change as I see it.

 

[Fordiesel69]

I have used castrol twice in a 3.6L pentastar and yes it turns darker faster. But I also owned the 3.0L Vulcan engine in the old late 1996 / 1997 aerostar van. It did seem to darken oil quite fast and by 3k it was jet black. I think back then I ran plain old mobil oil, not synthetic.

 

[ChrisD46]

Originally Posted by demarpaint
I'd run a shorter OCI, and for the last 1,000 miles of that OCI I'd add a bottle of Rislone to it. No harm in doing so and if it does have some sludge or varnish in it the Rislone will do some cleaning.

*Rislone should come out with a cologne for men - my gosh does Rislone smell good !! Currently running the 75K+ mile version of Rislone in my Sedona and Elantra for a 3,750 mile run just for a residual clean up .

 

[Lubener]

The dark color of the oil doesn't mean it is spent. It is doing its job by keeping dirt iin suspension to be removed by the filter. I get more concerned when the oil is clean after running several thousand miles. If it bothers you, do a couple 3k changes. I would not add cleaning solvents to the oil.

 

[caprice_2nv]

Originally Posted by Lubener
The dark color of the oil doesn't mean it is spent. It is doing its job by keeping dirt iin suspension to be removed by the filter. I get more concerned when the oil is clean after running several thousand miles. If it bothers you, do a couple 3k changes. I would not add cleaning solvents to the oil.


In my experience, well maintained vehicles oil stays clean for several thousand miles and neglected vehicles or vehicles with blow by or other issues turn it dark early (except GDI mostly all turn the oil black like a diesel). I worked in a quick lube for a year or two and had many regular customers some of which over maintained and others went way beyond acceptable intervals.

Many miles of mediocre maintenance could leave oil looking okay until switching to a good cleaning oil which turns it dark prematurely,.... In a couple of my own vehicles I only noticed this to a very minor extent for one or two oil changes and then the oil would stay clean for a while.

 

[NavyVet88]

Originally Posted by caprice_2nv
Originally Posted by Lubener
The dark color of the oil doesn't mean it is spent. It is doing its job by keeping dirt iin suspension to be removed by the filter. I get more concerned when the oil is clean after running several thousand miles. If it bothers you, do a couple 3k changes. I would not add cleaning solvents to the oil.


In my experience, well maintained vehicles oil stays clean for several thousand miles and neglected vehicles or vehicles with blow by or other issues turn it dark early (except GDI mostly all turn the oil black like a diesel). I worked in a quick lube for a year or two and had many regular customers some of which over maintained and others went way beyond acceptable intervals.

Many miles of mediocre maintenance could leave oil looking okay until switching to a good cleaning oil which turns it dark prematurely,.... In a couple of my own vehicles I only noticed this to a very minor extent for one or two oil changes and then the oil would stay clean for a while.


That's what I'm hoping for

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Color is not a reliable indicator of anything. As has been pointed out, virgin oil can darken from just sitting on a hot plate. If you're really concerned about it, spend the and have a full (tan, tbn, particle count etc) analysis of the oil at the end of this drain interval. And you might need to do several to establish trends etc. This will give you better visibility into what's happening inside the engine. From that, I'd base my drain intervals and oil on. (maybe you could benefit from a higher TBN for example or an HDEO with higher levels of dispersants?..or even from a higher quality filter?)

 

[bbhero]

If a oil either changes color really, really fast like a diesel or GDI... or... If it Never ever changed color then yeah color does not matter.

But in Port injected motors the oil color does actually have meaning to a degree.
The oil in my lady's Camry when we first got it was translucent and yellowish clear... Then at just 1500 miles it went very black and dark... Surprised me a fair amount. I changed it out at 3k miles... The next run it did not do anything like that... It just slowly changed color from a translucent yellowish clear to a Brien color that got darker with time into that run. A expected finding... It is my theory that the first run we had the Camry it just finally got enough heat/hot runs into the cars motor that all the crud in the motor finally got taken off the inside of the motor. The car had previously not hardly travelled but a couple of miles a day and likely never saw true running higher temps for years prior to us getting the car.


Another factor is of coolant gets into the oil it will change the color appearance of the oil too obviously. Milkshake is a bad bad sign if one sees that on the oil dipstick.

Oil that is from a port injected motor that is black as tar would not be a sight I'd like to see if I were looking at that... That would seriously make me want to pull off a valve cover to see what the inside if it looks like...

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Color is not a reliable indicator of anything. As has been pointed out, virgin oil can darken from just sitting on a hot plate. If you're really concerned about it, spend the and have a full (tan, tbn, particle count etc) analysis of the oil at the end of this drain interval. And you might need to do several to establish trends etc. This will give you better visibility into what's happening inside the engine. From that, I'd base my drain intervals and oil on. (maybe you could benefit from a higher TBN for example or an HDEO with higher levels of dispersants?..or even from a higher quality filter?)

What virgin oil that's just been placed inside the engine and checked by the dipstick is dark / black?
What oil just been placed in a "clean" engine within it's first 1K of use, is dark/black? BTW... amber is not dark/black. It doesn't have the look of used oil.

In most-all passenger oils of 0w20-10w30 gas-only, oil color depends on who owns / drives the vehicle, not the manufacturer.
Take care of the vehicle engine-innards and the oil won't be black inside of 1K of the just prior OCI.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by bbhero
Oil that is from a port injected motor that is black as tar would not be a sight I'd like to see if I were looking at that... That would seriously make me want to pull off a valve cover to see what the inside if it looks like...

If it's thickened up, sure.. I'd change it out.

I overlooked milky appearance, I'll concede that milky colored oil is a potential trouble sign. That said, there are completely normal changes a lube can undergo that will cause harmless darkening. As previously mentioned, some additives will darken once subjected to heat. Likewise the presence of soot will darken an oil. However, the presence of soot in and of itself isn't reason to set one's hair on fire..so long as the oil isn't also thickening. As long as the soot isn't thickening (agglomerating) the oil, the oils dispersant chemistry is still working just fine. Also (combustion chamber) soot that hasn't agglomerated is typically too small (much less than 1 micron) to pose a wear risk, with particle sizes between 1 and 10 microns being the most damaging. But if one finds the mere presence of soot in their oil disturbing none the less, that's a different issue all together. (maybe try not owning a DI engine or address any issues contributing to incomplete combustion)

So aside from the appearance of milky coloring or a physical change like thickening.. color alone is not a reliable indicator of anything.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
What virgin oil that's just been placed inside the engine and checked by the dipstick is dark / black? - i think you missed the part about oil being subjected to heat, so yeah.. simply pouring virgin oil into the crankcase won't darken it but then again I never said it would (i think you read that into my prior post)..

What oil just been placed in a "clean" engine within it's first 1K of use, is dark/black? BTW... amber is not dark/black. It doesn't have the look of used oil. - not my job to do a survey of the millions of vehicles on the road but have at it. But it's not uncommon to see oil begin to darken once put into service, how fast/many miles it takes for that to actually begin occuring, is probably something you could look into. Or you could save yourself the time and legwork of doing a nationwide vehicle survey and maybe email Lubrizol or Oronite and ask them.. I bet they have some data/opinions on that. Let us know what you find out..

In most-all passenger oils of 0w20-10w30 gas-only, oil color depends on who owns / drives the vehicle, not the manufacturer. - i think you just (inadvertently) proved my point on color alone not being reliable..at least in part..

 

[demarpaint]

There's always the possibility that the oil is doing cleaning. Cleaning that a change in brand may cause from different chemistry, something another brand wasn't cleaning. It could also be from a slight change in formulation from one batch of oil to the next, within the same brand/product. I doubt it would occur in a low mileage well maintained engine. But as miles accumulate anything is possible.

Another thing to consider is an oil change after short tripping during a cold winter, might cause oil to darken quickly because of junk accumulated from the winter conditions/run. That would depend strictly on vehicle usage patterns.

 

[RDY4WAR]

Dark oil simply means the oil has oxidized or has some sort if additive effect like I mentioned in a previous post. It does not mean the oil is cleaning and has a lot of dirt in suspension (though it could). Heat and acidic growth are what oxidize the oil. The better the oil can resist acids (with detergents), resist oxidation (with anti-oxidants), and cooler it runs, the longer it'll stay a clear amber.