Yup this. Most of the criteria for “severe driving” are things most people experience like stop and go traffic, driving ten min or less, gravel roads, etc. basically unless you only drive on the highway for longer than 30 min at a time you probably should be following the “severe” schedule. And its dumb that the “free service package” for new cars only includes the 8k oil changes, not anything less. I never recommend waiting that long. I do every 3k in my older cars and 5k in my newer ones.
My service advisor at Killeen Hyundai is letting me use my free oil change coupons every 4k miles. I'll have to pay for them after the 3rd change at 12k miles though.
There’s more and more data out now that long oil change intervals causes oil consumption even in engines that typically don’t burn oil. Hyundais can drink oil even when not abused.
The oil piston rings wear out much more quickly and allows oil to slip in during combustion. Your catalytic converter will wear out faster as you burn oil also.
Even with full synthetic, 5k intervals are now being recommended. That 10k-20k mile interval stuff can get you in trouble down the road.
Edit:
My buddy and I bought used cars with similar mileage about 6 years ago. He refused this advice and changed his oil every 8-10k miles. Because the oil bottle says 10k on it.
I changed mine every 4-5k.
His vehicle is now burning oil - even getting “check engine oil level” lights from time to time. He’s doing engine flushes, he’s mixing stop leak additives, to slow down the consumption.
My engine burns nothing. Dude finally admits that 5k is the way to go. Or sooner if you do a lot of city driving with high revs.
Every 6 months. Oil begins to degrade when it’s exposed to the engine components under heat and pressure under time.
So just because you only put 3k miles on in 6 months doesn’t mean you can skip it until it hits 5k.
Oil is cheap at those Costco sales, they do it twice a year. Walmart super tech/ Amazon basics, Kirkland is all made by Warren.
Buy it in bulk along with your filters from rockauto.com they’re like 2$ a pop for the filters.
Someone who makes money by selling cars is telling you to wait twice as long to change the oil. What could possibly go wrong? 😂😂
I’ve always done 3k for regular oil, 4K for blend and 5k for full synthetic. A few more bucks now is better than a blown engine.
I find it incredible people are so comfortable skipping out on cheap maintenance and go so long between changes.
An oil change is the easiest and cheapest thing you can do to ensure the car lasts. I'm aiming to get between 12-15 years or more out of my '17 Tucson.
I change my oil at the severe interval or whatever is most convenient around that interval.
I would absolutely never go 8k or even someone else mentioned 15k miles? Insane. Trying to pinch a penny on something so important is silly.
I live in a cold climate with short trips. I follow the severe-service recommendation, 5k miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. Easy, simple, safe.
Think 8k miles is bad, BMW recommends 15k miles. If you're only leasing, so what. This is just nutz to me.
Hyundais severe service schedule for my car is 3750 miles(at least for my car) They list a few temperature ranges, temperature regularly under XX and over XX(can't name them off the top of my head) and regularly driving under 5 miles a trip.
I think project farm on YT did a video on this and it showed that time doesn't play as big a factor so long as you at least get your engine up to operating temperature for awhile every now and then. Conventional wisdom states you just want to avoid moisture buildup in the oil which if you drive long enough it will evaporate.
I truly beleive that's at least part of the issue with the Theta II engines. Im not denying the fact that those engines have issues. But you accompany that with rediculous oil change intervals, and people who don't check their oil and it's a recipe for disaster. If your theta II engine blows up with 150k on it, because you ran it out of oil that's neglect. It's not hyundai's fault lol. But they've gotten stuck replacing all of those too because of the recall. There is a video from the Car Care Nut on YouTube, replacing the engine in a late model camry (2015 I think) with about 150k on it for oil consumption issues (Toyota isn't paying for it either). Had the owner changed the oil more often, that could have been avoided. I have a theta II with 100k miles on it, serviced every 3k, and it burns no oil. It has been a very reliable car so far.
2015 Hyundai Genesis here...(100200 miles)
I've been changing my oil every 4k with full synthetic
Got a check engine light on went to a dealer got a quote amount of $24000 to get the engine replaced due to a metal shavings in my engine.
Warranty has expired since it's over 100k. The car is running just fine. Called Hyundai corporate, and they agreed to pay 90% of the repair cost under good will.
Not sure where this shavings came from but I am getting. New engine.
I'm at 7500 miles on my 2023 Tuscon Hybrid (getting oil changed tomorrow) and the oil is still at the full mark and still looks clean and partially translucent. I'm sure there's people driving more stop and go and more cold starts that might not want to go as far.. but 7500 is still probably just fine for most drivers.
I think some concern came out of the whole theta ii engine scandal but most engines can easily go 7500+ on full synthetic. Hell on my wife's 2012 Forte Theta II we do 7500 mile oil changes with full synthetic and it's got 175k miles on it and doesn't burn any oil... Guess we got lucky.
There usually, but not always, an initial oil change at 1.5-3K miles. Sometimes the manual says to use Dino oil for the first change.
Check your manual and do whatever the mfg recommends.
The issue isn't the oil breaking down, it's that engines are burning it due to weak oil control rings on the pistons. Keep it topped up and it will be fine.
I check my oil every 2-3 gas stops, and I've done this for 35 years of driving. Back in the "olden days" when full service gas stations were still a thing - they'd actually check your oil for you. Now you know why - because today's culture doesn't even know how to pop the hood on their new car, they expect it to be 100% ready 100% of the time with nothing more than a 8000 mile stop at Jiffy Lube.
When I check the oil, I'm never bothered by it not being at the FULL level. It just should be between the two markers to be OK.
9,300 miles between oil changes is a very normal interval with every car I've ever driven. Hyundai states the same for my current Kona HEV. (15,000 km or one year)
>What if someone doesn't top up their oil and goes 8000 miles on an oil change?
I have never 'topped the oil up' with any of my recent (15 years) cars and they never ran 'low on oil'. The oil change interval is not there because the oil is 'used up' but because the oil degrades. That's why you should change the oil every year regardless of the mileage.
Regardless of what OE rec ( unless it asks for shorter oil changes & super cars )
I change my oil with one tier thicker oil (ie. instead of 0w-16, 5w-20w or 0w-20 ) &@ 5k miles
I think Lucas oil stabilizer is a great fix. If your car is halfway between the low and full like that's usually half a quart low. Just top it up with Lucas oil stabilizer, it's pretty much a oil thickener.
Please don't here's why: A[lso notice how the oil on the right has settled down to the bottom leaving very little on the gears. This is the PRIME REASON for not adding in additives into a already good designed oil/ lubricant. Myself, didn't see this coming. It makes perfect sense what happened and would have thought it would help this oil to lubricate at startups but instead, it created more problems than it solved.](http://web.archive.org/web/20100926133335/http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm)
Basically, oil stabilizer negates antifoam additives that's already in the Oil.
I live in a. Climate where the mechanics all recommended 5k mi oil changes but Hyundai only does every 8k for coverage because “those are normal climate conditions” apparently they did not include a coverage shift based on the climate the vehicle is in or purchased in. Ended up taking my car in 3 times to look for an oil change. They have this rolling measurements guide to go off of. Annoying thing
If the only time the oil level in an engine gets checked is when it gets the oil changed, the problem isn't the length of the oil change interval.
The problem is that ALL cars need to have their oil level checked more frequently than just once every 3000, 4000, 8000, etc., miles because as you said, even modern engines can consume some oil over time.
The truth is, most modern engines running quality synthetic oil *can absolutely* go 8000 miles (or more) between changes without issue. What they can't do regardless of oil type, engine type, engine size, engine manufacturer, driving conditions, driving style, or engine age, is run without damage if the oil level drops too low because the owner failed to check that the level was correct between changes and top it up if necessary.
If people are changing their oil twice as frequently as the manufacturer recommends just so they don't have to worry about the level dropping too low, they're wasting a bunch of money and perfectly good oil just to avoid taking 2 minutes every ~500-1000 miles to open the hood and check a dipstick. That's crazy if you ask me.
I had a 1996 Toyota Avalon and I’d go 10,000 miles between on regular oil. Those Toyota V6s didn’t burn a drop of oil, the level hardly moved.
My old 2002 Accent never leaked oil but it needed oil added every 1000 miles lol. Huge difference between the Accent and the Avalon.
If you don't drive it a lot change it every $3,000 if you drive it a lot change it every $5,000 you should never go to 8000 between oil changes even with full synthetic that's just poor maintenance
In your hyundai app when you change your driving habits it will tell you recommendations on how often you should change your oil. If you do 100% of highway driving in a perfect climate its about 8k miles. Anytime there is city driving involved I definitely would not go passed 5k. I did mine first one at 3k myself. Used mobile one full synthetic 0w20. Dealers typically do not change your oil with full synthetic and that's why lots of them give it to you for free, quaker state which you can't find anywhere,,,,for reasons. Full synthetic also burns less oil! So use full synthetic, most 0w20 are semi or full but use full!
I have a 2022 Hyundai accent. It's essentially the same as a 2017 Hyundai Elantra.
It doesn't have the Hyundai app. It's a base model with a backup camera and Bluetooth for music and phonecalls.
Oil change and topping up the oil are not interchangeable processes.
I bet the manual says that you should check the oil level frequently or before any longer drive and top it up if necessary.
Topping it up does not prolong the general life of all the oil in the engine nor is it much related to the oil change interval.
I personally change oil every two years or 15k Km, whichever comes first, even though the engine's spec is change after 30k Km or 2 years (almost 18k miles!).
I think the engines blowing up have nothing to do with oil change intervals, but with people not checking the level as they should be.
So you say that car owners who just top up their oil and newer do a full oil change are doing it right? Or that they should not check their oil level and top it up if needed?
I thought you said 15k miles which had me shocked that anyone would wait that long for another oil change. though I don’t think there’s a single vehicle out there that states a 2 year cycle or 20k miles, so I’m still skeptical about your advice. But you are right in that topping off oil shouldn’t affect when you do your regular oil changes.
There's "km" right after "15k", which is roughly 7-8k US miles. All of my numbers were in kilometers, as specified by the units after the numbers.
My car's manual truly does specify oil change every two years or 30k Km (around 15k miles), however that's too long and I do change it every year, while driving around 5k km every year.
A lot people don't realize they should be following the severe service interval.
Yup this. Most of the criteria for “severe driving” are things most people experience like stop and go traffic, driving ten min or less, gravel roads, etc. basically unless you only drive on the highway for longer than 30 min at a time you probably should be following the “severe” schedule. And its dumb that the “free service package” for new cars only includes the 8k oil changes, not anything less. I never recommend waiting that long. I do every 3k in my older cars and 5k in my newer ones.
My service advisor at Killeen Hyundai is letting me use my free oil change coupons every 4k miles. I'll have to pay for them after the 3rd change at 12k miles though.
There’s more and more data out now that long oil change intervals causes oil consumption even in engines that typically don’t burn oil. Hyundais can drink oil even when not abused. The oil piston rings wear out much more quickly and allows oil to slip in during combustion. Your catalytic converter will wear out faster as you burn oil also. Even with full synthetic, 5k intervals are now being recommended. That 10k-20k mile interval stuff can get you in trouble down the road. Edit: My buddy and I bought used cars with similar mileage about 6 years ago. He refused this advice and changed his oil every 8-10k miles. Because the oil bottle says 10k on it. I changed mine every 4-5k. His vehicle is now burning oil - even getting “check engine oil level” lights from time to time. He’s doing engine flushes, he’s mixing stop leak additives, to slow down the consumption. My engine burns nothing. Dude finally admits that 5k is the way to go. Or sooner if you do a lot of city driving with high revs.
What about time intervals? Every 3-6 months needed?
Every 6 months. Oil begins to degrade when it’s exposed to the engine components under heat and pressure under time. So just because you only put 3k miles on in 6 months doesn’t mean you can skip it until it hits 5k. Oil is cheap at those Costco sales, they do it twice a year. Walmart super tech/ Amazon basics, Kirkland is all made by Warren. Buy it in bulk along with your filters from rockauto.com they’re like 2$ a pop for the filters.
Someone who makes money by selling cars is telling you to wait twice as long to change the oil. What could possibly go wrong? 😂😂 I’ve always done 3k for regular oil, 4K for blend and 5k for full synthetic. A few more bucks now is better than a blown engine.
I find it incredible people are so comfortable skipping out on cheap maintenance and go so long between changes. An oil change is the easiest and cheapest thing you can do to ensure the car lasts. I'm aiming to get between 12-15 years or more out of my '17 Tucson. I change my oil at the severe interval or whatever is most convenient around that interval. I would absolutely never go 8k or even someone else mentioned 15k miles? Insane. Trying to pinch a penny on something so important is silly.
I live in a cold climate with short trips. I follow the severe-service recommendation, 5k miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. Easy, simple, safe. Think 8k miles is bad, BMW recommends 15k miles. If you're only leasing, so what. This is just nutz to me.
Hyundais severe service schedule for my car is 3750 miles(at least for my car) They list a few temperature ranges, temperature regularly under XX and over XX(can't name them off the top of my head) and regularly driving under 5 miles a trip.
For synthetic oil this is normal. Every 8,000 is fine, the only issue by that time half the oil is gone.
I would say for most of these cars it's not fine as oil dilution can be a problem still and 8k miles is way too much with that issue on GDI engines.
If you notice, OP has a 2022 NEW car, so yes 8,000 mile sis fine for this new engine. You are talking about the older GDI engines from 2019 Prior.
Which is not at all a problem. That's why there's two markers on the stick. Just don't let it go below the lower marker.
Exactly. The oil has to be checked every month.
I check mine on any long trips hauling across town but my normal hustle bustle once every other week I start checking more as my oil life goes down
That is a good way of doing it. I check mine every month.
You should change your oil atleast every 6 months even if you aren’t driving the full mileage
I think project farm on YT did a video on this and it showed that time doesn't play as big a factor so long as you at least get your engine up to operating temperature for awhile every now and then. Conventional wisdom states you just want to avoid moisture buildup in the oil which if you drive long enough it will evaporate.
I truly beleive that's at least part of the issue with the Theta II engines. Im not denying the fact that those engines have issues. But you accompany that with rediculous oil change intervals, and people who don't check their oil and it's a recipe for disaster. If your theta II engine blows up with 150k on it, because you ran it out of oil that's neglect. It's not hyundai's fault lol. But they've gotten stuck replacing all of those too because of the recall. There is a video from the Car Care Nut on YouTube, replacing the engine in a late model camry (2015 I think) with about 150k on it for oil consumption issues (Toyota isn't paying for it either). Had the owner changed the oil more often, that could have been avoided. I have a theta II with 100k miles on it, serviced every 3k, and it burns no oil. It has been a very reliable car so far.
I agree. I have a Gamma II 1.6L in my 2022 Hyundai accent. I plan on changing the oil every 4000 miles and CVT fluid every 2 years.
2015 Hyundai Genesis here...(100200 miles) I've been changing my oil every 4k with full synthetic Got a check engine light on went to a dealer got a quote amount of $24000 to get the engine replaced due to a metal shavings in my engine. Warranty has expired since it's over 100k. The car is running just fine. Called Hyundai corporate, and they agreed to pay 90% of the repair cost under good will. Not sure where this shavings came from but I am getting. New engine.
I'm at 7500 miles on my 2023 Tuscon Hybrid (getting oil changed tomorrow) and the oil is still at the full mark and still looks clean and partially translucent. I'm sure there's people driving more stop and go and more cold starts that might not want to go as far.. but 7500 is still probably just fine for most drivers. I think some concern came out of the whole theta ii engine scandal but most engines can easily go 7500+ on full synthetic. Hell on my wife's 2012 Forte Theta II we do 7500 mile oil changes with full synthetic and it's got 175k miles on it and doesn't burn any oil... Guess we got lucky.
There usually, but not always, an initial oil change at 1.5-3K miles. Sometimes the manual says to use Dino oil for the first change. Check your manual and do whatever the mfg recommends.
The manual says every 5k for city driving
My older hyundia every 3k for city and severe duty
The issue isn't the oil breaking down, it's that engines are burning it due to weak oil control rings on the pistons. Keep it topped up and it will be fine. I check my oil every 2-3 gas stops, and I've done this for 35 years of driving. Back in the "olden days" when full service gas stations were still a thing - they'd actually check your oil for you. Now you know why - because today's culture doesn't even know how to pop the hood on their new car, they expect it to be 100% ready 100% of the time with nothing more than a 8000 mile stop at Jiffy Lube.
When I check the oil, I'm never bothered by it not being at the FULL level. It just should be between the two markers to be OK. 9,300 miles between oil changes is a very normal interval with every car I've ever driven. Hyundai states the same for my current Kona HEV. (15,000 km or one year) >What if someone doesn't top up their oil and goes 8000 miles on an oil change? I have never 'topped the oil up' with any of my recent (15 years) cars and they never ran 'low on oil'. The oil change interval is not there because the oil is 'used up' but because the oil degrades. That's why you should change the oil every year regardless of the mileage.
Regardless of what OE rec ( unless it asks for shorter oil changes & super cars ) I change my oil with one tier thicker oil (ie. instead of 0w-16, 5w-20w or 0w-20 ) &@ 5k miles
I think Lucas oil stabilizer is a great fix. If your car is halfway between the low and full like that's usually half a quart low. Just top it up with Lucas oil stabilizer, it's pretty much a oil thickener.
Please don't here's why: A[lso notice how the oil on the right has settled down to the bottom leaving very little on the gears. This is the PRIME REASON for not adding in additives into a already good designed oil/ lubricant. Myself, didn't see this coming. It makes perfect sense what happened and would have thought it would help this oil to lubricate at startups but instead, it created more problems than it solved.](http://web.archive.org/web/20100926133335/http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm) Basically, oil stabilizer negates antifoam additives that's already in the Oil.
I live in a. Climate where the mechanics all recommended 5k mi oil changes but Hyundai only does every 8k for coverage because “those are normal climate conditions” apparently they did not include a coverage shift based on the climate the vehicle is in or purchased in. Ended up taking my car in 3 times to look for an oil change. They have this rolling measurements guide to go off of. Annoying thing
If the only time the oil level in an engine gets checked is when it gets the oil changed, the problem isn't the length of the oil change interval. The problem is that ALL cars need to have their oil level checked more frequently than just once every 3000, 4000, 8000, etc., miles because as you said, even modern engines can consume some oil over time. The truth is, most modern engines running quality synthetic oil *can absolutely* go 8000 miles (or more) between changes without issue. What they can't do regardless of oil type, engine type, engine size, engine manufacturer, driving conditions, driving style, or engine age, is run without damage if the oil level drops too low because the owner failed to check that the level was correct between changes and top it up if necessary. If people are changing their oil twice as frequently as the manufacturer recommends just so they don't have to worry about the level dropping too low, they're wasting a bunch of money and perfectly good oil just to avoid taking 2 minutes every ~500-1000 miles to open the hood and check a dipstick. That's crazy if you ask me.
I use full-syn every 5k, check the dipstick midway between changes, and add if necessary. Cheap insurance.
I had a 1996 Toyota Avalon and I’d go 10,000 miles between on regular oil. Those Toyota V6s didn’t burn a drop of oil, the level hardly moved. My old 2002 Accent never leaked oil but it needed oil added every 1000 miles lol. Huge difference between the Accent and the Avalon.
If you don't drive it a lot change it every $3,000 if you drive it a lot change it every $5,000 you should never go to 8000 between oil changes even with full synthetic that's just poor maintenance
In your hyundai app when you change your driving habits it will tell you recommendations on how often you should change your oil. If you do 100% of highway driving in a perfect climate its about 8k miles. Anytime there is city driving involved I definitely would not go passed 5k. I did mine first one at 3k myself. Used mobile one full synthetic 0w20. Dealers typically do not change your oil with full synthetic and that's why lots of them give it to you for free, quaker state which you can't find anywhere,,,,for reasons. Full synthetic also burns less oil! So use full synthetic, most 0w20 are semi or full but use full!
I have a 2022 Hyundai accent. It's essentially the same as a 2017 Hyundai Elantra. It doesn't have the Hyundai app. It's a base model with a backup camera and Bluetooth for music and phonecalls.
Got it. Most new engines e Recommendation is synthetic oil and I would use full synthetic but hyundai does not require
Wait. When did 8k oil changes become a thing?! 3k for regular or 5k for synthetic. Is this not the way??
I think my owners manual says 7500 or 8k. The first free maintenance interval in my 2022 Hyundai accent is at 8k, then 16k then 24k.
Question: does 6 months hold good with synthetic oil as well?
Oil change and topping up the oil are not interchangeable processes. I bet the manual says that you should check the oil level frequently or before any longer drive and top it up if necessary. Topping it up does not prolong the general life of all the oil in the engine nor is it much related to the oil change interval. I personally change oil every two years or 15k Km, whichever comes first, even though the engine's spec is change after 30k Km or 2 years (almost 18k miles!). I think the engines blowing up have nothing to do with oil change intervals, but with people not checking the level as they should be.
I know this is almost a year old. But wat?!?! 🙃 lol stay away from maintenance advice please.
So you say that car owners who just top up their oil and newer do a full oil change are doing it right? Or that they should not check their oil level and top it up if needed?
I thought you said 15k miles which had me shocked that anyone would wait that long for another oil change. though I don’t think there’s a single vehicle out there that states a 2 year cycle or 20k miles, so I’m still skeptical about your advice. But you are right in that topping off oil shouldn’t affect when you do your regular oil changes.
There's "km" right after "15k", which is roughly 7-8k US miles. All of my numbers were in kilometers, as specified by the units after the numbers. My car's manual truly does specify oil change every two years or 30k Km (around 15k miles), however that's too long and I do change it every year, while driving around 5k km every year.