What Does Bad Car Engine Oil Look Like Good Oil vs Bad Oil

Hey, how you doing? I'm Mike from 1A Auto. Just want to show you what to look for when you're checking your oil. This is a 2015 Chevy Silverado, and the oil has not been changed for some time, so it's a pretty good candidate to show you. On any vehicle, especially newer vehicles, this little yellow loop is usually where the oil check is. All right. Use a nice clean paper towel. I'm going to wipe off the oil on the end of the stick, and you can see how brown and ugly that is. All right.

If I take the dipstick and put it into some new oil, okay, and then wipe it off right next to that brown mess, you can see what a difference. I got a little bit of dirt off of the dipstick as well, but the clean oil is nice and kind of yellow, just off white, and that dirty oil is very brown. Now generally after you get your oil changed, it's going to look a lot like that. Even after an oil change after a few miles you'll get some dirt in there, but it should really never be that bad.

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