lol change confusion at dealership...

[JensGT]

Hi, I have a 2012 3.8 sedan. When I bought it here I was told to do my lol changes every 7500 miles and the dealership had free lol changes for life. I don't live close to here (a little over an hour away) but I figured every 7500 miles isn't so bad. I don't drive a lot of miles so I go a long time between those changes. I got my first at right around 7500 and nobody in the service center said a word to me.

Today I get here...mileage at 16,000. I'm a full time student currently and pregnant so things have been hectic...today is my first day off since finals ended yesterday so I brought my car down here. The servicewoman starts lecturing me that I'm way overdue for my oil changes and that they need to be done every 3,500 miles. What?? I told her I was specifically told 7500 miles. She just repeats 3500. Says if I go synthetic that I can stretch it to 6,000 but of course that's not covered by the complimentary oil change. So I go to the showroom to talk to the guy who sold me the car. He clearly does not remember me...understandable...but says "I didn't tell you that"...it's every 3750 miles. If you go synthetic then you can do 7,500. Well I don't know if it was him or the guy who brought out the paperwork but I was told 7500 and they were free for life.

I paid $41 for them to use synthetic oil but clearly I'm not happy about this as the car has gone 16,000 miles with only one oil change when it should have been done at 3,750!!! I can't stand dealerships...this is one of many reasons why. I do some maintenance like air filters myself...but I always get my oil changed at the interval I'm told to, to my best ability. So it's pretty frustrating.

I'm going to check my manual once my car is done...it's also in for the front sensor which beeps at me every time I come to a stop so I'll be stuck here a while. What have other people been told about oil changed for this car? Should I make a complaint to Hyundai? Clearly nobody here cares what I was told back in 2012.

 

[JensGT]

Wow...oil change not lol change. Sorry

 

[AgentSmith007]

Service adviser at my dealership told me that Hyundai have two suggestions for oil change interval: 3,500 and 7,000 miles. It depends on where you live. Adviser told me that because I live in Michigan (snow, salt, cold winter temps, terrible roads, and other crap) my interval is 3,500 with regular oil, and 4,500 with synthetic. If I lived in Florida my oil change interval would be 7,000 miles. I hope it makes sense.

Last time I had oil change I asked to put synthetic.

 

[darthspader]

Oil is the blood of your car! You should always cheack your oil inbetween refuling, and IMHO you should change you oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months whichever comes first. I do not allow the dealerships to change my oil (overpriced) all oil has to conform to the same standards. I either do it my self $40 or take it to sears $30 with coupon.

 

[JensGT]

3,000 seems like an awfully short interval. I live in Maryland and regardless of what bs the dealer is selling..none of my driving is "severe". If you followed their rules pretty much every car in North America is driven under severe conditions. How is road salt affecting your oil life?

I was told specifically 7500 miles. Now almost 2 years later it's half that and nobody is admitting to saying 7500 miles? This is a problem for me.

 

[GenesisCaptain]

It looks like many (all?) dealerships are telling their customers that their cars meet the "Severe Usage Conditions" and must have oil changes at 3,750 mile increments. I find this offensive, but that is they way they are choosing to run their businesses. If this engine really needs oil changes that frequently, it would be the worst engine I have owned in 20 years.

The 3,000 mile interval died with the dodo bird. Oil and engine technology have progressed massively in the past 30 years. Apparently, the Hyundai dealerships never got the memo. If I were Hyundai, I would crash down on the dealerships because promoting an oil change frequency that short diminishes the brand and the perceived quality of the engine (it does for me).

 

[JensGT]

I agree!!! And telling someone something and then changing it completely 2 years later is unacceptable. What if they were to deny my warranty work over it?? Puts me in a bad position. I'm having them check a sensor today also because it's beeping at me every time I stop the car so hopefully they won't give me any trouble for that or I'll have to flip out on someone. Already been here over 2 hours. Sigh.

 

[scottdk]

^+1 Dead on GenesisCaptain!

Hyundai recommends oil change every 7,500 miles for "normal" driving. Ignore the dealer, their only goal is to make your bank account smaller.

I don't drive a ton of miles on my Genesis, so I probably drive 4,000 to 5,000 miles a year (I store in winter), so I just change my oil with Mobil 1 Synthetic once a year.

 

[darthspader]

Those are all great opinions. Imo i like to change my oil frequently it makes me feel better.

 

[dareckibmw]

Read and follow the manual for your car. Period.

Dealers and their so-called advisers are full of sh*t, most of them. One of them once told me to change @3000 miles.... even though he knew I got Mobil1 full synthetic. :facepalm:

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[EXBMWGUY]

^ 7,500 for me, synthetic oil, dealer changes it, and they know they're going to use my oil because their records say that. They also know that they aren't allowed to run my black car through their wash.

All of this is about respecting and honoring customers - or not! And there is a small minority of dealers, I believe, who understand what that means.

 

[Crusty Old Shellback]

yep, manual says 7500, which is what I follow. dealer service rep always tells me 3750. I just ignore him and do it at 7500. I asked once and he couldn't really give me an explination why I needed to change it at 3750 other than "that's what Hyundai recomends".

Sometiems I let the dealer do it if I have the time and a cupon. the rest of the time I do them.

 

[PMCErnie]

Hi, I have a 2012 3.8 sedan. When I bought it here I was told to do my lol changes every 7500 miles and the dealership had free lol changes for life. I don't live close to here (a little over an hour away) but I figured every 7500 miles isn't so bad. I don't drive a lot of miles so I go a long time between those changes. I got my first at right around 7500 and nobody in the service center said a word to me.

Today I get here...mileage at 16,000. I'm a full time student currently and pregnant so things have been hectic...today is my first day off since finals ended yesterday so I brought my car down here. The servicewoman starts lecturing me that I'm way overdue for my oil changes and that they need to be done every 3,500 miles. What?? I told her I was specifically told 7500 miles. She just repeats 3500. Says if I go synthetic that I can stretch it to 6,000 but of course that's not covered by the complimentary oil change. So I go to the showroom to talk to the guy who sold me the car. He clearly does not remember me...understandable...but says "I didn't tell you that"...it's every 3750 miles. If you go synthetic then you can do 7,500. Well I don't know if it was him or the guy who brought out the paperwork but I was told 7500 and they were free for life.

I paid $41 for them to use synthetic oil but clearly I'm not happy about this as the car has gone 16,000 miles with only one oil change when it should have been done at 3,750!!! I can't stand dealerships...this is one of many reasons why. I do some maintenance like air filters myself...but I always get my oil changed at the interval I'm told to, to my best ability. So it's pretty frustrating.

I'm going to check my manual once my car is done...it's also in for the front sensor which beeps at me every time I come to a stop so I'll be stuck here a while. What have other people been told about oil changed for this car? Should I make a complaint to Hyundai? Clearly nobody here cares what I was told back in 2012.

Did it never occur to you to read your manual before now, or to question the dealer's service manager about oil change frequency? Vehicles and drivers differ. Some folks put on a lot of miles in short periods; others put on relatively few miles over long periods. Dealership salespeople who promise customers free oil changes every 7,500 miles obviously cannot guarantee how the car will be used by the owner.

My personal habit is to change oil every 5,000 miles, or every six months. There is definitely no need to use extra-cost synthetic motor oil, so long as you follow an oil change practice that makes sense for your usage. Proper oil maintenance also includes checking your oil level periodically when you are at home.

By the way, how often have you rotated your tires since you bought the car?

 

[JensGT]

Thanks for the super condescending reply.

I read manuals when I need information. After I bought the car and was told 7500 miles I believe I did check it and also I remember searching this forum to see of that was what other people were doing and it seemed to be an accepted thing that 7500 miles was fine. It has been almost 2 years since then so I went ahead and double checked. It does indeed say 7500 miles or every 12 months whichever comes first. It has the schpeal about "severe" driving conditions which they can try to apply to every car sold here but I do not consider any of my driving to be severe. We have 3 cars all of which I maintain.

I usually rotate tires at every or every other oil change...depending on which car it is.

 

[nfetterly]

2012 3.8 - 14600 miles on it and heading in for second oil change this Friday. Had the car less than a year - was manager's car from the dealer and they put the first 5000 miles on it.

No question in my mind from reading the manual - 7500 miles.

Yes my front sensors need to be replaced too - beeping when I stop, beeping when I've told them to be off.

 

[Mark_888]

As mentioned by others, don't argue with the Service Advisor about oil change intervals or whether you fall under the "severe" guidelines in the owner's manual. But do use synthetic oil even if not required by Hyundai (unless the car is under a 3 year lease and you will turn it in when the lease expires). If you use synthetic, then 7500 mile intervals is fine. But if you are going to err, do it on the conservative side and don't exceed 7500 miles (plan on 6500-7000 miles).

 

[JensGT]

2012 3.8 - 14600 miles on it and heading in for second oil change this Friday. Had the car less than a year - was manager's car from the dealer and they put the first 5000 miles on it.

Yes my front sensors need to be replaced too - beeping when I stop, beeping when I've told them to be off.

The sensor thing seems to be a super common issue. I waited almost 3 hours at the dealership and it turns out they don't have the part...so they ordered it. I told them that since it's normal warranty work I'd have it done at my local dealership...probably will get that taken care of next week. The beeping is driving me CRAZY.

 

[JensGT]

As mentioned by others, don't argue with the Service Advisor about oil change intervals or whether you fall under the "severe" guidelines in the owner's manual. But do use synthetic oil even if not required by Hyundai (unless the car is under a 3 year lease and you will turn it in when the lease expires). If you use synthetic, then 7500 mile intervals is fine. But if you are going to err, do it on the conservative side and don't exceed 7500 miles (plan on 6500-7000 miles).

Understood. Typically I am very good about getting things done on time but I had a very hectic last month of school on top of being 7+ months pregnant and having doctors appointments left and right. I may just stop going to this dealership all together since it is over an hour away and have a local place do it with Synthetic...that will make it 100x easier to get things done in the proper amount of time especially once the baby shows up!

 

[PMCErnie]

Thanks for the super condescending reply.

I read manuals when I need information. After I bought the car and was told 7500 miles I believe I did check it and also I remember searching this forum to see of that was what other people were doing and it seemed to be an accepted thing that 7500 miles was fine. It has been almost 2 years since then so I went ahead and double checked. It does indeed say 7500 miles or every 12 months whichever comes first. It has the schpeal about "severe" driving conditions which they can try to apply to every car sold here but I do not consider any of my driving to be severe. We have 3 cars all of which I maintain.

I usually rotate tires at every or every other oil change...depending on which car it is.

Okay, so nothing is your fault. Got it.

 

[jebaril]

"spiel", German; sometimes spelled "shpil", which is the Yiddish version. Just trying to keep it real.