Hi all! One of our vehicles is a 2016 Kia Soul 1.6L Base. We own this car since late 2018 (~29k miles) and it was a personal lease, so it has been serviced regularly at the dealer.
Just performed a semi-annual OC, which I do either at 5k miles or 6 months, whichever comes first and this time only after 2,784 mi/6mo only ~2.5qts of oil was drained. I decided to get the oil tested to see if there is any ring material in it but based on the results, there is none. The car does not smoke and is in great shape as I do keep up with the maintenance. I am in the south, so I use 5w30 Valvoline Synthetic Advanced (w/OEM oil filters) as opposed to 5w20 that is recommended by Kia.
When I did the previous OC last November, I decided to look at the IM as well as the valves using my borescope. The intake manifold was covered in gunk, yet the valves were not too bad considering that no one ever looked at them before. The car had 55k miles at that time. I removed and cleaned the IM from the inside as well as the intake valves using the Lucas Deep clean spray by soaking each valve in closed position. While I could not make them clean 100%, they were a lot better (sorry no pics); I did not have to scrub them or anything and I have no access to walnut blaster.
At that time, I replaced the PCV valve and decided to install a CC to keep my IM/IV cleaner. Since that November OC, I drained the catch can probably 3 times; the can was always 1/3 full.
I am looking for some recommendations and thoughts here; should I switch oils? The oil I am using is just fine and seems to be suitable for the GDI motors (https://pqia.org/valvoline-full-synthetic-advanced-sae-5w-20-motor-oil/).
I just do not understand what made it burn almost half of its capacity this time around. The car has no warranty left being that it was purchased used and frankly I do not think I am going to be all crazy about figuring out the cause i.e., pulling and taking apart the engine, etc. It is not the car that is worth messing with or investing into at least in my books. Just trying to get an idea about how much longer I should keep it in service per se.
Thanks in advance!
Just performed a semi-annual OC, which I do either at 5k miles or 6 months, whichever comes first and this time only after 2,784 mi/6mo only ~2.5qts of oil was drained. I decided to get the oil tested to see if there is any ring material in it but based on the results, there is none. The car does not smoke and is in great shape as I do keep up with the maintenance. I am in the south, so I use 5w30 Valvoline Synthetic Advanced (w/OEM oil filters) as opposed to 5w20 that is recommended by Kia.
When I did the previous OC last November, I decided to look at the IM as well as the valves using my borescope. The intake manifold was covered in gunk, yet the valves were not too bad considering that no one ever looked at them before. The car had 55k miles at that time. I removed and cleaned the IM from the inside as well as the intake valves using the Lucas Deep clean spray by soaking each valve in closed position. While I could not make them clean 100%, they were a lot better (sorry no pics); I did not have to scrub them or anything and I have no access to walnut blaster.
At that time, I replaced the PCV valve and decided to install a CC to keep my IM/IV cleaner. Since that November OC, I drained the catch can probably 3 times; the can was always 1/3 full.
I am looking for some recommendations and thoughts here; should I switch oils? The oil I am using is just fine and seems to be suitable for the GDI motors (https://pqia.org/valvoline-full-synthetic-advanced-sae-5w-20-motor-oil/).
I just do not understand what made it burn almost half of its capacity this time around. The car has no warranty left being that it was purchased used and frankly I do not think I am going to be all crazy about figuring out the cause i.e., pulling and taking apart the engine, etc. It is not the car that is worth messing with or investing into at least in my books. Just trying to get an idea about how much longer I should keep it in service per se.
Thanks in advance!