I recently bought a 2011 G25X from the Pre-Owned branch of a local Nissan/Inifniti dealership. It was time for my first oil change and this is what I found in my drain pan after I emptied it https://flic.kr/p/nWBo8L

What appear to be bigger chunks of stuff are actually air bubbles so the photo isn't quite as bad as it appears it could be however I was surprised to see that much stuff come out of the oil pan. Is this normal for a car with 40k miles? It is mostly what I can only describe as sludge with some flecks of what appear to be metallic material. My old car was a 2001 Volvo XC70 with 210k miles and the oil never came out this dirty. That being said I always used Mobil 1 in that car and I think what just drained out of the G was dino or a blend (I'm pretty sure that is what Infiniti dealerships use).

Drain pan was clean before I did the oil change. Dealership claimed they changed the oil along with a multi-point inspection when I bought the car 2 months ago. There was an OEM filter on the car so I am guessing they did change the oil. Everything else that was noted on the list of services performed were indeed done as I could confirm them easily with my own eyes.

Car is pretty much immaculate for a 3 yr old car, 2 previous owners (leases) and CarFax is clean. The car appears to be very well taken care of compared to a handful of other pre-owned cars I test drove. It drives perfect, no issues, doesn't consume oil, 26.5mpg avg with mileage being 75/25 (70mph highway/city driving). I put about 500-600 miles on the car a week.

I am now running Mobil 1 5W30 with a Mobil 1 EP filter. I guess I will see what the oil looks like at my next change. Car is still under factory warranty so I am wondering if I should have this looked at while it is still covered although I know a dealership won't do much in terms of being proactive; they will probably tell me it is normal and send me on my way.

Comments? Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

If that truly came out of your engine, and wasn't already in your drain pan, I would be highly concerned.
The dealer can send in oil samples for analysis and get a better idea of what may be happening.
Are the particles metallic? Magnetic?
I would get this documented for warranty purposes.

RealMenDIY wrote:I Is this normal for a car with 40k miles? It is mostly what I can only describe as sludge with some flecks of what appear to be metallic material. .

That is entirely normal for a vehicle that had infrequent oil changes.
Moisture accumulates in the pan over time. If oil is not changed at regular intervals that is what you see.
I did 53 oil changes on my 06 G35 and never saw anything like that. I traded it in at 171796 miles
There is no need to use expensive oil. Just SAE 5w-30
Changing oil every 7500 is fine for those that lease.
The engine sludge problems surface much later
Just change it every 3750 to 4k miles if you expect 200k miles

Telcoman

I am 100% sure it was not in the drain pan prior to changing the oil. Thinking about what else this could possibly be, I suppose there is a chance that it was a lump of debris that was on the protective skid plate that got knocked into the drain pan as I was removing the filter and oil plug but the skid plate is pretty clean, not spotless or debris-free but clean for a skid plate. Unfortunately I had already disposed of the oil before I thought of an oil analysis. However after some dumpster diving I was able to find the old filter, the rags used to wipe out the oil pan and the container used to dispose of the old oil. There is a couple of tablespoons of oil still in the container. I am hoping that one or a combination these will give someone some insight as to what may be going on here.

Can't really tell if the small shiny bits are metallic or not. Ran a small mechanics magnet over the rag where the debris is and didn't really get anything conclusive on it. I will leave it up to a lab to do the analysis.

Called the service department at my local dealer, service rep said that it is likely due to previous owner going too long between oil changes. Then the following transpired:

Rep: To be proactive bring your car in and have them do an engine flush
Me: Really? What do you guys charge?
Rep goes to check
Rep: Actually, I talked to my manager and he said we don't do engine flushes here so you will have to bring it to a Jiffy Lube type place.
Me: If you don't do the service there are you sure it is recommended for the car? I have always been told to stay away from flushing engines and trannys.
Rep goes to check
Rep: Actually, my boss said that due to the type of engine, seals and rings he said that it is not recommended to do engine flushes. Disregard everything I said before.


I am going to go down to the service department with pictures and my old filter to get it documented. I will likely do a short interval oil change in the next month or two and will send the oil out for analysis to see if they find anything out of the ordinary. Other than that I will just keep up with regular changes at the recommended intervals.

Thanks for the help.

Yes, go down and have them look at it. Have them pull the service records on it when you go as well.

Was it sold as certified?

As-is, not CPO

It was a lease car. Those owners are not known for good maintenance.
Why would they unless the thought they might buy it at the end of the lease.
If its not metallic debris, it is probably oil sediments coming off now that someone is changing the oil. It will probably stop.
Also, the factory recommends Ester oil for these cars.

Factory recommends Ester oil but very few really use it due to additional cost.

I use it. We put it in many cars.
Its not much more than a good synthetic.

Local dealer said they use Pennzoil blend for conventional oil changes and Pennzoil FS for those that want it and are willing to pay $80 for an oil change. They will switch to ester oil if someone brings a vehicle in with engine knocking. Their opinion is any high quality blend or FS oil meets or exceeds mfr requirements.

They sell ester for $13/qt.

I don't have an opinion, not looking for an argument, just thought I'd share.

Had it into the dealership for 2 days while they did an "engine diagnosis". I went down and showed them the pictures and they requested I bring the car in. They said the inside of the engine looked very good, no issues. They said that due to the slight lip in the oil pan any heavier sediment will settle and will not necessarily all come out during an oil change. As other members have stated here there is likely sediment/sludge from the previous lease owner that is coming out now that the oil is getting regular oil changes.

I am sending the oil from my last change out for analysis anyway just for some piece of mind. Will report back results just in case anyone cares or is following this thread.

I'm interested.

Late follow-up but nonetheless, oil analysis came back perfect. Blackstone said everything looked excellent, very clean. Great news.

I have continued with Mobil 1 and high quality filter every 6k or so and I don't see anything out of the ordinary anymore. As previously discussed I think the regular interval oil change may have been cleaning some sludge out of the engine. Drain pan looks normal nowadays. I will send another sample out from my next oil change for an annual checkup; I will report back if anything is out of the ordinary.