Frequent -3K- mandatory service tro[s tp tej Hyundai dealership necessary for warranty maintenance ?

The element of required service checkups and actions. They are necessary in those frequent intervals in order to keep the warranty intact ?

There is apparently a difference of frequency of required service of say, Mazda (Tribute) versus Hyundai Tucson or Santa Fe

This has brought a new view for me as I am accustomed to frequent, very low cost oil changes and maintenance on my older Volvo. How I was treated, those years ago, by a Volvo corporate rep who invalidated my request to address my car issues, thus I would never dream of buying a new Volvo again.

But back to the point. If the Hyundai Santa Fe required service every

3K miles and the Mazda required it only every 5 to 7.5K, then those ludicrously exorbitant oil changes take on a different view.

Perhaps the nature of newer cars is now out of the hands of the owners and into the hands of designated techs with automotive computers.

I have always trusted myself with oil changes than anyone else. I have always used better oil and better filters, etc. Particularly at $48 an oil change at the Hyundai dealership

Any sage words on this subject are welcome.

Reply to
Fred Atlas
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Read the Maintenance Log that came with your vehicle. Hyundai's standard oil change interval is 7500 miles. As long as you adhere to that, your warranty is good. You DON'T have to take the vehicle to the dealer for service, either. Simply document your oil changes and you'll be fine. This is true for all other required maintenance, as well.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

You can still do your own oil changes without threatening your warranty. If you look at the Hyundai owner's manual you will see that nothing in it precludes owner maintenance. There are some areas where you either must, or you will want to use Hyundai parts but Hyundai does not insist you use any authorized dealer for the work.

Use dino oil and continue to change it at the intervals you're familiar with, or use synthetic and you can change it at the longer intervals.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

In every car I have ever owned, I have always ended up ignoring the recommended maintenance frequency when it comes to oil changes.

I don't do this flippantly. I have an '02 Elantra, and after having owned it for six months, and about two oil changes, the oil itself now tells me to change it every 6000 miles (I always use synthetic). I also have an Oldsmobile that has become my first (ever) vehicle to seem perfectly fine with the 7500 mile interval.

But then I have an '04 Kia Sedona, and I don't dare go a mile more than 4000 with it, no matter what oil I use. In years past, I had a Pontiac car built by Daewoo of Korea that pretty much maxed out its oil at 2500 miles, even using synthetic.

Mazda, or whomever, may make all the recommendations they want. But similar recommendations by Toyota have resulted in a bad sludging problem in a lot of Camry engines - problems that could have been avoided if the owners would have paid closer attention to their oil, and changed it when it really needed it, rather than when a maintenace book told them to.

This doesn't necessarily work with other services (I SERIOUSLY advise people to change timing belts at or by the recommended maintenance interval, for example). But for oil, it has never failed me. And for a person who puts

200,000 miles and more on his cars, I have needed my oil to do what it does best in my car engines.

So, whichever vehicle one buys (my wife SO dearly loves the Santa Fe), just watch your oil, and keep it changed as (really) needed, and document all your oil changes.

Cars may be getting complicated, but not when it comes to changing oil (though it sounds like all the extra steps required in the Tucson is trying to change that. That alone would be enough for a person who changes all his own oil - like me - to look elsewhere). Change it yourself, get better oil and better filters for less money, and you will really get into watching your own oil and intervals.

Hope this helps.

Tom Wenndt

Reply to
Rev. Tom Wenndt

Well, are you going to share with us exactly what or how the oil tells you that it wants to be changed(or not!)?

Reply to
Partner

You're *never* required to have your car serviced at the dealer. Of course, if you'd like free warranty service, no other place will be willing to give you that.

Like Brian said, anyone can change your oil. Furthermore, you're only

*required* to do it every 7500 miles, unless you fall into their severe usage category. I think this interval is too long, though. My opinion is you'd be better off if you did it every 3k. But again, you can do that yourself, or any facility of your choosing can do it for you.

If your dealer has told you that you must use their services to keep your warranty intact, they are lying-- look for another dealer close by.

Reply to
hyundaitech

It has nothing to do with Hyundai. Federal law (the Moss-Magnussen Warranty Act) stipulates that if a company requires dealer maintenance or OEM parts, they must be provided free of charge.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Perhaps he's an "engine whisperer"... ;-)

Unless one has laboratory analysis done on the oil, there's not much you can tell by looking at it. All oil gets dirty, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to be changed, it just means that it's doing its job. People who change their oil more often than necessary typically do so either because it make them feel good or because "That's what my dad/uncle/friend/neighbor/mechanic/hairdresser did and his cars lasted a gazillion miles!" People are just unwilling to allow "the myth of the 3000 mile oil change" to die the ignoble death it deserves, much to the amusement and profit of the oil companies.

Considering that car companies test the snot of their products and they're responsible for the consequences if their oil change intervals cause problems, there's nothing for them to gain by recommending intervals that aren't appropriate. THEY know a heck of a lot more about their engines than we do, so it simply makes sense to follow their recommendations.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Your oil talks to you?

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Matt Whiting wrote in news:Sevyg.60$ snipped-for-privacy@news1.epix.net:

Matt, he is a Reverand. I guess it is the Church of the Fossil Fuels :-) Oh wait, that would make him a US politician, I mean a Republican :-P

Eric

Reply to
Eric G.

Republicans are politicians? I thought you had to be human to be a politician... ;)

JS

Reply to
JS

Fortunately for Democrats, to be a politician, you don't have to be capable of rational thought or be able to form a coherent sentence.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Yep. I think another major part of the problem is the oil filter itself. The Santa Fe's factory filter has at least 2x more surface area than any "book" aftermarket filter I've found for the Santa Fe so far.

1995 Corvette Non-ZR1 oil filter - Wix Part 51324
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2001 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.7 oil filter - Wix part 51334
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The 51324 fits great on our 01 and 03 Santa Fe 2.7's. The O-ring size is slightly larger than the book OEM replacement but the plate still has 3mm to spare all around. I saw one slightly larger filter available that would fit and meet the required specs but it wasn't a regularly stocked item at my local parts houses (its some Isuzu diesel filter...)

More importantly people should take the time to inspect the timing belt at least every 20k miles. Its not that hard to get the cover off, even on the 2.7...

Documenting maintenance leads to better resale values, too.

Yep. You don't even have to dig deep in your wallet to get decent oil these days. Walmart sells their supertech full-synthetic in 5 quart bottles for about the same price as Castrol GTX dino. Its not quite Mobil-1, but unless you race or abusively tow the increased upper-end thermal capacity of Mobil1 isn't really required.

Its hard to turn down $2.25/qt vs $5.25/qt...

JS

Reply to
JS

Even for those of us who do our own work and who are not intimidated by the idea of opening up the front of a motor, this is an extreme suggestion. It might feel good to wrench off a timing cover and look at a belt, but this degree of inspection offers absolutely no value.

Actually, it does not add much to the resale value of a car. If you are trading a vehicle in, the trade in values are pretty much dictated by book values. A poorly maintained vehicle is pretty quickly identified by visual indicators. A lack of documentation of such things as oil changes does not affect the value. Yeah - if you take all of your records in the sales rep may give you lip service by telling you how much that up'ed the value of your car but it didn't. These days it's too easy for everyone on the street to know the value of a car for those records to be of much value even in a private sale.

Agreed. Whether dino oil or synthetic, today's oils are really very good. All will go longer and still protect the engine, than the oild change frequencies we used to know, and probably still live by today. I use dino oil and still change at 4,000. Every oil today will go longer than that, especially under our normal driving conditions, but old habits die hard and it's just too easy a job to perform for me to lose any sleep over having changed it too early.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

Brian Nystrom wrote in news:XSGyg.54$eG.44 @trndny08:

So Bush is a Democrat now?

Reply to
Eric G.

'Took a while to get back to the computer Actually, I had changed my standard quality dino oil every 1,500 miles. And now with Chevron's better DELO oil, I have been changing it every 2K to 2.5 K or so. It is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to treat well one's car.

I have seen service stations use that bulk oil, which I don't trust (and overfill it) and low grade oil filters. That is part of why I had been so displeased with the idea of being chained to the dealership at those insane oil change prices, if that were to be the case. This is what some other forum posters said or intimated.

But now I understand that the dealership cannot force an owner to do the oil changes there at the dealership. I still don't know how one journals or documents as proof, that one did do the correct and timely servicing, but I imagine that I can and will find out.

I am looking at the element of paying extra for an extended wrap around bumper to bumper warranty - which might be a good idea with a car coming from a dealership lot. Or might be not necessary beyond the time period of the exiting bumper to bumper warranty and how long one keeps a car, in actuality.

Reply to
Fred Atlas

For documentation, keep all your receipts (from work done or parts purchases) and keep a log (with date and mileage) of any work you did yourself.

Reply to
hyundaitech

With sincere curiosity, assuming it is a belt rather than a chain, on the Hyundai SUVs, what would one specifically look for in terms of problems looming with the timing belt / chain. I had the previous assumption that one changes it well ahead of the manufacturer's recommended interval as it will just pop when its life is up.,,,

are there wear signs or the like ?

Reply to
Richard

First off, the timing belt issues in the 6 cylinder go away in 2006 model year vehicles. I'm not sure about the 4 cylinders. In '06 Hyundai went to a different 6 cylinder and it uses a chain.

For pre-06 models, there really is nothing to look at or for. The chance of any problems inside the timing cover which would provide a visual clue of a pending belt failure are neglible. Unless a timing belt is exposed to severe conditions (which would include extremely high mileage), it typically does not show indicators that you'd be looking for. If you are looking for cracking or signs of edge wear or slack or the likes, you are just not likely to see those things, even on a belt that is in jeopardy of failure.

History has borne out however, across a myriad of vehicle manufacturers, that timing belts have a predictable life and that 60,000 (Hyundai's suggested interval is fairly consistent with other manufacturers) is a prudent maintenance point. This would provide for using the term "preventative" in association with the word maintenance. Changing it early is just a waste of money. Anomolies not withstanding. The 60,000 mile interval already has a well studied protection factor built into it.

What will failures appear like? Most commonly, the belt just breaks. It is very common to have no audible or visual ques prior to the event.

The best and easiest approach to your concerns - follow the manufacturer's recommended schedule. There are literally tens of thousands of these vehicles out there that continue to run just great with nothing more than that practice of following Hyundai's recommendations.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

My 2.4 claims it has a chain also.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

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