The engine oil color gets dark almost as soon as the oil has been changed. My guess is there is enough carbon build up inside the engine that discolors the honey colored oil. I also realised that I get back few ounces less than 4 quarts when I do an oil change and the drained oil is thicker (oxidation I guess ... have replaced the PCV valve last year). I would guess many would have experienced this on their 2K maxes and what was done to mitigate the carbon buildup.

I did an oil analysis sometime back and the results were great except for the color of the oil drained.

Has anyone tried this product Auto-Rx that helps remove carbon deposits in the engine?

 

Personally, I think that Auto-RX is overprice. You can get the same result using sea foam, because I did and my car is running better after using sea foam as oppose to Auto-Rx. It doesn't have that slight hesitation that it did when I first bought the car after using sea foam.

 

The Amsoil engine flush does an incredible job and costs less than $10. The Amsoil flush won't dryrott your seals either.

Oil color means absolutely nothing.