Do oil colour tell a story?

[kas]

Hi guys,

Can we conclude anything just by looking at the colour of the oil?

Here is what I noticed on my two cars

3yr old Suzuki Ignis 1.3L, mileage @ 42K km.
- I drained the oil yesterday and it was light brown in colour, oil is RP 10w30 and have done 10K km.

1yr old Nissan Teana, 2.3L V6 @ 16K km.
- Been using OEM synthetic oil from dealership(unknown brand), the colour of the oil is like coffee after just 6K km.

 

[Spector]

It is an indicator but you have to know your engine. If the engine is easy on oil based upon previous UOA then color is not of much value, I have one that goes 12,000 or so a year without a change and it can look pretty black but tests fine. My Camry or son's Isuzu can look the same at 5000 miles and oil is pretty beat up. So, know they engine before using the color as an indicator.