Toyota/Lexus 3UZ-FE V8 new oil turned black Immediately after starting engine once.

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Jul 15, 2017
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Hello my friends,

I have an oil question.

My 2004 Lexus/Toyota 3UZ-FE V8 VVT-I engine has driven 130.000km/81.000 miles.
It is dealer maintained and it had its oil changed every 20.000km / 12.500 miles.
The car has driven mostly long distances.

Yesterday I did an oil change with "Mobil 5w30" (ESP Formula) and I added a bit too much so I decided to take some oil out of the engine. I first started the engine to make sure that my level was correct. After draining the oil, I found out that my fresh oil was quite black. When I hold the bottle against the light of my garage I coudn't even see through anymore.

This made me think. Is it time for a flush? I have never flushed an engine before. It scares me. It's not recommended with the manufacturer and there are no real problems. The car is running perfectly fine. Only thing is that the fuel use is just a bit higher compared with others.

I am also asking this because a friend of mine who has the very same car, had the chance to change his oil more frequently (about every 15.000km / 9.000 miles). He claims that his old oil isn't even black. It looks almost just like the new oil when he is changing it.

What should I do? Whats the best for my engine with the fewest risk.
 
If it were me...I wouldn't do a flush. The vehicle has been well maintained, runs perfectly, and your new oil choice is an excellent one, I wouldn't do a flush. Why take the risk?

The only things I would do, if it were my vehicle, would be to shorten the OCI to 5K, 7.5K or 10K (depending on your preference) and have an oil test run on your old oil if you're worried about the black oil. I'm one of those people who like to change their oil every 5K, but that's me.

Just my .02

:)

Ed
 
The only reasonable way to discern if your engine oil is performing properly is to do a used oil analysis. Anything else is guessing or suggesting.

Run the vehicle to some reasonable interval (5k, 7.5k, 10k, etc....) then have a sample analyzed.
Progress based on the data, not on preferences or speculation.
 
I agree with Ed . I would shorten your change interval to AT LEAST 10,000 miles. Are you doing severe driving? Lots of short distances? Lots of starts and stops? Lots of very cold weather driving? If so, you may wish to shorten it to 7500 miles. On my VWs , I change them every 5000 miles wit the oil posted in my signature.
 
Interesting....
Had a Honda 1.5l turbo and the oil turned black within 300 miles. Now, have a brand new Honda (Acura) 2.0l turbo with 3800 miles on it and the oil on the dip stick still looks brand new...I don’t quite understand why???
 
I do oil changes on all my cars so have a pretty good idea of drain color. Not once has the oil come out not full black, and I've done drains anywhere from 500-5500 miles (they all look the same). I don't think the color of the oil is really a good determination of when to change oil or if the oil is still doing its job. To date I still get advertisements saying "is your oil dark, you need to change it now!" If that was the case, I'd be doing oil changes every 250 miles. If you're scared send that in for a sample and see what got suspended in those short miles. I am willing to bet the oil will return in great shape. I would just shorten the drain intervals personally ( no reason other than a peace of mind) and just call it a day.
 
If you have the means to do it, then perform a used oil analysis at the end of current oil run interval. Or start being proactive, by changing the oil a bit more frequently. 10k kilometers is plenty. Do that interval 3, 4, or 5 times with Mobil1 ESP that you're already using, or any other high quality synthetic, and your engine will become a bit cleaner. If the car is driven hard though - then start changing your oil every 7000km. And don't forget about your coolant/transmission/differential/brake fluids.
 
I guess that's what happens when the oil is changed at 20,000km. Do shorter oil changes and forget the flush.

x2. I am not sure about Lexus but the latest model year Toyota recommended OCI is 10K miles while around 2004 recommended OCI is 7500 miles.
That is assuming we are using good brand name synthetic oil.
 
Now, mechanics will tell you to change the oil sooner, but people tell me not to listen to them because they’re just out to do more oil changes.
 
Your new oil has old deposits and old oil in general mixed in with it now. It'll change color. Do another change if you want to try and clear that out.
 
Your new oil has old deposits and old oil in general mixed in with it now. It'll change color. Do another change if you want to try and clear that out.
Right, but we all know that oil color is indicative of absolutely zero.
So why address something that is a known and previously agreed upon non-issue?

If we're going there, why not change your shoe laces when your gutters need cleaning?
 
If anything, use the oil itself as a 'flush' by running a short interval (anywhere from 500-1000 miles). Make sure the engine is fully warmed up when changing the oil so that as much as possible drains out. I like to drain the oil when hot, then hand tighten the drain plug, pull the filter, let it drain fully, then pull the drain plug one more time. You'd be surprised how much more comes out even after only 15 minutes. Maybe enough of the old oil was still in there to mix in with the new oil and darken it.
 
Hello my friends,

I have an oil question.

My 2004 Lexus/Toyota 3UZ-FE V8 VVT-I engine has driven 130.000km/81.000 miles.
It is dealer maintained and it had its oil changed every 20.000km / 12.500 miles.
The car has driven mostly long distances.

Yesterday I did an oil change with "Mobil 5w30" (ESP Formula) and I added a bit too much so I decided to take some oil out of the engine. I first started the engine to make sure that my level was correct. After draining the oil, I found out that my fresh oil was quite black. When I hold the bottle against the light of my garage I coudn't even see through anymore.

This made me think. Is it time for a flush? I have never flushed an engine before. It scares me. It's not recommended with the manufacturer and there are no real problems. The car is running perfectly fine. Only thing is that the fuel use is just a bit higher compared with others.

I am also asking this because a friend of mine who has the very same car, had the chance to change his oil more frequently (about every 15.000km / 9.000 miles). He claims that his old oil isn't even black. It looks almost just like the new oil when he is changing it.

What should I do? Whats the best for my engine with the fewest risk.
if you were running 20k in 2004 on most likely dealer bulk oil , here in lies your problem.
 
Interesting....
Had a Honda 1.5l turbo and the oil turned black within 300 miles. Now, have a brand new Honda (Acura) 2.0l turbo with 3800 miles on it and the oil on the dip stick still looks brand new...I don’t quite understand why???
I had a 2004 RAV4 and a 2003 Corolla. The oil in the Corolla stayed honey colored and only darkened a bit during its 5000 mile OCI. The oil in the RAV4 darkened considerably over its 5000 miles OCI. And this is from day 1. RAV4 was using a qt/L of oil per 1500 miles toward the end of its life but it was fine through 250,000 miles. Therefore, based on my N=1 comparison, I don't' think oil color means much.

Maybe there was just some dirt that the Mobil 1 ESP cleaned that the previous oil didn't clean.
 
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