Hello, I've been looking at a 2012 Gensis 5.0 r-spec, and I just have a few questions. What oil does the car use? Can't find a page which tells me and I haven't looked in the owners manual when viewing the car. Any common problems? I know the trans is abit slow on shifts, but is it smooth? I'm young, so I believe the r-spec suspension will be better for me. How do you all like your current cars(3.8 or 5.0)?
Thanks guys!
I am a happy owner of an 2012 R-spec purchased early December 2012. It is just over a year old now and I have just over 5K miles on it. Haven't had one problem with it so far but did get a map update as the one in my car was a previous version when delivered.
I have not had the oil consumption problem reported by some owners nor have I had any issues with the transmission. I also do not hot-rod the car. I have had two instances where the radio would not power on after a brief stop but they were both months apart and the problem has not reoccurred so has not been reported. In both cases everything operated normally after the car was shut off for awhile.
I expected this car would steer quicker than it does and to date that is my only real complaint. It simply steers too slowly. There are a few other things that could be changed but they are personal. The location of the rear seat heater switches as they can get turned on accidentally too easily. Another is the blue lights on the dash switches which, unfortunately, my eyes cannot read. I live in Phoenix and so the nav system isn't a huge benefit which is good because it isn't the easiest nav I have ever used nor is it highly accurate. I do not like the DIS system but don't use it much so no problem there. The audio system is great and I am able to take advantage of my favorite radio station here which is digital. I do not use streaming audio but do use the Bluetooth connection to my cell phone. I do not use the voice command but find the manual switches work just fine.
Some things I could do without include the rear shade, dipsy-doodle rear view mirrors and lane departure system but they were standard. I have used the adaptive cruise control several times but I am not comfortable with it so don't tend to use it. It has not malfunctioned however.
I bought the R-spec specifically for its suspension but it is difficult to tell the difference between the 3.8 and R-spec aside from the low profile tires on the R-spec. The engine power and performance is outstanding and the gas mileage isn't bad if you use some common sense when driving. Cabin and trunk space are generous and quiet and very comfortable to drive and ride. The standard headlights are the best I have ever experienced on any car.
The transmission is a bit slow to downshift upon WOT but that may be a safety measure as the car accelerates very quickly and could catch a novice driver by surprise. I have no complaints though.
The Genesis is more car than I needed but I bought it anyway and really like it. Like any vehicle it has little things that could be improved upon but overall it is the best car I have ever owned and I am happy with it. Time will tell if it also becomes the most reliable car (previous personal record was a 2000 Avalon which I owned for 11 years and put 95,000 miles on it with not a single failure of any kind). The Avalon was given to my daughter and is still going strong at over 130,000 with just a valve cover gasket being the sole repair.
Oh, about oil.....I live in a hot climate six months out of the year so I use Mobil-1 10w-40 full synthetic. I tend to care much more about engine wear than gas mileage and am wary of those very thin oils when our ambient air temp is over 100F.