Oil Consumption in '12 R-Spec

[Timothy_Gee]

I purchased a 2012 R-Spec (Titanium/Black for you nuts who care) this summer. I love the car, and find it a fantastic value for what you get. I baby my car. I followed the optional break-in procedure to the letter. I'm meticulous with checking fluids, maintenance task, and tracking. I've been having to add about two quarts and a half of oil every 1000 miles or so. I took it in for an oil change at 5,000 miles, figuring something was wrong and I might as well start the process of an oil consumption test. I was a few quarts low when the dealer changed the oil (which is almost 9 quarts of oil / 5,000 miles). I have no noticeable leaks under my parking spot, I had a buddy tailgate me for about 50 miles and he had no oil splatter on his bumper. He did say that I have occasional clouds of dark smoke out of my tailpipes, but I was unable to reliably recreate the conditions which caused the issue. My mileage has been pretty good on the highway (27.4 last tank!), but around town I only get about 17-18. I haven't noticed any loss of power, or any other compression-loss symptoms. My initial guess is that my rings didn't seat, but I'm not positive. Does anyone have any other ideas? How much oil have your R-Specs been consuming?

On another note, my dealer's service department has been fantastic in helping me with this problem, I was very impressed. I was nervous after reading a few of your horror stories regarding Hyundai service. Mine had free coffee, TV, WiFi, and loaner vehicles. They were courteous (not quick, but I assume [hope] that's because they are being thorough).

I leave you with a warning. Just because your car is new does not mean you can neglect standard preventative checks and maintenance!!! Check your oil and transmission levels at least every two fill ups. It only takes 30 seconds! Use the paper towels next to the gas pump to wipe the dipsticks.

 

[Mark_888]

I have a 2009 Genesis with 3.8 engine, so no experiene witht the Tau V8, but my engine has not lost any measurable amount of oil between oil changes. I don't recall any other V8 owners mentioning this problem, so something major is wrong.

• How many miles did the car have when you purchased it? (should be in your paperwork)
• Did you check the radiator fluid for signs of oil?
• The GDI does produce some soot, but you should be able to smell whether your engine burns oil.

I would make sure this is escalated to Hyundai Motors America and don't take possession of the car until it is fixed.

Contrary to popular opinion, to get the rings to seat correctly, you should drive the engine fairly aggressively, so long as you stay below 4000 RPM, and should vary the RPM as much as possible. I didn't know this either until fairly recently.

 

[homeofstone]

I have a 2011 4.6 and it has never used a drop of oil in 76,000 miles. a friend of mine has a 5.0 R-spec and his has never used oil in 33,000 miles. The engine in your car has a serious problem.

 

[Genny4me]

I bought my car two weeks ago. It was a demo with 4600 miles. I checked the oil when it was still on the show room floor and noticed it was down a half quart. They changed the oil before I bought it and I will be keeping a sharp eye on it.

The car has been a joy so far

 

[427435]

At about a quart in 400 miles, sounds like a serious oil consumption problem.

However, does the manual call for 9 quarts of oil? Seems like a lot. If a crankcase is overfilled, oil consumption will go up. I have heard of vehicles with the wrong dipsticks in them (too short) that leads to overfilling and high oil consumption.

 

[homeofstone]

At about a quart in 400 miles, sounds like a serious oil consumption problem.

However, does the manual call for 9 quarts of oil? Seems like a lot. If a crankcase is overfilled, oil consumption will go up. I have heard of vehicles with the wrong dipsticks in them (too short) that leads to overfilling and high oil consumption.

I think the op means a total of 9 quarts including what he added when it was low.

 

[EXBMWGUY]

Like others have said, your car has serious problems that need to be escalated with Hyundai. Your level of oil consumption is not normal for any car -- not even some fire-breathing exotics (or 4.4 liter BMWs that are known to consume oil) -- let alone the 5.0 Tau engine that is NOT known by that characteristic.

 

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Yep, you've got a problem. 15K miles on my 5.0. No oil burning issues. And I drive it like I stole it a lot of times.

Try pulling a plug and seeing what it looks like. If it's black and sooty or oily, then your leaking either thru the valves or the rings.

 

[Mark_888]

Yep, you've got a problem. 15K miles on my 5.0. No oil burning issues. And I drive it like I stole it a lot of times.

Try pulling a plug and seeing what it looks like. If it's black and sooty or oily, then your leaking either thru the valves or the rings.

Don't even think about doing this yourself. Take it to the dealer and get them to analyze and fix it. As soon as you touch the engine, Hyundai will likely try and claim you voided the warranty.

 

[homeofstone]

Don't even think about doing this yourself. Take it to the dealer and get them to analyze and fix it. As soon as you touch the engine, Hyundai will likely try and claim you voided the warranty.

^ Absolutely do not touch it and only let the dealer find the problem. I suspect it will be a complete new engine if you are sure that there is no leak.

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[Timothy_Gee]

• How many miles did the car have when you purchased it? (should be in your paperwork)
• Did you check the radiator fluid for signs of oil?

Contrary to popular opinion, to get the rings to seat correctly, you should drive the engine fairly aggressively, so long as you stay below 4000 RPM, and should vary the RPM as much as possible. I didn't know this either until fairly recently.

It was in the mid-double digits when I got it. I have not checked the radiator fluid, I'll take a look at that tonight, thanks. And yes, my understanding is that not driving at a constant RPM for very long is the most important part of a break-in procedure.


I am definitely going to have the dealer do everything, I just want as much knowledge as possible about what should be replaced and other negative repercussions that I hadn't considered (things like: will my cats be bad from the excess smoke, will my pumps be bad from contamination, etc).

And no, I didn't put 9 quarts in at once, just constantly adding a quart here and there to keep the level from getting too low.

 

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Not sure how pulling a spark plug to look at it would void a warrenty.

Reading the spark plug can tell you a lot about how the engine is running and if indeed there is oil in the cylinders. That would give you the needed info when going to see the dealer. Any subsquent testing on the motor however should be done by the dealer. But it will not hurt to pull the spark plug and be informed.

 

[StangKiller]

Guys - doesn't the RSPEC take 7.1 quarts or something around there to fill 'er up? Maybe someone who didn't know only put in 5 quarts when the oil was changed as this is common practice and most cars don't take over 7 quarts...

My 2 cents

 

[jmo51]

Guys - doesn't the RSPEC take 7.1 quarts or something around there to fill 'er up? Maybe someone who didn't know only put in 5 quarts when the oil was changed as this is common practice and most cars don't take over 7 quarts...

My 2 cents

7.19

My R-Spec has used a quart between both oil changes 1st at 4100 miles and the 2nd at 8200 miles. Really doesn't seem excessive.

 

[fresh-popcorn]

I also have the 12 R-Spec and use excessive amounts of oil in between oil changes.
Might need to take it to the dealership and see what they say.

 

[Billfz1]

7.19

My R-Spec has used a quart between both oil changes 1st at 4100 miles and the 2nd at 8200 miles. Really doesn't seem excessive.

Durring your break in (while the rings are seating...etc) a little oil consumption is normal. These amounts are BARELY acceptable. using a quart in 1000 miles is WAAAAAY too much. There is something very wrong.
One other comment, most people baby their cars too much on break in. Some higher rpm use and varied speeds are best. Most engines need to used at at least 50% capacity durring break in. The reason for the early oil change is to remove all the assembly swarf, and machining residue. After that WAIL! Racing engines I've built have been run hard, even near redline in the first session on the track and wheen tearing down for modification later show no abnormal wear, in fact they often look better than street cars.
R-spec guys, don't complain about the 7 qts. I have 2 cummins dodge pickups, and they both take 3....GALLONS.
Bill

 

[homeofstone]

Durring your break in (while the rings are seating...etc) a little oil consumption is normal. These amounts are BARELY acceptable. using a quart in 1000 miles is WAAAAAY too much. There is something very wrong.
One other comment, most people baby their cars too much on break in. Some higher rpm use and varied speeds are best. Most engines need to used at at least 50% capacity durring break in. The reason for the early oil change is to remove all the assembly swarf, and machining residue. After that WAIL! Racing engines I've built have been run hard, even near redline in the first session on the track and wheen tearing down for modification later show no abnormal wear, in fact they often look better than street cars.
R-spec guys, don't complain about the 7 qts. I have 2 cummins dodge pickups, and they both take 3....GALLONS.
Bill

My mercedes takes 7.8 quarts and must have synthetic in the E500.

 

[jmo51]

Durring your break in (while the rings are seating...etc) a little oil consumption is normal. These amounts are BARELY acceptable. using a quart in 1000 miles is WAAAAAY too much. There is something very wrong.
One other comment, most people baby their cars too much on break in. Some higher rpm use and varied speeds are best. Most engines need to used at at least 50% capacity durring break in. The reason for the early oil change is to remove all the assembly swarf, and machining residue. After that WAIL! Racing engines I've built have been run hard, even near redline in the first session on the track and wheen tearing down for modification later show no abnormal wear, in fact they often look better than street cars.
R-spec guys, don't complain about the 7 qts. I have 2 cummins dodge pickups, and they both take 3....GALLONS.
Bill

Some acids maybe but swarf??

Anything resembling shavings left in an aluminum engine will cause serious damage. I would suspect that Hyundai leaving anything similar in an engine that is warrantied for 100K, would be financial suicide.

Swarf?? A new word for me and I've been very involved with Hi Perf cars for over 40 years.

John

 

[jnc2000]

Was seeing a little over a quart of consumption per oil change which has since dissipated after changing from M1... minimal consumption is expected and a lot of OE's have been reporting increasing consumption as of late.

OP - yours sounds quite high. Send an analysis out to BlackStone..

 

[yellow3.8track]

Some engines use oil. Today's engines, by all accounts, should not use much oil as they are supposed to be better designed and better built.

In my own experience (none of them are Hyndai V8's)

My old Ford F150 used/leaked no oil at all at 251,000 miles when I traded it in (I should have kept it).

My IROC leaks/burns 1 qt. in the 1st 2,000 miles after an oil change and 1 qt. in the next thousand and then I change it at 3,000 miles. That V8 has 185,000 hard miles on it.

One S10 has about 125,000 miles on it and uses no oil in 6,000 miles (between oil changes).

The Cherokee Sport has 120,000 miles on it and uses no oil in 6,000 miles (between oil changes).

My new Genesis Coupe (3.8) has 18,000 miles on it and uses no oil in 6,000 miles (between oil changes).

Any new engine already leaking/using that much oil has an issue the dealer needs to correct. If its burning it you could have issues (depending on where you live) with emissions inspections or damage to engine sensors(not sure about that one but it can't be a good thing). If its leaking when sitting still you should see it on the ground. If its leaking when driving you should see it all over your back "bumper" area and trunk.

Good luck with it.