Hey guys, i decided to do my first oil change at close to 2000 miles, and the oil was totally BLACK!!!! My car is brand new, a little over a month, and already had my tranny already replaced. But with less than 2000 miles on it, shouldn't the oil still be somewhat clean? It was dark as hell. I know that it is recommended by everyone here to change the oil at 1,000 miles, but thats besides the point. I bought my car with about 140 miles on it, because it was transferred from another dealer. Could it be possible that the driver who drove it from dealer to dealer drove it so hard which caused my tranny to fail and the oil to be black as hell?

sorry for the long post, im just **** with all the problems im having with this brand new car.

also, i babied my car ever since i got it. I have yet to redline it or drive it very agressively. just thought i'd add that in.

Lots of wearing in going on in the engine for the first 1000 miles or so. Wouldn't be surprised if you could see small metallic sparkles in there.

My oil is still clear on the dipstick and my oil is getting changed next week for the first time at 3,000 miles (not much different on the dipstick than when I got it). But I would imagine it will look much dirtier once it is drained into a container.

Is your tranny failing? That would have nothing to do with engine oil.

Your oil being black after 2000 miles should be no concern at all. New engines have not sealed up totally and you can expect the oil to look black, this is caused by some piston ring blow by. Some exhaust and intake will slip by the rings and contaminate the oil. This is totally normal and unless you waited till something like 8000 miles to change your oil will have no negative effects.

If you are still worried send your oil in for a Blackstone oil analysis.

my oil at 1300 was close to the same clear yellow when i bought the car. Black at 2k doesnt sound right imo.

ppp

Yes he should be concerned, my oil at 1000 miles was the same as the first day I bought it!

I drove my car hard from the beginning, then came accross a thread warning about not revving the engine up too much during break in and maybe changing the oil at 1000 miles. I called the dealer and they told me i would not need to change the oil at 1000 miles and break in periods are a thing of the past. I checked my oil out at a coupe of thousand miles, and it was still clear!

Check out Lemon Laws and get yourself a new G35

man bad luck on that car... i would serious look at getting the oil tested and researching the lemon laws...

Guys...

Telling him his car it toast?

How do you know?

As I stated in my first response it is OK that the oil is black.

Moto35 it is totally fine. If you are still worried get an oil analysis. I earn my living running a company that builds $30,000 racing engines. Trust me your OK.

hummm....my oil was slightly brown at 3500miles, but no where near dark brown. btw, Im following ScheduleII which is every 6months or 7500miles.

i've already consulted the general manager at the dealer where i purchased my car. he was an ahole and did not offer nothing regarding my tranny. he said as long as the tranny was fixed and running okay, that there is nothing else to do. some customer satisfaction huh? also, my engine/ car shakes a lot during hwy driving. I will be bringing it into the dealer for service AGAIN.

Sounds like you have a lemon. Basically you have 2 powertrain issues and a chassis/suspension issue. Comparatively, I've had a window issue and alignment issue... but thats it. Everything else is great. I personally would tray to get Infiniti to buy it back, trade it for a new one, or look into another car. The new IS300 coming out looks like a great car.

Are you sure it was black? For whatever reason, oil (at least to me) looks much darker in the drain pan than on the dip stick. If your observation was indeed via the dip stick, was it black black, as in like black paint? If so, yes, I would be concerned.

I've owned a number of cars in which the engine was new and over time, would notice the oil turn darker with miles and eventually black. At that point, oil consumption was noticeable as was blue smoke under hard throttle. Not a one was black in the beginning. Maybe a light/medium brown during break in. This was with budget rebuilt domestic V8s. I would be even more suspect with a new Japanese engine. My most recent high mileage experience was with a Toyota. 150k truck miles and at worst the oil was a light/medium brown. When new it was clear. Never been black or close to it.

If you're not noticing blue smoke or oil consumption, I would check the air filter/inlet system. I new a guy that had this exact same problem with a new car, but let it go for a while. At 30k miles, engine was shot (blowing blue smoke). Turned out the air filter box and inlet had been installed incorrectly and the engine had been sucking unfiltered air for 30k miles.

My oil was a very very dark brown, like crayola's dark umber... close to black in the dark. It's very normal. The oil's job is to lubricate all mechanicals while removing the carbon deposits, so don't worry too much about the color. After I switched to royal purple, it's just a medium brown.

Correct me if I am wrong: I do think nissan/infiniti added regular oil for new engines. Too slippery of an oil, and the engine may not break in properly. Just my 2 cents.