Used Castrol TWS oil color?

[caseythesheltie]

Changed the oil yesterday (OEM Castrol TWS, 7000 mile interval) and was alarmed to see that the oil showed signs of a blood red color.

For reference, my car is a 2009 E90 with a little over 26000 miles and babied since new.

Anybody seen this before? Should I be more worried than I already am??

Thanks in advance!

[Shredicus]

Normally comes out the same amber color that goes on in my (limited) experience

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by Shredicus

Normally comes out the same amber color that goes on in my (limited) experience

It's black, black and black. Unless you put red color. Even so, the used oil is so black you won't see anything. I just changed mine. Hope this helps

[///M Power-Belgium]

What... ? Blood red ?
When serious , it's realy not normal !
Any pics of the blood red oil ?

[WingZeroX5]

yeah you should be worried

[caseythesheltie]

Thank you for the responses so far. I will try to see if I have a decent photo. I noticed the color of the last few drops draining from the main pan and was able to verify upon draining the secondary pan closer to the front as well as changing the filter.

First thought it was from DCT fluid contamination only to find out later that the DCT fluid is not red like most ATF but instead clear / amber new or dark brown used.

No leaks from what I could see and the car drives fine. FWIW, the car is bone stock

The used oil had about 7000 miles on it over the course of almost exactly one year. During this period, the oil level dropped from the max line to the 3/4 mark which was normal rate of consumption compared to past intervals.

Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to collect a sample for analysis.

My only theory right now is that the oil was contaminated with water from condensation as a result of not driving enough and the engine not reaching ideal operating temperature.

Any other theories would be appreciated.

[SilentAttack]

redline fluid for oil?

[caseythesheltie]

Originally Posted by SilentAttack

redline fluid for oil?

No, OEM Castrol TWS 10W60

[tinman831]

The golden amber of fresh oil turns slowly darker as it degrades and is used. It could look slightly orange or reddish before turning darker brown and then black over time. Could be normal or you could have filled the engine with Kool aid during your last oil change.
http://blog.restek.com/wp-content/up...oil-color.jpeg

[dparm]

ATF is usually red. Are you certain TWS was put in there?

[Killerfish2012]

Originally Posted by caseythesheltie

Changed the oil yesterday (OEM Castrol TWS, 7000 mile interval) and was alarmed to see that the oil showed signs of a blood red color.

For reference, my car is a 2009 E90 with a little over 26000 miles and babied since new.

Anybody seen this before? Should I be more worried than I already am??

Thanks in advance!

Sir, depending on the type of interior or exterior lighting, the oil will have a certain look to the naked eye. When I had my 2007 A6, with a dipstick, I would dap a little oil off the dip stick on tissue paper, and see what it looked like when it spread out. Interestingly enough, when the oil looks jet black at over 5K miles, spread out on paper you can see that it was actually dark brown/amber. Sometimes it even appeared to be light green. I think the dyes used in automotive fluids break down and go through color changes before becoming completely black when the fluid is used up.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about this.

[caseythesheltie]

Originally Posted by dparm

ATF is usually red. Are you certain TWS was put in there?

Yes, 100% since I did it myself with TWS purchased from a local dealer. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed any red color when I re-filled it.

[caseythesheltie]

Originally Posted by Killerfish2012

Sir, depending on the type of interior or exterior lighting, the oil will have a certain look to the naked eye. When I had my 2007 A6, with a dipstick, I would dap a little oil off the dip stick on tissue paper, and see what it looked like when it spread out. Interestingly enough, when the oil looks jet black at over 5K miles, spread out on paper you can see that it was actually dark brown/amber. Sometimes it even appeared to be light green. I think the dyes used in automotive fluids break down and go through color changes before becoming completely black when the fluid is used up.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about this.

Thank you.

I really hope that you are right and that this is the case. I will try to get a sample from under the filler cap and take a closer look using your tissue paper suggestion.

[0_to_60]

I was thinking of Atf or coolant but i dont think they are red

Maybe the dealer topped it off with some redline

[MFKN3]

Redline is still generally a golden colour and still goes black/brown like all used oil in my experience