Worried about dirty oil - is this normal?

[Toricelli]

I have a 2012 C220, mileage about 11,000. It had a Main Dealer "A" Service about 3,000 miles ago.

On checking the oil level, I'm concerned how thin and dirty the oil looks. On wiping the dipstick the fine suspended particles stain the cleaning cloth black.

Is this to be expected with a C220, or with diesels generally? Or should I have an oil change?

By comparison the oil in my wife's (petrol) Toyota is still clean and golden several months after the last service.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[nyx]

all my diesels have had black dirty oil only a few miles after an oil change

 

[Sinspeed]

I wouldn't worry about it.

The short answer to why it's turned black almost instantly is due to "soot" from diesel engines passing the piston rings.

But also there is always some oil left behind which goes unchanged i.e. in the oil pump high pressure system and in the low pressure return pipes. When adding the new oil, it's mixing with what's left of the old oil and makes it go darker instantly.

Regular oil changes i.e. every 4000 miles will reduce this effect but diesels are generally a lot more sooty than petrol engines.

 

[brandwooddixon]

Diesels put a lot of soot into the engine oil.
This is why diesel engine oil is a different spec to that for petrol engines. It has more "detergents" to clean away soot and hold it in suspension (hence it goes black pretty quickly).
As previous I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[toby1]