Took my TSX to dealer for oil change. For the first time, they used "synthetic blend" oil. I have a habit of checking the dipstick when I get home. When I did this time, I found the new oil to not be "clear" as in the past but rather, it has somewhat of a greenish-brownish color to it. Just wondering WTF ?.

Also, the shitheads overfilled it. It reads past the second hole. Is this going to be a problem.

 

Overfilling is bad as the excess oil can damage the catalytic converters. I'd return to the dealer and request another oil change on their dime.

I can't say I've ever heard of green oil.

 

I can't offer any assistance, but this just happened to me too. didn't have time to do the change myself, so I took it to my local dealer. after two weeks (which included a trip to so cal and back), I finally had some time to give to my car... found my oil was all the way up to the flat part of the dip stick - cold car, flat surface. yay!

my oil also isn't clear and is already showing at 90% even though it took me 6 months and 9800 miles to get to 15% before. my lesson has been learned and I am hoping they didn't kill my 6 month old car.

 

the color of the oil doesnt matter so much.

 

Correct. It doesn't take a lot to change the color of the oil. The color is not an indication of oil life.

 

You could ask the dealership what oil they put in. I wouldn't worry about overfilling unless it's by a quart or so. I put in 5 quarts during oil change and the dipstick reads a bit high, but I've been doing that to various cars for many years and it's been working out fine for me.

Stan

 

Regarding the color - I just found it surprising that after only 40 miles it would already not be "clear" - this never happened before. I will just assume there was some residual oil in the pan and it mixed in.

As far as how much - the manual says 4.2 qts with a filter change. The receipt from the dealer says 5 qts, so that explains the high level. it is a little more than 1/2 inch past the second marker, and it ends just where the dipstick has that "twist".

Can I assume this is - while not optimal - also not going to be a problem ?. Seems like they overfilled by less than 1 qt if you believe the numbers - I would say 3/4 of a qt.

Funny, the opposite happened to my son's car last month - took it for oil change (different make and dealer), came back home, checked and it wasn't even up to the bottom marker - I wound up adding a quart on my own (that oil change was free so there was no point driving back there).

 

you can ask what they use, but usually a synthetic change at the dealer costs about double the price. 60ish vs 30, i doubt they would opt to use it for shits and giggs. i use synth mobil1, its usually clear, but hell it could easily rinse off the gunk on the sides and go brown. color doesn't matter, viscosity does. if the oil is oily, it is likely doing its job, if its full of gunk, not so much.

overfilling is also a problem, like ceb said. i'd go back to them and be like wtf guys, especially because you can't simply drain it, you'd have to lift the car, and likely you'll lose more oil than you were trying for so you'll have to top it off. personally, i prefer to do my own oil changes. im 19 and like working on my car.

 

Don't take this as a given, but this is my experience with car manuals. The manual of my Subaru Forester XT also said "4.2 quart oil capacity", which was wrong. Knowing people that build and fix Subaru engines for a living (as well as actually racing Subarus) I followed their advice of 5 quarts being the correct amount of oil to use for the 2.5 liter turbocharged Subaru engine. I did this for 81K of owning the car and never had issues with oil consumption or anything else. You see many complains about Subaru engines eating oil and I believe this to at least be partially due to people chronically under filling them. I suspect the same issue to exists with the Acura cars.

Stan

 

This why I dont go to dealers or quick lube places. They drive your car to the lift, oil is all over inside the engine and hasnt settled to the bottom yet. Then they remove the plug and drain. You think they sit there and wait for all the oil to come from the top of the engine into the pan and out the drain, NO. Then they fill with a oil gun which can be out of calibration. I on the other hand, park my car over night, jack it up remove the plug and filter let it drain completely and the fill with quarts of oil which are all pretty much equal. Your oil changes color quicker because of the old oil that never drained. I know of 2 oils that are green, 1 is castrol syntec german and brad penn oil. And being over filled wont do any damage unless your talking about a excessive amount.

 

I have no choice but to go to either the dealer or one of those places. I don't have the time, I am not inclined to do oil changes in the street, and last and most important = disposing of the old oil is a big hassle (at least where I live), what I think I will stop doing is going to the $%*& dealer.

Thanks all for the help. I am now convinced the color thing is because a little bit of old oil mixed in with the new. Still, I find it inexcusable that a "high end" dealer would overfill a car (shakes head in disgust)

 

I understand. Not everyone can or has the place to change there own oil. As far as it being a high end dealer well, you never know where the guy that changed your oil came from. It could and does happen at all dealers, regardless of make. You could always buy your own oil and filter and find some place to change it for you. Atleast you know that it will have the right amount of oil.

 

i do it with my engine warm and just give it plenty of time to drain, it'll sit for like 30 min. warm oil moves better and drains easier than cold oil. i also run like 3-4/10ths of a quart with the plug off, just to help rinse it. then use a bit of oil to lube the new gasket/filter, then close everything up and fill it.

you can actually take your old oil to the dealer or most places like autozone, they'll take it back and give it to a recycling place for ya for free. thats what i do

 

nope. color still DOESNT matter.
it could discolor as soon as you start her up.

different oils have different "cleaning agents" in them.
some discolor after a few thousand miles; while some turn dirty as soon as you turn the key.
BUTT, like CEB said...its still not an indication of oil life.
Dont worry about the color.

 

Funny oil color story.

In the early '90s, my office got a call from a post commander (large Army post in Germany) that he just had his oil changed, checked it a few minutes and it was very black. He wasn't a happy camper and although we assured him that color made little difference (his did turn out to be old oil though), we sent a few prepped cars through that garage. Long story short, we got a warrant, went in overnight and copied the computer files and ended up closing the place for various serious infractions. The manager ended up doing time for tax evasion, destroying evidence and perjury - all because of a report of "dark oil."

That contractor was stupid enough to charge for services that he wasn't doing and arrogant enough to do it to the post commander.

Oh, and don't ever go to those Iffy Lube places

 

lol at iffy lube