My first diesel car. Black oil after 6 months. Less than a 1000 miles traveled

Ohoopee

Hello,


I bought my first Diesal Car this past June. When I bought it the first thing I checked was the oil. The oil level was fine but I didn't notice the oil looked a little dark. I asked the guy when it was serviced and he pointed to a sticker under the bonnet which had the date 15/05/18 and stated he had just gotten it serviced. I questeioned him about the dark oil and he said it wss probably because it was a diesal.



I just checked my oil again and it is pitch black although the level is still good. The car also seems to be running good but this just doesn't seem quit right to me. I had a much closer look at the sticker just now and it does indeed have a May 2018 date on it but it is under the field "next service due". I am starting to wonder if the guy just said, I won't bother servicing it since I am going to sell it. He did tell me that everything was changed except for the fuel filter...because the guy he was using had a hard time finding a fuel filter for it...I found one in 10 minutes.



Just curous what you guys think. I know the guy I bought the car off of so I would really hate to think he was trying to screw me but I of course don't want to be driving my car on year old oil. He keeps telling me it is because it is a diesal but based on what I see, you put the same oil in a diesal as you do a petrol car so I don't see why it would turn black so fast.

mfceiling

Do an oil and filter change. Relatively speaking it's cheap as chips and it's the lifeblood of any engine.

khaldrogo

Oil will be black if it's not a new car

AuldDaysul

New oil in a diesel will be black almost immediately. Change the oil and filter yourself and check it's colour after a days driving, it'll be black.

Ohoopee

Interesting. See I didn't know that. I grew up in the States and use to work on cars there but Diesel was rare there..never had a reason to work on them so I had no idea.

The car is not new but only has 55,000 miles on it...but yeah it's pitch black and it just scared me....good to know it's normal...I might change it again anyway just to satisfy myself.

Leonard Hofstadter

Oil in a diesel normally goes black pretty much straight away. I wouldn't worry about it. Oil in a petrol shouldn't go black for several thousand miles.

Atlantic Dawn

Yes any diesel I've changed the oil on it goes real dark black fast, not at all like a petrol car. For peace of mind you might want to change it especially if you can do it yourself, 6 months wouldn't be overkill to change either way.

corks finest

Normal

christy02

Fact that you've only covered 1000miles in 6 months in a diesel car is something I'd worry about far more!
That will lead to all sorts of other issues particularly dpf issues. Has the oil even been up to temperature at any stage or is it all small runs?

_ptashek_

Sounds normal for a diesel, especially if turbo charged and used on short runs a lot. I flush the engine, and change oil with filter on mine every 7500km - still comes out pitch black. If it doesn't reek of diesel, I wouldn't worry about it much.

ZX7R

christy02 wrote: »

Fact that you've only covered 1000miles in 6 months in a diesel car is something I'd worry about far more!
That will lead to all sorts of other issues particularly dpf issues. Has the oil even been up to temperature at any stage or is it all small runs?

I was thinking the same thing myself diesel engines need to be driven,I invisage problems in the future if not driven properly

Car99

1000 miles 6 months, I'd have a v8 beast.

BENDYBINN

Ohoopee wrote: »

Interesting. See I didn't know that. I grew up in the States and use to work on cars there but Diesel was rare there..never had a reason to work on them so I had no idea.

The car is not new but only has 55,000 miles on it...but yeah it's pitch black and it just scared me....good to know it's normal...I might change it again anyway just to satisfy myself.

Ah, satisfy yourself first and then change the oil...why wait

TheRiverman

Sounds like the car needs to be driven a lot more,better off with a petrol engine if continuing to drive so little.

testarossa40

Turbodiesel engine oil turning jet black with driving soon after an oil change is 100% normal.

IrishZeus

Why does it turn black in a diesel and not in petrol?

meathstevie

IrishZeus wrote: »

Why does it turn black in a diesel and not in petrol?

I suppose the different fuels deposit different residues when burning.

Agricola

If I saw anything other than black oil in a diesel I'd be shocked.

uncle-mofo

meathstevie wrote: »

I suppose the different fuels deposit different residues when burning.

Soot from the diesel combustion process I believe. From what I understand the diesel engine oil is designed to hold the soot/carbon in suspension as opposed to having it caked on to the engine components which is what you don't want.

When I change the oil in my TDI, the oil will look dark on the dipstick before I even start the engine, and totally black after driving a few miles. Nothing to worry about, just stick to the manufacturers oil change intervals.

If you've only 1000 miles in six months, I would take the car for an hour long spin on the motorway every week or two to get the engine up to full temperature and allow any regens if you have a DPF.

rabbitinlights

Same thing happened to me, after 8 years of petrol I got my first diesel oil change and I went back to the mechanic about an engine flush and cleaning - I got a real fright.....

He still winds me up about it....

n97 mini

IrishZeus wrote: »

Why does it turn black in a diesel and not in petrol?

It does. Maybe not as quick but 1000 miles will put a good dent in it.

Needles73

IrishZeus wrote: »

Why does it turn black in a diesel and not in petrol?

Higher injection pressures and compression ratios I guess. More soot from diesel