The 3.8 V6

[EdVoylesHyundai]

Is the extra horsepower in the coupe coming from less intake and/or exhaust restriction?

Those extra few horses can come from any number of things from different inatake/exhaust setup, slightly different tuning, etc... B/C the Coupe is a sporty car, they can get away with a little more NVH (read: louder exhaust) and can tune the engine to react a little more abruptly, etc than with the sedan. Since most of that is done in the computer, it can easily be changed for each engine.

 

[DanTheMan]

This is an older thread, but I'm curious...after reading the manual, it advises oil changes approx. 7500 miles. Historically on previous vehicles, I've used 3000 as the guage. Is there something different about this engine (or the engine oil) that dictates the longer time between changes? If it works out that way, that's pretty cool.... I'd appreciate any advice from those who have some knowledge in that area.

Thanks--

Dan

 

[Michael_S]

This is an older thread, but I'm curious...after reading the manual, it advises oil changes approx. 7500 miles. Historically on previous vehicles, I've used 3000 as the guage. Is there something different about this engine (or the engine oil) that dictates the longer time between changes? If it works out that way, that's pretty cool.... I'd appreciate any advice from those who have some knowledge in that area.

Thanks--

Dan

I'm no expert, but I've heard or read in many, many places that changing oil every 3,000 miles is unnecessary. Consumer Reports, Car Talk (Click'n'Clack, the NRP radio show on car repair), and lots of other sources recommend you change oil every 5,000 miles or even every 7,500. Mechanics often recommend differently because oil changes are the bread and butter of their daily operating income.

 

[Jerrad]

Most places like in Europe where oil is higher, most car manufacturers there including Ford suggest oil change every 7500-10k.

Every 3k miles is just another way to help feed the oil companies profits (amazing when people complain about gas prices, car companies start making cars that can go longer without oil changes).

I personally would stick with what Hyundai suggest and do it every 7500 especially if you are using Synthetic oil (Mobil1 Synthetic is my brand of choice).

If you are nervous about driving that long without changing the oil, just check the oil at 3k or 5k to see how it looks.

 

[sandy]

Oil changes for my recent Jaguar xjs were every 10k miles. Same for my current Saab 9-5. I would go with the maker's suggested interval...after all, Hyundai's Warranty is for 10 years/100,000 miles so I doubt they would suggest an oil change interval that would put them at risk

 

[musher51]

The recommended oil change interval was one of the first things I checked out in the owners manual when I bought my Genesis. My curiosity stemmed from experiences as a former Bimmer owner, as BMW recommends an interval of 15K miles (!), which prompted a barrage of commentary from Bimmer owners on various forums (with some advocating much shorter intervals, e.g. 3.5K, while others were convinced that 15K was okay, particularly with synthetic oil).

For the record, I ended up splitting the difference, and got an oil change every 7.5K miles or so (corresponding to my 2X/year swap from summer to winter wheels).

For the Genesis, I'm planning on my first oil change at ~4K miles (based a long-standing tradition to do an "early one" with a new car, per my father's preaching), after which I'll probably stick pretty close to the 7.5K interval as recommended in the owners manual.

 

[kbmuenkel]

JMO...

While using synthetic oil may allow for increasing your change interval, the limit is still reduced by the effectiveness of the oil filter. I have chosen to change the oil every 5k in all my vehicles. It's easy to remember, often enough to treat the car well and costs very little to maintain these intervals.

 

[DanTheMan]

JMO...

While using synthetic oil may allow for increasing your change interval, the limit is still reduced by the effectiveness of the oil filter. I have chosen to change the oil every 5k in all my vehicles. It's easy to remember, often enough to treat the car well and costs very little to maintain these intervals.

Bob--(or others who may know)--

I'm curious (again...yeah, it's a disease that runs in my family)! I'm guessing the car has organic oil in it now (from the factory). Based upon my (possibly outdated) knowledge, switching from organic to synthetic mid-stream doesn't lube the engine, but creates a non-lubed process called "slinging" due to the fact that the two oils (different base products) don't mix. How is switching to synthetic any advantage at this point?

Thanks--

Dan

 

[Sonata2009]

My 2 cents worrth . . . I think this was true in the early days of the synthetics. Because of this and the fact that early syns didn't swell seals to the same extent petroleum products did (they tended to leak when used in cars with higher milage on "regular" oils), formulations were changed to insure full mixing and compatability.

Syns should also yield a small, but measurable increase in mileage. My local dealer has swiched to 100% synthetic (profit based?) which costs more, but with my former XG350L, it yielded about a 1-2 MPG increase which off-set the extra cost.

Bill

 

[EdVoylesHyundai]

Oil changes for my recent Jaguar xjs were every 10k miles. Same for my current Saab 9-5. I would go with the maker's suggested interval...after all, Hyundai's Warranty is for 10 years/100,000 miles so I doubt they would suggest an oil change interval that would put them at risk

Saab is eating crow right now for telling their customers 10k on oil changes. They have extended their engine warranties on the 9-5's due to engine sludge issues (which are caused by drain intervals that are too long). When I dropped the pan on my '99 9-5 with 120k, it was NASTY. The pickup screen was almost completely clogged (which is probably why the turbo ate itself up and I was able to pick it up for cheap).

To clarify on the Genesis drain intervals, my interpretation of Hyundai's requirements are 7500miles or 12 months under "normal" conditions and 3000 miles or 3 months for "severe" usage. "Severe" is defined as sitting in traffic, stop and go driving, allowing the car to idle for extended periods, etc... Unless you commute against traffic, on the highway, under 100mph, you are probably in the category of "severe" usage.

Just remember, you can't change your oil too frequently. And don't worry about the dealer getting rich off your oil changes. Depending on the vehicle, gross profit (not net) on a full-price oil change (not one of the $19.99 specials) could run from $2-$8. We lose money on the specials.

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[DanTheMan]

To clarify on the Genesis drain intervals, my interpretation of Hyundai's requirements are 7500miles or 12 months under "normal" conditions and 3000 miles or 3 months for "severe" usage. "Severe" is defined as sitting in traffic, stop and go driving, allowing the car to idle for extended periods, etc... Unless you commute against traffic, on the highway, under 100mph, you are probably in the category of "severe" usage.

Interesting...7500 miles or "12" (i.e., twelve) months? I think if that's all the driving I did, I'd have gotten a bike...aka Schwinn!

Just remember, you can't change your oil too frequently. And don't worry about the dealer getting rich off your oil changes. Depending on the vehicle, gross profit (not net) on a full-price oil change (not one of the $19.99 specials) could run from $2-$8. We lose money on the specials.

The so-called "loss leaders'...used to get the customer in the store to purchase additional items at greater profit. Walmart has made a killing doing it! Not a bad idea...everyone needs oil changes!

Back to reality...what should a switch to synthetic oil cost per change? And how often? Guess I'd have to find out if the dealer would do it (syn vs. organic)...but there are always others that probably could. My market area may dictate different costs than those who respond, but I would think the disparity between the two would be similar.

I also would have to wonder if a 1-2 MPG improvement for the additional cost of a synthetic oil change (per a previous post) would yield a significant enough cost offset to even notice it.

Thanks again for all the info--

Dan :>)

 

[Sonata2009]

IF you assume 27 MPG and 7500 miles between changes, and 2 MPG improvement, it gives you about $70 to play with! Net result, that even with a higher change frequency, you'd still "probably" pay for the difference!

 

[EdVoylesHyundai]

IF you assume 27 MPG and 7500 miles between changes, and 2 MPG improvement, it gives you about $70 to play with! Net result, that even with a higher change frequency, you'd still "probably" pay for the difference!

True. And the interesting thing about this calculation, is the worse mileage you start out with, the more $ a smaller increase in mileage will save you. IE, if you start with 20mpg over 7500 miles and only pick up 1mpg with synthetic (to 21mpg), you still save almost 18 gallons of fuel over that 7500 miles.

Just FYI for those leadfoots out there, the difference between 27mpg over 7500 miles and 20mpg over 7500 miles is OVER 100 gallons of fuel!!! At today's fuel prices, you can see that driving nice and easy (most of the time) can save you a ton of money. More realistically, 18mpg vs 20mpg over 7500 miles is a difference of over 40 gallons of fuel!

 

[DanTheMan]

IF you assume 27 MPG and 7500 miles between changes, and 2 MPG improvement, it gives you about $70 to play with! Net result, that even with a higher change frequency, you'd still "probably" pay for the difference!

True, and I've had to say that 27 MPG is a little optimistic for overall driving that I do. I seem to range between 20-22 MPG overall. That difference impacts it as well.

Overall, I'm less concerned about the dealer 'getting rich' on my oil changes, than paying for a useful/practical service at a fair price (that's why I bought a Hyundai in the first place). I am VERY concerned about the long-term health of my new car purchase. I tend to drive a car for a long time--most had nearly 300K miles on them before letting them go....believe me, with most of them, it was time!

Thanks--

Dan

PS: I just read the quote from Ed Voyles Hyundai above....wow....the numbers are HUGE! Something we should all take notice of...regardless of the make/model of car we drive!!

 

[garnermike]

Oil changes

I am doing my own changes at 5K miles with synthetic.

 

[Stormy]

It seems like every "stealership" out there tries to tell you that you need oil changes every 3000 miles, yet if you call Hyundai they will tell you to follow the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual and change it at 7500.

This car is a 24-month lease and I'll probably give it up for a 2011 Genesis when I'm done with it. If Hyundai was worried about long-term engine damage, don't you think they would be more careful? How can they guarantee 100,000 miles on a powertrain if 7500 mile oil change intervals hurt the engine?

In short, don't believe the dealership. They all make more money on service than they do selling cars. I've never had so many people lie to my face, and not just Hyundai, but all of them do it.

 

[e_stewart]

What I'd do is the first two oil changes, early. Say, 3K. Then... begin to stretch it out. Those first two changes have a lot of metal in them. Need to get that stuff out of circulation...and the sooner, the better.

 

[Stormy]

What I'd do is the first two oil changes, early. Say, 3K. Then... begin to stretch it out. Those first two changes have a lot of metal in them. Need to get that stuff out of circulation...and the sooner, the better.

Yeah, I gotta agree with you there. I was surprised that Hyundai doesn't recommend a break-in oil change earlier. Those metal bits can definitely do some long term damage so you don't want them in there for long. After the first one at 3K, maybe second at 7500 and then 15000 from there on out. It wouldn't hurt to use synthetic also.

 

[e_stewart]

Yeah, I gotta agree with you there. I was surprised that Hyundai doesn't recommend a break-in oil change earlier. Those metal bits can definitely do some long term damage so you don't want them in there for long. After the first one at 3K, maybe second at 7500 and then 15000 from there on out. It wouldn't hurt to use synthetic also.

Too complicated.... Hyundai prefers to stay with the KISS rule.... Keep It Simple, Stoopud.

That first change is best done the sooner the better. No question. In the pan there is a junk-yard of stuff. Try swirling a magnet through the first oil drained. Though some of the crud could be aluminum... possibility... donno. Bit, over all, there will be some really bad stuff to have in the engine.... flowing through the bearings and cylinders.

WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE in using synthetic lubricant?

I've seen it advised to start with real oil then soon switch to synthetic.

 

[EdVoylesHyundai]

It seems like every "stealership" out there tries to tell you that you need oil changes every 3000 miles, yet if you call Hyundai they will tell you to follow the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual and change it at 7500.

If you check the owners manual from your Genesis, you will see that Hyundai specifies a 3000mile oil change interval if any of the following conditions apply:
1. Repeated short distance driving
2. Driving in dusty conditions or sandy areas
3. Extensive use of brakes
4. Driving in areas where salt or other corrosive materials are being used
5. Driving on rough or muddy roads
6. Driving in mountainous areas
7. Extended periods of idling or low speed operation
8. Driving for a prolonged period in cold temperatures and/or extremely humid climates
9. More than 50% driving in heavy city traffic during hot weather above 90degrees F (32deg C)

Many people that live and drive in the city fall under the "severe" usage category and Hyundai most definitely recommends 3mo/3k oil change intervals. You may fall into this category at certain times of the year and not others. Don't think that b/c you change your oil once at 3k that you have to do it every time. If you take a roadtrip and spend a lot of time on the highway, you can probably extend your interval. Likewise, if your normal usage is "Normal" and you have a brutally cold winter with salt and snow and ice and you drive the car alot during this time, you may want to follow the "Severe" guidelines this time around.

If Hyundai was worried about long-term engine damage, don't you think they would be more careful? How can they guarantee 100,000 miles on a powertrain if 7500 mile oil change intervals hurt the engine?

Maybe it doesn't "hurt the engine" to the degree that it will fail before 100k. But it may be the difference between a bearing failure at 150k rather than 200k. Just because an engine doesn't stop running or start knocking immediately doesn't mean what you are doing is good for it. As far as that goes, I saw one engine that didn't EVER have an oil change. It was being replaced at 80k+ miles, but the guy must haved saved himself, like, $700 on oil changes!!! If you are keeping the car for 2 years, it makes no difference how often you change the oil. That motor will fail long after you have returned the car. But for people who keep their cars for a long time, it most definitely is important to change your oil per the manufacturer's recommendations. And you know what? It will NEVER hurt an engine to change the oil too much. It's cheap insurance.

In short, don't believe the dealership. They all make more money on service than they do selling cars. I've never had so many people lie to my face, and not just Hyundai, but all of them do it.

You are dealing with the wrong people. There are bad people in every industry, automotive included. The best thing you can do is do your homework (know the recommended service intervals and what those services include), ask to see the defective part when something is replaced that is not covered by warranty (something that you pay for), and if something sounds fishy, make sure that you and your service advisor take a look at the problem on your car before you approve the work. Going into a service facility without doing any homework is like walking alone in Central Park in the middle of the night. And I would hope we make more money servicing cars than selling cars. Sales departments rarely turn a profit by themselves. As you have seen in previous posts, we can make as much as, like, $8 on a full-price oil change. Cha-ching! The difference b/w our oil change and Pep-boys/QuickLube, etc.. is that a factory trained technician installs Genuine Hyundai parts, including a new drain plug gasket, and looks for potential safety hazards while your car is on the lift. For only a couple of dollars less, you can't tell me a Jiffy Lube provides the same quality of service. In fact, I know they don't. We have replaced several engines in the last year b/c the quick-lube guys around town don't know to double-check that the rubber gasket from the oil filter didn't stick to the block. They throw another oil filter on and the customer drives away only to lose oil pressure down the road and destroy their engine b/c all of the oil has squirted out b/c of the double-gasketed oil filter.