First oil change for 2015 Hyundai Sonata

[Valentine]

So this is the first Hyundai I've ever owned and I purchased it for my wife after I decided not to buy my 6th Honda Accord in a row. In general, it's been a nice little car. Good gas mileage, comfortable ride and handling. Not very good acceleration compared to other 4 cylinder cars I've driven but it suits my wife just fine. Basicially it's just a nice little car. Anyway, today I decided to perform the first oil change since we picked the car up new from the dealer. The car only has 3500 miles on it but I started getting messages that it was time to service the vehicle. The message didn't specifically say anything about an oil change but the salesman told me that he set the vehicles computer up to indicate that service is needed at 3750 mile intervals and he said that's when I should perforn the first oil change. So I managed to change the oil and filter and I have to say that it was a bit of a PITA because the bottom of the engine has a plastic cover over everything and that cover had to come off in order to access the oil drain and oil filter. After i got the car buttoned back up I checked the owners manual to see if I could reset the oil minder but there are no instructions on how to do that. In fact I'm not quite sure that Hyundai's have oil minders at all. The closest thing I came up with was lited under "User Settings." I changed the service interval to 5000 miles and am wondering if thats all I need to do. does anyone have any experience with this? Is resetting the service interval the same as resetting the oil minder on my Honda? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

-Valentine

 

[Blinker]

Hyundai and Kia vehicles do not have OLM systems. I used to not like having an OLM but I find it a valuable tool now. Would make me feel like I'm going backwards in time buying a new car without one now. I do like the way the new Sonatas look! I hope they turn out to be a huge success for Hyundai. I have considered buying one myself.

 

[Valentine]

Originally Posted By: stower17
Hyundai and Kia vehicles do not have OLM systems. I used to not like having an OLM but I find it a valuable tool now. Would make me feel like I'm going backwards in time buying a new car without one now. I do like the way the new Sonatas look! I hope they turn out to be a huge success for Hyundai. I have considered buying one myself.


So, does that mean that the "Service Interval" setting ,which is user adjustable, is basically just keeping track of the vehicles mileage and /or engine hours? If that's all it's doing then I'll turn it off and just track things with my own vehicle log. You're right about getting used to having an OLM. All my other cars have them. Now I want one for the Hyundai too. I agree that The Sonata is a sharp looking little car. Wifey doesn't care at all about performance so I simply got her the color she wanted with the interior she wanted. Nothing else mattered to her. I just want her in a safe, reliable car. It seems to meet those requirements and even though I didn't get one with a high trim level, it has plenty of bells and whistles and lots of little extras that I wouldn't opt for but since they come standard, they're nice to have. So far it's a great little car but Hyundai pesters me every week with another survey which is actually losing them points. The owners manual is the thickest one I've ever seen and yet it's instructions/explanations are the least clear. And, like I already said, just a simple oil change was much more complicated by that ridiculous cover on the bottom of the motor. I will say that he cover appears to keep the motor much cleaner than it would be without it. Thank you for your help.
-Valentine

 

[Blinker]

From what I have read the maintenance minder you are talking about is just that, a reminder that you input yourself. Some people might prefer it rather than an OLM system like mine where it might tell me to change at 8k miles some oil changes and other oil changes at 12k miles. Some people like consistency. Another benefit to the system in your Sonata is you can schedule all your service at one time. For instance,I rotate my tires when I change my oil. Some oil changes on my car are 12k miles or more, and my tires should have been rotated once already, maybe even twice depending on who you ask. I suppose I could rotate my tires more often but I get lazy (most drivers) so I just wait until oil change time.

 

[Blinker]

Heck many German cars go 20k between oil changes and I'd bet a lot of those drivers dont open the hood the whole 20k miles. With a set maintenance reminder you can catch little issues before they potentially become bigger issues. I kinda like the idea, it's the modern equivalent to those tacky reminder stickers people put on the inside of their windshield lol.

Thats crazy about how much work it took to change the oil though. Maybe they will come up with a better engine cover that removes easier. It did score great in the safety tests and i like the old school look of the dash. At least to me its super clean to read and figure out. Seen the Malibu's lately? Buttons everywhere!

 

[Doog]

I check all the fluids/tires on all of my cars (3) every week. Plus all have OLMs. I can't imagine people who go months without checking under the hood.

 

[Valentine]

Originally Posted By: Doog
I check all the fluids/tires on all of my cars (3) every week. Plus all have OLMs. I can't imagine people who go months without checking under the hood.


Cars are so much more reliable these days that it's easy to overlook things like checking fluids. I'm sure that my wife has never done it and I don't even think she'd know how to do anything more than pump a tank full of gas. She has me to make sure her car is ready to go and I do a good job of it. She balances my check book and keeps me fed so it's a winning situation all around. Honestly, modern cars are pretty mouch trouble free and I think I can only remember breaking down on the road where I was unable to get going on my own only one time in the last 3 decades. That's saying alot considering all the vehicles I've driven and all the miles that are behind me. 100,000 miles between tuneups? That's common today. Back when I was a young driver in the 1970's I had a 1970 Chevy Impala where the distributer would rotate out of it's correct position. I had to keep a wrench in the glove box so when the car stopped running, I could adjust the position and get it running again. Young people today don't even know what it's like to drive old beater cars. I had cars with no floors,no heater, no reverse gear, etc. Know what? I think we were happier as a generation and certainly much more appreciative when we got a nice vehicle.. Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.

-Valentine

 

[Blinker]

I cant imagine keeping my hood shut for months at a time either. The thought baffles me but I think its the norm for a good majority of drivers. Heck i like opening the hood just to find something to tinker around with.