new to me 2003 hyundai elantra
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Use the recommended 5w-30 oil and sleep well at night. Newer versions of that engine can run 20-weights, but the older ones recommended a 30 weight.
Is it an automatic or manual transmission? If it's automatic, be very careful what fluid goes into it, as a regular old Dex/Merc fluid will destroy the automatic in short order.
Change the fluids on it, and it should be a great little car for you. It'll easily get about 32-35 mpg highway and about 22-24 mpg city. It's a bit buzzy at highway speeds, but will gladly cruise right along for a long time. Replacement parts for that generation of Elantra aren't horribly priced, either. Hyundai had mostly sorted out their quality issues by 2003, and were starting to work on making their interiors better. IMO the 2003-2006 Elantras were the most driver-friendly Elantras because they had decent power with pretty good handling, and a functional and comfortable interior, if somewhat plasticky and spartan.
Is it an automatic or manual transmission? If it's automatic, be very careful what fluid goes into it, as a regular old Dex/Merc fluid will destroy the automatic in short order.
Change the fluids on it, and it should be a great little car for you. It'll easily get about 32-35 mpg highway and about 22-24 mpg city. It's a bit buzzy at highway speeds, but will gladly cruise right along for a long time. Replacement parts for that generation of Elantra aren't horribly priced, either. Hyundai had mostly sorted out their quality issues by 2003, and were starting to work on making their interiors better. IMO the 2003-2006 Elantras were the most driver-friendly Elantras because they had decent power with pretty good handling, and a functional and comfortable interior, if somewhat plasticky and spartan.
Sounds like it will be a good car once you get it back into regular use. I have a 2002 (same gen) and it specs 5w-30 for most climates. I can't give you any advice on 5w-20 or 0w-20 because I stick to the manual and use 5w-30. My car has 153,000 miles on it, and I've had good success using Castrol Syntec (old non-Edge kind), PP, and Pennzoil Ultra at 10k mile OCIs with a P1 filter. I've owned it since 83,000 miles. Anyways, have fun with it.
I'd check the Elantra forums to see what has worked for them. IIRC Maxlife should be okay, but don't quote me on that one. It did list SP-III as one of the specs it meets, IIRC.
The Elantra has a special fluid, you need to get it or the trans will [censored] out.
I have a 2004 Accent I run Pennzoil 5w30 it has 134,000 runs like a top
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