I say B.VOTE:
A- An honest mistake
B- Another example of another unscrupulous, dirty, thieving, lying, no good dealership service department
How did it smell? Should be different than brand new oil. And it sounds like they didn’t change.I get free oil changes from my dealer for my 2019 Altima, which has a PR25DD GDI engine. After getting the oil changed yesterday, I drove 25 miles home and checked the dipstick. To my surprise the oil appeared black, so I pumped some out through the dipstick pipe and it is super dark, looks black in the bottle but very deep red in thin film, sort of like Coca Cola. I pulled two more 8 ounce samples just to be sure everything was flushed and it is just as dark. Even with a bright flashlight behind my sample, no light is visible through it.
I called the dealer and asked them to check with the mechanic who did the oil change to see if he may have forgotten to change the oil as I had other work done as well. The mechanic distinctly remembered changing the oil and filter, so I asked them to check their bulk tank. They sent me a photo of a sample from the bulk tank and it is golden. The dealer offered to change the oil again, which I plan to do.
The oil is a 0W-20 which they tell me is a full synthetic from Mobil, although the paperwork shows it as Nissan Genuine Oil (could be both). I did an 5,000 mile UOA on the last change at 50,000 miles, and while about 10% lighter than expected in additives and viscosity, it was still reasonably consistent with API SPs oils and the wear metals were excellent.
I know GDI engines generate some soot, but is it possible for a GDI engine to blacken the oil this much in just 25 miles of highway driving?
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I would guess honest mistake. Communication within dealerships is not so good.The drain plug and filter are under a swing-down shield so I can't see or get to them to mark without a lot of work, plus it's 28° here. After bringing this to their attention I'm sure they will change it this time. The oil on the dipstick before the oil change was dark, as was the sample from the last oil change, but they were after 5,000 miles. I doubt that a quart of residual oil would have darkened the 5.4 quart sump that much, but who knows.
I believe this is a reputable dealer. I have been using them for six years and have been very satisfied with their work. The place is clean as a whistle, has eight lifts, and a large window where one can observe their work. I was too busy watching my wife drool over the 2025 yellow twin turbo Z on the floor to pay attention to what they were doing. Not sure what went wrong here, but I'll have them change the oil again tomorrow, will watch through the window, and pull another sample when I get home.
Smelled like used oil, not like fresh sweet smelling oil, but then with GDI I would expect a little fuel dilution.How did it smell? Should be different than brand new oil. And it sounds like they didn’t change.
Case closed!Smelled like used oil, not like fresh sweet smelling oil, but then with GDI I would expect a little fuel dilution.
The oil was never changed.I get free oil changes from my dealer for my 2019 Altima, which has a PR25DD GDI engine. After getting the oil changed yesterday, I drove 25 miles home and checked the dipstick. To my surprise the oil appeared black, so I pumped some out through the dipstick pipe and it is super dark, looks black in the bottle but very deep red in thin film, sort of like Coca Cola. I pulled two more 8 ounce samples just to be sure everything was flushed and it is just as dark. Even with a bright flashlight behind my sample, no light is visible through it.
I called the dealer and asked them to check with the mechanic who did the oil change to see if he may have forgotten to change the oil as I had other work done as well. The mechanic distinctly remembered changing the oil and filter, so I asked them to check their bulk tank. They sent me a photo of a sample from the bulk tank and it is golden. The dealer offered to change the oil again, which I plan to do.
The oil is a 0W-20 which they tell me is a full synthetic from Mobil, although the paperwork shows it as Nissan Genuine Oil (could be both). I did an 5,000 mile UOA on the last change at 50,000 miles, and while about 10% lighter than expected in additives and viscosity, it was still reasonably consistent with API SPs oils and the wear metals were excellent.
I know GDI engines generate some soot, but is it possible for a GDI engine to blacken the oil this much in just 25 miles of highway driving?
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Same reason my grandfather in his 80s was crawling underneath his truck. God willing and the creek don’t rise and I’ll be doing the same. I don’t like taking my cars in for recalls. I don’t want strangers touching my cars.this is one of the reasons i still change my own oil. its a numbers game. most folks that take it to a dealer for oil change don't look at the oil with the exceptions of bitog folks . kinda like timing belts . they charge for 10 and only really do 2 of them . they give you a 12 month 12k mile warranty . How many do you think will break in that 12k miles?
the only experience like this was when my mother took her honda to get oil changed. they charged her oil and filter. the next oil change i found the same filter from the previous oil change before that was still on there. i know because it was not a honda oem filter
I've done more oil changes than I can count in over 50 years and realize there is residual oil remaining, up to a quart maybe a little more depending on the vehicle and how long the tech allows the oil to drain. I have never seen oil looking that dirty in a gas powered engine even after driving way, way longer than the OP did in a well maintained vehicle. In fact in any of my vehicles that oil looks like it went a full OCI. I'd be willing to bet the OPs vehicle is well maintained, and that oil wasn't changed, GDI or not. If it were a diesel engine I'd think otherwise.Exactly so. Some engines in cars (including pickups) will hold as much as a quart in the pan plus elsewhere, making it impossible to ever get an oil change that looks new barring just dumping a few gallons straight through from filler to open drain bolt (and maybe not even then).