Is it normal for oil to get dark so soon?
 

I did my first oil change on the '09 since I got it. Several quarts of the "good stuff" (Mobil 1 full synthetic), a Purolator Classic oil filter (the white can). It's been about 816 miles since the oil change and the oil is already dark. To my knowledge this car doesn't burn oil. I never lose quarts and I check my oil once a week.

So out of the bottle the oil is a golden color. I'm not sure how much an oil change drains but I'm pretty sure it's more than other drains like coolant drains and transmission drains right? I don't see any where for the oil to go other than the pan where as oil can still reside in the torque converter and draining coolant through the rad can leave some in the block and heater core right?

The oil now when I look through the filler cap is about as dark as brown chocolate where it pools up. If you look at the same oil where it's not pooled up like on a dipstick or paper towel it looks a very slightly dark gold. It is by no means as black as soot but still when it pools up the dark brown color worries me a little. I thought it would at least be clear until the 1000 mark.

Maybe this is just some old oil mixed with new? Or is it normal for it to get dark? I've never had darkening this fast?

Short answer: Completely normal, depending upon the brand of oil.

Long answer: Many oils, Mobil 1 in particular, use additives which darken with heat; this is in no way indicative of the oil's ability to properly protect the engine. FWIW, I've been using Mobil 1 for 28 years now and have had numerous Used Oil Analysis procedures (UOAs) performed on the oil I've extracted from my engines. I typically run ten to twelve thousand miles per oil change, and, so far at least, EVERY UOA I've had performed showed the oil was still good to go for at least a few thousand more miles.

I do have similar problems with my accord 90, auto trans. It goes dark after 3 weeks, I believe it depends on the brand of oil applied. At the beginning i thought my engine is totally wearing away since is going to the third year i am using the car. Thanks

Cool! That makes sense. Thanks!