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Posted by: av8989 Jun 3 2010, 03:00 PM

I am due for an oil change for both my '10 Elantra Touring as well as '06 Chevy TrailBlazer. I am torn between going conventional or go to a full synthetic (Royal Purple/Mobil 1). Would spending extra money on synthetic for both vehicles worth it? I am also debating going aftermarket vs dealer oil filters. I have read all the posts regarding the filters and TSBs, so I'm a little hesistant in that regard. Can someone please shine some light into the matter?? Thank you all!!!!

Posted by: slowgls Jun 3 2010, 03:10 PM

mobile 1 in the elantra and oem filter will be fine.

Posted by: elantragt Jun 3 2010, 03:29 PM

I agree with slow. Mobil 1 and an OEM filter is the perfect way to go.

Posted by: Bobzilla Jun 3 2010, 03:35 PM

Been using Valvoline's full synth in the truck and cars for a while now. Always use OEM filters.

Posted by: 02elantragt Jun 3 2010, 07:26 PM

I'm personally a fan of castrol edge full syn. and oem filter. I also had it sent in for analysis and the said I could run the car 9000-9500 before the next oil change and it be perfectly fine. Any synthetic oil is pretty good. From what I have seen and heard atleast for hyundai's oem oil filter is the only way to go.

Posted by: Tirolerpeter Jun 3 2010, 08:47 PM

OEM filters and Mobil 1. You can't go wrong in the long term.

Posted by: only1db Jun 4 2010, 05:32 AM

mobil one and oem filter is what i use...i just rolled over 179k last night.

my head looked brand new when i did the vavle cover at 140k.

Posted by: BNystrom Jun 4 2010, 06:36 AM

Synthetics offer superior performance to conventional oils, but it's up to you to decide if it's worth it or not. I think it is and I've been using synthetics since the first oil change. ANY synthetic oil of the correct weight (5W-20) is fine, as there isn't enough difference between them to matter, so I use whatever I can get at a good price. As for filters, I've been using Purolator Pure One filters since my car was new (110K miles on it now). They meet OEM specs and work great. The part number is PL-14459.

Posted by: only1db Jun 4 2010, 01:47 PM

but will void your warranty if there is an issue.

Posted by: silet Jun 4 2010, 02:29 PM

^^^ Unfortunately it's true. Happened to me with the used 02 GT I bought. It was not maintained properly, so I gave it back to the dealer under NY lemon law.

Posted by: only1db Jun 4 2010, 05:35 PM

^espeically when there are a ton of tsb's about it.

Posted by: cobas Jun 5 2010, 12:03 AM

You know this may be a legal technicality or something but really... if an oil filter by a major oil filter supplier voids the factory Hyundai warranty, someone should do something to make this clear to consumers. I mean you go to the catalog and it's listed right there, X-brand filter for Hyundai Elantra. It's not like you have to buy Hyundai oil or Hyundai gasoline.

Posted by: only1db Jun 5 2010, 07:15 AM

go back and read your manual. Hyundai oil is specifically said and highly recommended you use it. Hell putting in MT-90 could void the warranty, but most techs wouldnt know the difference if they drained it. but an aftermarket filter is plain as day!

i ran out of my warranty some 79k ago.(100k that is)

Posted by: av8989 Jun 6 2010, 07:07 AM

I called up my local dealer for the oil filter and they wanted $12+tax. What a ripoff. Any suggestions as to how to get a better deal??

Posted by: only1db Jun 6 2010, 07:15 AM

12 bucks! i get mine for 4....


there are places online that you can buy a case of them for pretty cheap.

Posted by: av8989 Jun 6 2010, 11:35 AM

True, but when you add shipping it adds up to or more than the dealer. I have found places that sell between $5 to $7 but always have ridiculous shipping rates....

Posted by: fsv87 Jun 6 2010, 03:49 PM

Is this because of your discount, or is that regularly priced???

Posted by: only1db Jun 6 2010, 04:44 PM

i'm not telling. sometimes they are free.

Posted by: slowgls Jun 6 2010, 05:48 PM

know how that works...lol

Posted by: BNystrom Jun 6 2010, 08:18 PM

There's nothing to make clear, as it's misinformation and scare mongering from people who don't know the law.

The TSB was sent out because of problems with Fram and other filters that did not meet OEM specs and were causing problems in Hyundai engines. Read the TSB and you will see that it does not mandate the use of OEM filters. If Hyundai did that, by law (the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act), they would have to provide filters free to every customer. The Act also specifies that a manufacturer cannot void a warranty if aftermarket parts are used, as long as those parts meet or exceed OEM specs. It also states that they cannot require you to have your vehicle serviced by a dealer, unless they are willing to provide that service at no charge.

The bottom line is that you can work on your own vehicle using quality aftermarket parts and your warranty will still be in effect.

Purolator filters meet Hyundai's OEM specs - which you can check on Purolator's website - which is all that's required by law to maintain the warranty. There are several other quality filters out there as well. You do not have to buy Hyundai filters if you don't want to.

If any dealer tells you that they will not cover engine repairs because you used an aftermarket filter that meets OEM specs, go directly to Hyundai Customer Service. Some dealers are a-holes that will look for any excuse to screw a customer, so don't even deal with them. In my experience, Hyundai is very reasonable to deal with, as long as you maintain your car according to their recommended maintenance schedule. Unlike some dealers, they seem much more interested in having happy customers than in screwing them.

Posted by: sarge Jun 6 2010, 08:58 PM

I'd check another dealer - It's amazing how one dealer will charge more for the same thing. Like Bnystrom said - some dealers are A-holes

When I picked up my filters I got a 10 pack, and split it with MEly (which reminds me I need to pay him for the filters I bought back). Getting the 10 pack should save you some, I believe it worked out to about $6 a filter (Canadian prices mind you). When I bought some individually they were about $8.

As for Purolator filters, I've only read good things about them, believe someone even tore it apart to compare to the OEM one. Say no to Fram!

Posted by: only1db Jun 7 2010, 05:48 AM

from my experience at three different dealerships, they will find a way around it. whether its right or wrong.

Posted by: silet Jun 7 2010, 08:50 AM

Local dealer sells them for $5 each, if I buy a few at a time ($7 if I buy one). I get four at a time.

Posted by: BNystrom Jun 7 2010, 08:54 AM

As I said, when it comes to any substantial warranty work, never take a dealer's rejection as final. Go directly to Hyundai and explain your situation. When I had transmission problems with a car that was 4K miles out of warranty, they were more than willing to work with me and I was very pleased with their attitude, helpfulness, professionalism and the arrangement we worked out. It's one of the reasons that I bought my Elantra, which was my second Hyundai.

I don't know why, but there seems to be two types of dealers, those that do warranty work without complaint and those that do everything they possibly can to avoid it. I have no idea why, as my understanding is that Hyundai is pretty reasonable when it comes to dealer reimbursement for warranty work. Perhaps one of of the dealership employees here can enlighten us on that.

Posted by: Tom06 Jun 7 2010, 11:52 AM

Just to offer another viewpoint, a lot of people would say that conventional oil has come a long way, and that if you do frequent oil changes (with OEM filter), your engine will be just fine without synthetic. My Elantra is low mileage but there are some high mileage people who have always used conventional with no problems.

Posted by: only1db Jun 7 2010, 06:28 PM

it because some are really big on effective labor rates. hyundai does not pay the same in labor as the cash paying customer does. Not to mention that some dealerships have shitty techs that guess instead of diagnosing and the dealership has a high number of return vehicles and is close to audit numbers. hyundai has a national average for warranty work and what is exceptable, if your on the high side regardless if your complaint is legit or not they will fight to not do it so their dealership is not penalized. there are also buy back parts issues as well. your tech doest he wrong thing...you own that part and will not reembursed for it. so now you have to pay for the part and you dont get your labor paid for AND you have a pissed off tech becuse they didnt get paid.

Posted by: fsv87 Jun 7 2010, 09:39 PM

Fair enough.

Posted by: only1db Jun 7 2010, 09:58 PM

^LOL!

Posted by: BNystrom Jun 8 2010, 09:31 AM

Thanks for the explanation. I suspected that a lot of the problem with some dealership would lie with the quality of the techs they employ and how effective they are at diagnosing and fixing problems. A related issue seems to be the dealership's attitude toward customer service, whether they're interested only in short-term profits or more in building long-term relationships. It seems that the former type will hire the cheapest techs they can find and avoid warranty work like the plague, whereas the latter type hires the best people available and emphasizes serving their customers, knowing that if they treat people right, they will get and retain their business. I'm fortunate that my local dealer is the latter type.

Posted by: Bobzilla Jun 8 2010, 09:41 AM

as long as you use a good filter and change the oil before it turns to sludge the Beta will run a very long time. Its a pretty durable little critter.

Posted by: only1db Jun 8 2010, 06:36 PM

exactly. I have worked for both types. the shitty techs and the service writers that jump down your back is realy a suck ass place to work or be a customer

Posted by: NevynPA Jun 8 2010, 08:23 PM

Any thoughts on Mobil 1 filters?

Posted by: 02elantragt Jun 8 2010, 08:27 PM

I use oem filters and they are $6.15 at my local dealership.

Posted by: BNystrom Jun 9 2010, 06:43 AM

While I haven't used them myself, several people here have and the consensus seems to be that they're good filters, but rather expensive. I don't recall anyone reporting any problems.

Posted by: av8989 Jun 9 2010, 08:31 AM

Well I went with the Mobil 1 oil and filter for my wife's TrailBlazer and I'm going to do the same for my car. I just got tired of researching and analyzing this whole time. Like Bobzilla said, if you use a good quality filter and oil and do the changes regularly there should be no issues....

Posted by: NevynPA Jun 9 2010, 10:16 AM

AutoZone had a special where 5 qts of Mobil 1 and a Mobil 1 filter was $29.99 + tax. I figured that was a HUGE bargain, seeing as it's normally 7.49 per quart!

Posted by: Bobzilla Jun 9 2010, 10:26 AM

I will only use OEM filters for ALL my vehicles. It's a wierd thing I got into. Ifigured the manufacturer probably knows what their cars require in terms of flow, filtration and such.

Posted by: oiml8 Jun 9 2010, 12:51 PM

Mobil 1 and Pure One filters for me. Advance Auto had a similar deal on Mobil 1 oil and Mobil 1 filter so I used them because of the deal. Remember, when we had this discussion about filters, the OE filter had more media material but we did not test the filtering capacity, ie what sort of media material was used. So even though the OE filter had more material, we do not know the quality over the aftermarket material. I certainly am not suggesting the using a OE filter is a bad thing. Just that a high quality aftermarket filter is not necessarily any less better. In fact I think I read that the Mobil 1 filter media is a special material. I did not read that about the Pure One.

As for oil. I think synthetic oils have proven out-right their superiority to dino oils in every way (other than price). Between brands however, I think it is more based on personal belief rather than objective analysis. All the studies I've seen have been done by the manufacturer. People swear by Amsoil, or Royal Purple, or Mobil 1. I don't think it matters.

Posted by: 02elantragt Jun 9 2010, 07:32 PM

I agree not matter what brand you use a synthetic oil is far superior.

Posted by: blmqzjc Jun 9 2010, 10:01 PM

If you have an OCI that does not exceed about 5k miles or 6 months, and you are a normal driver, you can pretty much use any oil you want (appropriate weight of course). If you want to go farther on the OCI, or track the car, or have other more demanding requirements, then synthetic makes more sense and will give superior protection.

I've run $.99/qt conventional oil and $7/qt synthetics, and done UOA's on most of them. There was no discernable difference for my application (except the price), but I'm pretty easy on the car. I ran some on OEM filters, and some on Purolators - again, no discernable difference (except the price).

I'm currently running Havoline 5w30 with a Purolator filter. My last UOA says I can easily go 6k miles on that oil; trouble is I hit 6 months before I hit 6K miles, so I change it anyway.

Posted by: Bobzilla Jun 10 2010, 06:49 AM

How I would love to time out before I run out of miles..... I see 5000-6000miles in about 2-2 and a half months. Same with the wife's car. THe truck is the exception to the rule, as it spends more time sitting than the other two.

Posted by: BNystrom Jun 10 2010, 08:03 AM

True, and they publish those specifications so that their OEM supplier (car companies don't make their own filters) and aftermarket manufacturers can make filters for their vehicles. Reputable aftermarket companies will only sell filters that meet or exceed OEM specs, but some like Fram don't seem to give a damn.

Posted by: NevynPA Jun 10 2010, 08:58 AM

With this new job, I'll be pushing ~3000 miles/month. Crazy. I'll most likely change oil every other month.

Posted by: JohnsRedGT Jun 10 2010, 11:50 AM

Mobil 1 and factory filters for me as well...............

Posted by: only1db Jun 11 2010, 05:44 AM

i've done that for a long time. my average for the car a month is somewhere near 2100 miles a month for 7years. i have 179k...its like 25k a year average.

Posted by: blmqzjc Jun 11 2010, 10:25 PM

Wow - that's some kinda driving, I assume a lot of highway miles. I'd throw in some Mobil 1 (you probably do that anyway) along with some LC20 and extend that OCI out a little. You could probably safely go 10k miles with no problem, maybe more, but I'd get a UOA just to verify. Some guys on BITOG push it more than that.

What OCI do you normally use? Do you stick to the 6mo/7.5k mile recommendation from Hyundai, or have you found something else that works for you (especially since you are way out of warranty)? At 179K, you obviously are doing something right . Hell, it'll take me 20 years to get to 179k LOL.

Posted by: only1db Jun 12 2010, 06:24 AM

i shoot for every 3k but it almost always ends up being closer to the 5k mark.

and yeah mobil one and oem filter

the car sees redline atleast once a day if not more.

Posted by: 02elantragt Jun 13 2010, 05:40 PM

3K? Why are you wasting your oil and oil filter? you could run 5k easily for an oci. My car has 178k on it and I run castrol edge with oem filter and my last oci was 7500k and it sees that redline atleast once a day. I had my last one sent in for analysis and they said I could run 9000-9500 miles and still be in the perfectly safe zone. Changing your synthetic oil at 3k seems like a waste to me. It's not my money though so it's up to you.

Posted by: only1db Jun 14 2010, 05:39 AM

looking over my book they are closer to 5k. my wifes car was at 8k when i just did heres! but i use the mobil clean 5000 in her car.

Posted by: av8989 Jun 14 2010, 11:49 AM

Well I went to my local place where I've had service done before and they did the oil/filter change to Mobil 1. However after I looked at the invoice I noticed that they have put in 5W30 instead of 5W20. I questioned the tech and he said that the computer prinout told him that either one is fine for my car. I still feel a little skeptical about it so I am asking you guys/girls out there whether that is alright or should i go back and demand the 5W20. Please help???

Posted by: Bobzilla Jun 14 2010, 12:10 PM

THE difference between 5/20 and 5/30 is about this: >< You see that? Yep.... not much there.

Posted by: av8989 Jun 14 2010, 12:12 PM

Thanks Bob! I just don't understand why they would just not put in the 5W20 which is clearly stamped on the oil cap itself.

Posted by: only1db Jun 14 2010, 12:45 PM

i use 10w30 but i also live in hell...oh florida.

Posted by: 02elantragt Jun 14 2010, 07:16 PM

Eh, I wouldn't go quite as far as saying it's hell. I know I would never live there. It's nice to visit occasionally though. We have some family friends that live in melbourne. Theres just soo many bugs in florida, and way to hot for me all the time. Heck half the time Pa is too hot for me.

Posted by: only1db Jun 15 2010, 05:49 AM

^famn uh? i live a mile down the street from melbourne in Palm Bay.


i hate the bugs but the 60 degree on christmas while walking on the beach makes up for it.

Posted by: 02elantragt Jun 15 2010, 07:48 PM

Ya, We've gone done a few times and spent a couple weeks there. My one uncle used to live over in tampa bay. Now if florida stayed 60 year round it wouldn't be too bad.

Posted by: NevynPA Jun 15 2010, 08:18 PM

60 year round? New Mexico, in the foothills of the mountains. 60 to 75 in the day, 50 to 60 at night, with a breeze coming off the mountains. Awesome place.

Posted by: 02elantragt Jun 15 2010, 08:21 PM

Now if it stayed 60

Posted by: NevynPA Jun 15 2010, 08:28 PM

If you're in the right places by the mountains, it does. You're close to the cool air coming off the mountains that still has some moisture, but no so high up that you're cold. Also, no so far out you're in the desert. I've been there, loved it.

Posted by: only1db Jun 16 2010, 05:52 AM

the bay area is also very nice for weather....



enough about weather i suppose....Oil is the topic at hand.