This is a family members CRV in another state. 125,000 Miles. It is usually well maintained in terms of scheduled mainteance. But the owner did NOT check the oil visually with the dipstick, just relied on the maintenance minder, and the dealer/lube shops. (I know, I know, dealer and lube shops. Grr.)
However, I did notice something strange recently. The dipstick looked to have oil burn or oil stain marks on it. It wasn't liquid, it was slightly layered on there. My guess is that it burned oil, and got caked on the dipstick.
The oil itself because looked good, because it was recently changed.
My research suggests that these may burn oil eventually, possibly due to the PCV valve.
1) I am open to other suggestions on what else may cause the dipstick to look like this?
2) What is the best way to prevent this, if at all?
3) What is the best way to clean the dipstick, so I can see if it happens again?
Basically they were lazy and did not change the oil frequently enough. I advise every 5,000 mi with full synthetic oil. You can take the dipstick out and polish it to get the burnt stuff off but the damage inside the engine has already been done
