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First oil change

33K views 69 replies 29 participants last post by  az2008 
#1 ·
I know the manual says change oil every 7500, but I was wondering should the first oil change be done sooner?
When was your first oil change and what kind of oil did you use?
 
#2 ·
I going with my dealer recommendation of 3000 mi for the first. Hyundai is still using Quaker state 5w20 as a factory fill iirc. I will do it at 3000 with regular qs and then at 5000 with qs synthetic and then every 7500 if I can stretch it that long. If I can't it'll be every 5000.
 
#3 ·
Over at Bob Is The Oil Guy, they've done oil analysis on Hyundais at various miles between 0 and 7500 and generally found a fairly high amount of wear metals in the oil, though not unusual for a new car. They seem to recommend changing it at 1000 miles to Pennzoil Platinum 5W20, or 0W20 if you're starting the engine in below-0F weather. But remember, they're fanatics who are into way overkill, so probably going to 7500 with the factory fill is fine :blink:. Just depends on how fanatical you are :).

BTW, do *not* put 10w30 into it, that's too thick an oil for an engine with this tight of tolerances, you'll get sludge and excessive engine wear as well as lousy mpg. According to the BITOG commenters a *thin* 5W30 is acceptable (one that is at the lower-viscosity end of the 5W30 spec like Castrol EDGE Synthetic) and the Europeans with this engine report that it does make the valve train a little quieter, at the expense of a little gas mileage. I don't think anybody's had it on the EDGE long enough though yet to report back what its wear levels look like, so sticking to the PP 5W20 is what I'm going to do for the time being.
 
#5 ·
It's worth it in any car. Synthetics do not break down like concentionals so theRe is higher lubricity and less wear on your motor.
 
#6 ·
Hi,
IMO, all depends of your driving time/millage, if you change your oil often, synthetic is a waste of money, if the car sits a lot then synthetic is a good option cause the viscosity breakdown in time with reg oil. the goal is to keep it clean, it's like washing the car with only water every day, or with soap once a week.
 
#11 ·
This is only partially true. What appears to be the oil getting dirty (darkening) is to a large extent the oil thermally breaking down (cooking slowly). Synthetic oil resists breakdown better and therefore will darken more slowly than conventional oil. There is also the effects of all of the blowby gasses mixing in the crankcase.

Also remenber that most oil change places put a dry empy oil filter on your car and so the first startup after the oil change is really hard on the engine because there is no oil pressure until the pump fills up the empty filter. So overall it is better to go longer intervals with better oil than frequent conventional oil changes.


Hi,
IMO, all depends of your driving time/millage, if you change your oil often, synthetic is a waste of money, if the car sits a lot then synthetic is a good option cause the viscosity breakdown in time with reg oil. the goal is to keep it clean, it's like washing the car with only water every day, or with soap once a week.
 
#8 ·
It absolutely should be done sooner. I normally do the first oil change on a new car or new engine within the first couple hundred miles.

There are a lot of wear metals circulating in the oil on a brand new engine that are small enough to pass through the filter. As an experiment, I kept the factory oil out of my '08 Elantra (changed at 128 miles) in a white container.

After one month of settling, a thin gray film coated the bottom of the container (wear metals). The second oil change was done at 1800 miles and the same thing happened. The next oil change at 4100 miles (after a long trip) still showed some wear metal settling out.

I used a name brand oil in the weight called for. At about 15,000 miles, I switched to a full synthetic oil as I tow a small trailer on longer trips with the car. In the 26,000 miles I've put on the car now, it's had 10 oil changes. I now stretch the interval to no more than 4000 miles or 6 months.
 
#9 ·
Uh... my warranty service manual says to change the oil ever 3750 miles.

How do you go about changing the oil at home with a vehicle with such strict warranty guidelines? You could go to SpeeDee or whatever, because you get a manual receipt with the mileage listed and oil used... but I highly doubt they have access to "Hyundai" filters, which, if you read the warranty thoroughly MUST be used as anything else is considered a "Non Hyundai Licensed Product".

Why mess with it?
 
#10 ·
From my own personal experience, change your oil about 1 month after purchase because the first month or 1000 kms is the critical break in point, and DON'T use an oil filter thats not from hyundai, some aftermarket filters tend to have "sloppy" drain back valves that either dont open when they should or stick open
 
#19 ·
I love this thread -- all over the place when you should, how you should do it -- what you should use ...

Basically what most people are saying here is to ignore the manual from Hyundai (and for that matter, every other manual from most car manufacturers -- I haven't knowingly been in a car that said change the oil at 1k mile)

Ignore the manual and do what "I know" to be correct.

I think its funny since most car buyers will follow the maintenance guide and essentially what the consensus is here is they are all doing the wrong thing and might not get as long of life as they could by doing it "your way."

It would seem that most people concede that there is no real statistical evidence pertaining to engine wear by changing out the oil sooner or using synthetic.

I too have been all over the place on this one for me -- contacted the dealer and they said 2500 -- a friend said 1,000 -- the manual says 3,750 for severe conditions.

I guess we all have to figure it out for ourselves.

:D
 
#20 ·
I have used both regular and sythetic oil in the past with different cars. I have put over 420,000 km on a Toyota camry before. The engine was still strong when I sold my car, but the chasis can't handle it any more due to all the salt we have on the road during winter time.

I don't have any scientific numbers or report to prove that sythetic oil is better, but I do feel the car runs smoother and I can see a little bit better gas mileage as well. However, the benefit of running regular oil is more than sythetic oil in long run.

First of all, regular oil itself is cheaper. I usually drive about 40,000km per year. That means I will need to do 8 oil changes. I can save about 160-200 dollars every year.

Second of all, the fuel mileage difference is minimal. It can't make up the different for the oil cost itself.

Third, if my car will last 400,000+ km with regular oil, why do I bother to use sythetic oil. Most people will probably have sold their car before hitting 400,000km.

Based on my own experiences, unless the accent is my track toy, I will stick with regular oil and change it at every 5,000km.
 
#21 ·
Bottom line is- the manual says 3500 severe use- 7500 normal - I have always "assumed" for years that manufacturers prefer to err on the side of caution so put pessimistic suggestions in the manual.

Having said that, many years of building engines has taught me that the first change should come early. Gets all those stray microns of machined metal out of there. 500-1000 miles for the first- then go with what makes you comfortable.

Earlier, I commented, and I repeat- oil is cheaper than engine parts and a LOT easier to change.
 
#22 ·
Bottom line is- the manual says 3500 severe use- 7500 normal - I have always "assumed" for years that manufacturers prefer to err on the side of caution so put pessimistic suggestions in the manual.

Having said that, many years of building engines has taught me that the first change should come early. Gets all those stray microns of machined metal out of there. 500-1000 miles for the first- then go with what makes you comfortable.

Earlier, I commented, and I repeat- oil is cheaper than engine parts and a LOT easier to change.

I would've followed the manual (6,000KM first oil change) but the dealer(a family friend) that sold me my 2012 GLS 5-door hatch accent(canadian) told me not to forget to change-oil on (3,000KM)

so i did my first change -oil on 3,100KM. after i long-drove it from toronto-chicago-toronto..

:unsure: i shouldve just waited for 6,000KM should i?? oh well i i did it at 3,100KM its all good :thumbsup:
 
#26 ·
I have something to say about drive thru oil change places, since the subject has come up. My sister had the engine in her Subaru destroyed by an oil change at Jiffylube. They either didn't put the plug back in or didn't tighten it well resulting in the oil draining out, completely wrecking the engine in short order. I have had service writers in such places tell me that my tires needed replacement when in fact they were (all four of them) new with only about 1,000 miles on them. Same thing with an air filter that I had recently replaced myself. Once, when I was driving a different car, I found my oil a quart low after having had it changed at a Jiffylube. And who knows what they are really putting in? I would never take my new car to a Jiffylube or similar chain. In fact I wouldn't take a beater in there, either, if I had to rely on it to get around. If I was a car maker, based on what I know now, I would make taking your car to Jiffylube grounds for voiding the engine warranty.
Here is a video on Jiffylube scamming people - but getting caught at it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiCAJ8ULnaI
Even though I had plenty of experience with dishonesty from Jiffylube employees, this blew me away.
 
#29 · (Edited)
It does not have to be laziness, that seems a bit unfair of a statement. Perhaps people lack the mechanical aptitude. Or access to ramps, jacks, jack stands, tools. Or even access to a place where this can be done. I lived in apartments until a few years ago and parking lot maintenance was violating the lease agreement. Quite frankly, not becoming homeless was preferable over a DIY oil change.

IMHO if you can't DIY The key is to find a place you trust and always double-check their work... I've had places do a number on my cars before and I generally catch that before I even leave the parking lot. Probably makes me look like a jerk as I thoroughly inspect the car but whatever. :)




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#30 ·
I'm still trying to figure out a safe, affordable way to get the car up in the air to change out the oil. I don't have access to a regular lift. One pair of ramps won't do it. Two pairs is too tricky. Jacking the back up with 1 or 2 bottle jacks, plus 2 floor stands, while the front is already up on ramps doesn't seem like a good idea for a variety of reasons. The front of the car (or back) must either all the way up on the ramps or it is not on the ramps - there's no in between state. So you can't lift the back end up in gradual stages. You can't start lifting the back while the front is half way up the ramps. The angle of the car on the bottle jacks while the front is already up 6 or 9 in' off the ground parked on ramps seems a bit dangerous to me. PLus where do you the place the bottle jacks and where do you place the stands - so that the system is stable while raising and lowering?
 
#32 ·
Plus where do you the place the bottle jacks and where do you place the stands - so that the system is stable while raising and lowering?
I was perplexed by that too. Hyundai only officially identifies the four pinch weld locations for jacking using their scissor jack (designed to slip over the pinch weld). But, 1) those locations aren't too suitable for other types of jacks, and 2) what do you do after you have the car in the air? You don't want to crawl under it without a jackstand. (And, if you jack in a different location, planning to put the jackstand at the official location, jackstands don't fit pinch welds well.).

I wrote up my conclusion about how to jack. Basically, I jack on the official positions using a makeshift adapter (piece of wood or hockey puck, with a slot cut in it). I then put a jack stands at solid locations on the front subframe (the part that connects to the unibody rails) and rear axle/swing arm assembly (which also connects to the unibody rails).

The only downside I can see to this is that you jack corners instead of the center. With a unibody frame, I'm nervous about twisting too much. So, it takes a little more work walking it up in 2-3 phases so it never twists too much.

The problem with using ramps for an oil change is that you have to get the car off the ramp to get all the oil out. Then you're a little stuck replacing the drain bolt with the car low to the ground.

There's always the possibility of driving the car onto front ramps, and a pair of 2x12" planks in the rear that are long enough for the car to roll back 3 feet. After the car is on the ramps, slide another pair of 2x12" planks behind the ramps. Start your drain, replace the filter, then roll the car off the ramps and onto the planks (with the rear still on planks). Now you've got an additional 2" to replace the drain plug. (You could always stack planks to get about 3", since 2-by lumber is really 1-1/2". But, you get the idea.).
 
#31 ·
I use a jack and one single jackstand. Jack the passenger side front, slide the stand under, lower the car down onto it, slide the catch pan under, put a closed-end 6pt 17mm wrench on the drain bolt, hold the wrench from the middle and hit the end of it with a rubber mallet or a hammer to loosen it 1/4 turn or so, unscrew one or two screws of the splash pan to gain access to the filter.

My apartment has a no-maintenance policy too but I've done it several times. They either don't care, don't see me, or they trust that I know what I'm doing. I've done an exhaust swap here too.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Buy this



Flyin' Miata 1 800 FLY MX5s

Although I've jacked the Accent without it and haven't screwed up the pinch weld. You can do without if you pay enough attention to how the load is spread evenly across the jack-plate and lower it down VERY slowly on the stand. Maybe I'll take some pics or a short video next time.
 
#37 ·
Do you have the 14-inch wheels or 16-inch?

I've notice the 14-inch wheels add more space between the bottom of the car and the ground. My 16-inch wheels makes it hard for me to reach under my car and stick the drain pan under with enough clearance to work the drain plug.
 
#42 ·
I am pretty sure my owners manual says to just use a floor jack and a square block of wood to distribute the weight a little bit,...
The owner's manual only has:



This is designed for changing tires, not maintenance work. I haven't seen how the service department lifts a vehicle. Whether they use broad flat surfaces against the uniframe rails, or small pinch adapters on the four pinch welds. (Usually those floor lifts used at garages have flip-up pieces to lift on a very precise location, like a pinch weld. I assume that's what they do.).

The challenge for the home DIYer is

1. Hyundai doesn't give you the pictured jack (designed to lift on the small flat area behind the pinch weld, and also capture the pinch weld for stability).
2. If you need to get under the car, there's no instruction about where to place jackstands. (Anyplace you can put a stand should also be a place you can jack. Hyundai's instruction indicates these are the only allowed jack points, and therefore no stands can be used.).

Another complication is how low the car sits. Without a factory jack, you can't see what your options might be. The front subframe and rear axle's connection to the frame rails seem like good places (with or without wood).

But, I wouldn't put a jackstand on the pinch weld. Therefore, it seems better to jack on the pinch weld (with something to put the pressure on the small flat spot behind the weld) and put jackstands on the subframe and rear axle (closer to the pivot connection to reduce the amount of suspension compression which will occur).

You can probably jack on the frame rails or pinch welds (directly on the seam) without a problem. But, googling indicates its a matter of when, not if damage occurs. For example, jack too high, or the floor jack doesn't roll with the changing angle of the car, and the pinch weld can bend.
 
#43 ·
I've put jackstands under the pinch welds of my cars countless times and never bent the weld. You just have to be careful! I'm installing an intake in a week or two and I'll take a short video on where/how to place the jack and the stand.
 
#44 ·
My cautionary example was about a floor jack not rolling, the jacking angle changing, etc. I agree that once the car is level, there's less risk of it sitting on the 1/8" thick seam.

OTOH, that begs the question of how to jack. To get the car up level, you have to jack in the center. I'm not comfortable with those options, especially jacking on the rear axle. If you go up in steps, side to side, that's going to put lateral pressure on the 1/8" thick seam.

When I googled the topic the overwhelming consensus was not to jack nor support on that 1/8" thick seam.

The bottom line is: It's an integral part of the body's "frame." It seems like a significant risk for what benefit? Why try to mitigate the risk with "being careful" when you can use a block of wood or grooved hockey puck to jack on the Hyundai-approved (reinforced) area?

This topic reminds me of the age-old debate about whether to use gasoline as a solvent. The argument in favor goes something like, "as long as you're careful..." However, when something goes wrong it goes *really* wrong.

I feel the same way about using the pinch weld. The moment it folds over, it's kind of a big deal. Why risk it when it takes almost no effort to lift the car differently?
 
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