After every 3000 miles, I check the oil level to see how it is and notice that it is a heavy brownish colorCOLOR(the color of the previous text)...is this normal?...

my car has about 14500 miles on it...should it still be more golden brown after 3000 miles or does oil normally get dark brown after this many miles??...

thanks,

 

Color means absolutely nothing, unless you mean you haven't changed it and have only been checking it for these past 11500 miles. If that's the case you might want to change it. If you've been changing it every 3000-4000 miles, you're fine.

 

that's the detergent in the oil removing dirt from your combustion chambers, normal. If it isn't getting dirty then something is wrong with the oil!

 

It also depends on the oil itself, and the area in which you drive.

Some oils are tinted dark when they are manufactured, some are honey colored, some are very light almost like corn oil. Depends on the manufacturer.

If you drive in a city, there is more ambient dirt, especially carbon. This works its way into the oil eventually (have you ever seen oil from a diesel after only a few hundred miles?).

 

Thanks for the replys everyone!

The reason why I asked is b/c I have been changing the oil every 3000 miles religiously but i have been thinking to stretch it out to every 3700-4000 miles...but i decided to check the oil level and color right now to see if stretching it out is a good idea...i noticed the oil color to be getting a dark brown and the level was fine...i did not know the original color of the oil so i guess i cannot use the current color of the oil as a guide to see how dark it has gotten...but after reading your replys, i think i am fine and will stretch it out to about 4000 miles...

After how many miles do you guys normally change your oil?
THANKS!

 

dino=4,000
synth=6,500 (about... less than 7,000)