Service frequency

[haltenberg]

I own a 2.0T since Christmas and don't drive it a lot. After 4 months I only have 3K km (~1.9K miles) on my odometer. The manual says that the car should be serviced every 6K km (3.7K miles) and so said the service-reminder sticker that the dealership had put on my windshield. After 3 months I started getting phonecalls from the dealership reminding me that it's time to service the car. When it wasn't a robot, I was explaining that I only have 2.5K which is far from the declared 6K. Finally I gave up and came there for the first service (oil change, oil filter replacement, ECM upgrade due to recall). Having picked up the car, I noticed the new service-reminding sticker that has a date in 3 months or 8K km. How come Hyundai dealership insists on 3-months service cycles regardless of the mileage while the manual says 6 months/6K? Is it really necessary to service the car every 3 months?

[Admin1]

This is a very good topic an customers talk about this quite often. This is a article quoted from a well known Maintenance Editor Tom Torbhornsen.

"I have been in the auto repair industry since 1972 ... hummmm, a simple calculation of the math illustrates that I have been in car repair for, uh, well, let's not go there. It makes me depressed. You do the math and keep it to yourself. At any rate, enough about my mid life crisis. Let's talk about oil change intervals.
For years the accepted oil change interval (as per the carmakers) has been every 3 months or 3 thousand miles, whichever comes first. Why? Because the oils of yesterday degraded and broke down when left in the crankcase environment for longer than the prescribed interval. The combination of heat, friction, and the oil oxidizing over time resulted in an unholy clothing of the engine's internal parts called sludge. As an automotive machinist for a good part of my career, I can tell you that sludge is an engine killer. Sludge takes a greasy, cake-like oily form and plugs oil return passages and acts like a sponge and soaks up good oil to grow its grotesque form starving the engine of vital lubricants. Once established, engine heat crystallizes it to a hardened rock of ughhhhhh, I have spent many an hour scraping and yes, sometimes chiseling established sludge from the inside of an engine before performing a machining operation on it! As the machinist prepares to perform a machine operation on a cylinder head, crankshaft, engine block or the likes he/she must clean their work meticulously before performing the prescribed operation. If the sludge is not cleaned properly, the result will be a failed engine.
Why this lesson about sludge? Because without clean good quality oil in your car's engine, it will develop sludge and cause premature engine failure.
Now more than ever before, vehicle engines operate at high heat and close tolerances. The reason for this is the Federal Emissions mandates the government has imposed on the carmakers. Vehicles have to emit a smidgeon of the tailpipe emissions they did a decade ago. Carmakers have risen to this occasion by increasing combustion chamber temps with higher compression engines, running leaner fuel systems, adjusting ignition timing for optimum emissions, narrowing cooling system water jackets, and tightening engine oil tolerances. All this makes for hotter running engines that emit less tailpipe emissions. Putting these demands on engines requires a lubricant that can stand up to this harsh environment. Hence, petroleum companies' work hand in hand with carmakers to develop engine lubricants to meet the requirements and demands of a particular powerplant, still delivering the advertised horsepower and torque output that consumers expect. Research and development between carmakers and petroleum companies has resulted in improved engine lubricants that properly lubricate your vehicle's engine as well as keep the inside clean of sludge buildup, AND CAN GO LONGER BETWEEN OIL CHANGES!
A few years back, GM introduced a system called the OLM (Oil Life Monitor) system. This system had been in testing since 1984 and actually was put into some Buicks on a test basis. The goal of this system? To extend oil change intervals and attain bragging rights to having a more maintenance-free vehicle. The OLM monitors crankcase temp, moisture, and combustion chamber events (this represents the actual work the engine is doing while in operation). By closely monitoring these elements of engine operation the system can measure the serviceable life of the oil to within 10%. After officially introducing the OLM with virtually no engine failures attributed it the OLM, GM changes their service recommendations to what they called an "Enhanced Maintenance Schedule." With the Enhanced Schedule, the motorist need only follow the dictates of the OLM and have other scheduled services done at prescribed intervals.
Ford Motor Company has followed GM into the extended oil change interval march. In March 2007, Ford announced that they are revising engine oil change intervals to every 7500 miles. The reason? Quoting the article from the Associated Press dated March 22nd, 2007.
Yes oil is much better than it used to be, engines are better protected with today's new lubricants but the same old logic still applies to the oil filter: always use a good quality filter when having the engine oil changed. The filter is the storehouse for dirt in the engine and when it doesn't do its job, the engine suffers internally. When dirt and grit are allowed to circulate over, within and on the engine bearing surfaces, cylinder walls, crankshafts, piston rings, camshafts and virtually all metal mating surfaces, they are damaged resulting in wider oil tolerances, lowered oil pressure and ultimately premature engine failure.
While I concur with R&D results over the years with respect to oil change intervals, I am still squeamish about leaving petroleum-based oil in an engine for 7500 miles. I guess I just know too much based on personal experience.
So while yes, I have revised my thinking regarding extending oil change intervals:
Here are my revised oil change recommendations: change regular petroleum based oils every 4-5 thousand miles and synthetic every 5-7 thousand miles.
There, those of you that for years have criticized me as being in the back pocket of petroleum companies for recommending 3 thousand mile oil changes, are you happy now?"

[johnjohnson1957]

Couple questions about maintenance.
1. On page 7-8 of the owner's manual lists the Normal Maintenance Schedule. The first scheduled service occurs as listed as 7,500 miles (12,000km) or 6 months. Read down the list of things until you reach "replace engine oil and filter (2.4GDI)." Below that the following appears "(7,500 miles (12,000 km) or 12 months)." So what's the real interval 6 months or 12 month?

2. The maintenance schedule also says, "add fuel additive (2.4GDI)." The footnote with this requirement says, "If top tier detergent gasoline is not available, one bottle of additive is recommended." I live twop hours from my closest Hyundai dealer so wondered if there is a fuel additive available at auto parts shops that can be used? I don't see the need to add a fuel additive every time I change oil as I routinely use detergent gasoline but figure an additive every other oil change could not hurt anything.

[Rsquared]

Couple questions about maintenance.
1. On page 7-8 of the owner's manual lists the Normal Maintenance Schedule. The first scheduled service occurs ais listed as 7,500 miles or 12months. Read down the list of things until yuou reach "replace engine oil and filter (2.4GDI)." Below that the following appears "(7,500 miles (12,000 km) or 12 months)." So what's the 12 month all about?

2. The maintenance schedule also says, "add fuel additive (2.4GDI)." The footnote with this requirement says, "If top tier detergent gasoline is not available, one bottle of additive is recommended." I live twop hours from my closest Hyundai dealer so wondered if there is a fuel additive available at auto parts shops that can be used? I don't see the need to add a fuel additive every time I change oil as I routinely use detergent gasoline but figure an additive every other oil change could not hurt anything.

1.It's a "which ever comes first" thing.

2. It states you only need to use an additive if deterget gasoline is not available.

[johnjohnson1957]

I went back and corrected my original posting concerning normal maintenance intervals. I am restating it here.
Page 7-8 of the owner's manual lists the Normal Maintenance Schedule. The first scheduled service is listed as occuring at 7,500 miles (12,000km) or 6 months. Now read down the list of things to do until you reach "replace engine oil and filter (2.4GDI)." There it says "(7,500 miles (12,000 km) or 12 months)." So what's the real interval 6 months or 12 month?

[Rsquared]

Same thing...whichever comes first. If you're like most people the 7500 will happen long before the 12, or 6 months.

[johnjohnson1957]

Car has 6000 miles at 6 months and being 6 months always comes before 12 month then 6 months is the answer. I assume the reference to 12 months is a misprint in the manual.

[Rsquared]

Car has 6000 miles at 6 months and being 6 months always comes before 12 month then 6 months is the answer. I assume the reference to 12 months is a misprint in the manual.

Not necessarily. The first oil change covers the break-in period. After 6 months it's every 12. The oil the factory uses isn't usually the same oil the dealer has. They have special oils that are used when an engine is new.

[Jim]

Not necessarily. The first oil change covers the break-in period. After 6 months it's every 12. The oil the factory uses isn't usually the same oil the dealer has. They have special oils that are used when an engine is new.

I was just at an Owner's Night at the Dealership where I bought my Sonata 2.0T Limited and I asked the Service Manager this same question in front of about 60 other folks. He said the oil that's put in at the Factory is the same as what they have => nothing special.:noidea:

[Rsquared]

Did you ask your Service Manager How Long He Was A Tech? Prolly never. LOL.

[Bearcats]

The oil the factory uses isn't usually the same oil the dealer has. They have special oils that are used when an engine is new.

Per chance would you have any documentation to this statement? This would go a long way in the "early drain" argument that persists.

I am of the early drain crowd because I cant find anything that shows a break in oil or oil with high moly (to assist in break in). I would rather get the casting grit out as early as possible.

[Rsquared]

Per chance would you have any documentation to this statement? This would go a long way in the "early drain" argument that persists.

I am of the early drain crowd because I cant find anything that shows a break in oil or oil with high moly (to assist in break in). I would rather get the casting grit out as early as possible.

http://www.royalpurple.com/breakin-oil.html

The filter should get most of the grit, and I agree with the early firtst oil change.

[Jim]

Did you ask your Service Manager How Long He Was A Tech? Prolly never. LOL.

They said he was a Tech for about 17 years...:noidea:

[johnjohnson1957]

I hate to be PITA (pain in the a**) regarding the difference between what the column heading states for the time between maintence and what is found listed under the maintenance task itself (oil change) but as you have to maintain your car according to the factory maintenance schedule or loose your factory warranty coverage, this is very important to me.

It would make sense to have a difference for the break in period oil change but this discrepancy occurs over and over in the maintenance schedule so this can't be the right. Refering to the owner's manual, page 7-8, normal maintenance schedule, you'll find the column heading lists a different (shorter) time period for oil changes than what you'll find listed below in the lists of tasks (oil change) to be preformed. The lists of tasks (oil change) always states double the time listed in the Column Heading.


Under the Column Heading for 7,500 miles or 6 months, the list of things to do says oil change 7,500 miles or 12 months.
Under the Column heading for 15,000 miles or 12 months, the list of things to do says oil change 15,000 miles or 24 months
Under the Column heading for 22,500 miles or 18 months, the list of things to do says oil change 22,500 miles or 36 months
Under the Column heading for 30,000 miles or 24 months, the list of things to do says oil change 30,000 miles or 48 months
Under the Column heading for 37,500 miles or 30 months, the list of things to do says oil change 37,500 miles or 60 months

This repeats all the way to the last listed maintenance period. Under the Column heading of 127,5000 miles or 102 months the list of things to do says oil change 127,500 miles or 204 months.

[johnjohnson1957]

I called the Hyundai Customer line and someone there said the listing in the manual where it says 6 month and then in the same section it says 12 months, etc (explained better above) is a missprint.

[Rallyman]

Thanks for updating us. The information as printed certainly doesn't make sense.