13th Sep 2008, 22:50

To the guy asking about price, if you haven't bought one already, mine is a 2008 hatchback, standard shift, with the basic package, which includes XM radio and a/c basically. Now, Hyundai DOES make an Accent that has no air and no radio, which I asked about, but the dealership said that Hyundai equips very few of them like that because they don't sell. My dealership could have gotten me one, but it would have been coming from the other side of the country, and I couldn't wait that long. Anyway, mine has the package I mentioned, as well as a 'showroom' package, which more or less means a 'graphite' looking pattern on the upper outside of the doors, a fancy machined-looking gas door, and an aluminum emblem that says 'Accent' on the rocker panels. I paid $12,500 out the door. Sticker was originally around $13,600, and I told the Hyundai salesman that he was competing against a Toyota Yaris, and I could get the Yaris for only $200 more out the door, which was all true. I told him if he wanted me to buy a Hyundai instead of a Toyota, he'd better be ready to beat Toyota's price drastically. Which he did, by actually dropping below sticker price to around $11,000, hence $12,500 out the door.

20th Sep 2008, 21:36

This is really bizarre. I called my friend who is a service manager at a Ford dealership and asked if he had ever even heard of changing oil in a new car at 500-1000 miles. He said "Of course not. That hasn't been recommended since the 40's". I was SPECIFICALLY TOLD by the same service manager NOT to change oil before 5,000 miles on any new car. New domestics don't have a "break-in" period anymore, and haven't in decades. Hyundai is a very well built car and I can't fathom the engines being so crude as to "grind up bits of metal" into the oil (Toyota probably, but NOT Hyundai). Of course I only drive domestics, which have become virtually maintenance free, so there may be some of these strange quirks among imports that I am not aware of.

22nd Sep 2008, 21:42

All new cars have a break in period. All of them. Whether or not Ford recommends it or believes that it's necessary is another story. It's a fact concerning the mechanics of an engine. Think about it. You have a brand new engine. Parts rub together, hence the need for motor oil in the first place. As they 'wear in', and they do... small bits of metal and other things collect in your initial fill of oil, which is why you should change it after 500 miles. Don't believe everything a dealership tells you. They WANT your car to wear out sooner, obviously so you come back sooner to buy another one. And I have no idea where you came up with the notion that domestics are maintenance free. They need more maintenance to keep running than most imports due to their 'cheaper' engine design. A fact also.

Also, 5000 miles is too long for any vehicle for an oil change. I've never taken a single vehicle in for an oil change; I've done all of them myself, and I've done it literally hundreds of times. I know the difference between oil that's changed at 3000 (which is the longest you should wait) and 5000 miles. At 5000, the oil is much thinner due to viscosity breakdown, offering much less protection than oil changed more frequently. It's your vehicle, do whatever you want. Mine gets changed at 3000 every single time, and I've never had engine trouble. Ever. Besides, figure the difference in cost of changing every 3000 instead of 5000. It's not that much more money per 100,000 miles, and it's undoubtedly the best thing you can do for a vehicle.

Try this: change oil at 500 miles on a new vehicle. Now, take a good look at the drain plug. The end of it is magnetic and will collect all those 'bits' of metal. Think about it again: those 'bits' will be recirculating through the rings in you engine if you don't get them out. That will wear them out sooner, your engine will lose compression faster over the years, and will NOT last as long.

If you want to keep a vehicle in top condition for as long as possible, change you initial fill at 500 miles, and then every 3000 afterwards. Using a top of the line synthetic oil will add a long time to the life of your engine also. I don't care what Ford thinks, I know how they build their vehicles, and that says enough about what they know and obviously don't know.

24th Sep 2008, 20:42

To clarify my point earlier about 'break-in': I don't mean that you're going to actually SEE pieces of metal in the oil or even on the drain plug when you change your first fill of oil, but they're there just the same. I'm stunned that whoever this 'service manager' is hasn't heard about that and wouldn't understand why I do it. I was taught that years ago, when I first started driving, and any good mechanic I've ever talked to; or any of my 'gear-head' friends all change oil in a new car around 500 miles. And I REALLY can't believe that someone told you that domestics don't have a break in period...that's ridiculous. It's just common mechanical knowledge that a new piece of machinery, no matter what it is, has a break in period. It's been clearly explained to me with any new vehicle, car or motorcycle, whatever, that I've ever bought. It's in the Hyundai owner's manual, as well as every other manual I've ever read. Hyundai considers break in period lasting to 1200 miles. You keep the car under 55 or so, don't lug the engine, avoid long trips at steady speed, and avoid very low or high rpm's during this period. You don't want to 'push' a new engine, just vary its speed and take it easy. It's kind of common sense really. All of those metals are, for the first time, being subjected to the heat of internal combustion, and all the nuts, bolts, and metal parts kind of 'settle' into place really. They don't move a lot obviously, but they do expand, contract; gaskets seat in properly, etc. I don't care who told you differently, but foreign or domestic, they all do it, and all SHOULD be given a break in period.

26th Sep 2008, 17:01

I'm a mechanic, and my car enthusiast buddies and I are rolling in the floor laughing over this "500 mile oil change stuff" and the "break-in" period. Uhhh... for domestic vehicles that went out in the 50's.

Imports may require it (though none of us have ever heard of it), but not domestics. A former racing mechanic buddy of mine told me years ago to drive a domestic or import car the way you wanted it to run from day one, and that the harder the first few miles, the better it would run in the long run. I took his advice, and he was 100% correct. Any time I test drive a car, it is red-lined on take-offs and DEFINITELY driven WELL over 55 (usually 100+ if conditions allow). Otherwise I wouldn't buy it.

Once I buy a car, it is accelerated flat-out as often as I have a chance without getting a ticket. I NEVER, EVER, change oil until 5000 miles. It can actually do more harm than good.

As for change intervals, unless it is turbocharged, virtually NO domestic requires oil changes before 5000 miles. Turbocharging causes higher operating temperatures and breaks down the oil quicker.

I do endorse full synthetic oil, and after 5000 miles change to it in all my cars. Full synthetic oil can go 25,000 miles with little ill effects, if any. I normally change somewhere between 7000 and 12,000 miles. I once went 22,000 miles between changes in my Dodge. It didn't seem to hurt it. It was sold running flawlessly at 240,000 miles with no repairs and zero oil consumption. Our Ford DID start to use a little oil (a quart every 2000 miles or so) around 310,000 miles, but after that length of time (and no other problems) I can't complain.

I can't conceive of ANY modern engine actually GRINDING UP internal engine parts. This, too, went out in the early 50's. Modern engine tolerances are virtually perfect from the beginning. Even import engines are very well-engineered with virtually zero tolerance for wear-in. I strongly suspect some less than scrupulous import service techs must be trying to up their dealership's revenue by spreading silly myths about 500 mile mile oil changes. If your owner's manual (which was written by the people who BUILT your engine) recommends 7000 mile oil change intervals, that is a good bet. A dealer who tells you anything different just wants your money.

And, just for good measure, I phoned a local Hyundai service manager and inquired about recommended oil change intervals. Surprisingly, he DID say the recommended interval for the Accent WAS 3000 miles (which I STILL think is a bit too often for synthetic, but it's required to keep the 100,000 mile warranty in effect) but he laughed and said "WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT!!" when I mentioned that I had heard that the oil should be changed at 500 miles. He also laughed at the idea that ANY new vehicle would be grinding up parts of the engine in a "break-in" period.