Engine noise increasing during oil change interval?

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So I have a 2012 Accent GLS with the GF4D Gamma GDI engine and 109,000 miles. Over the last 20,000 miles I have been shortening my oil change intervals due to an ever increasing amount of engine noise that always develops as time and mileage adds up. For example I changed the oil this morning and prior to that had put 3750 miles on the combination of Valvoline Synthetic Maxlife 0w20 and a Fram Titanium 9688 oil filter. Lots of ticking and rattling noises prior to the change which went away immediately after changing oil. I know that the high pressure fuel pump in the engine is noisy and I know what it sounds like, these noises are somewhat similar but distinctly different.

I started doing 5000 mile intervals at 95,000 miles and the issue was not prominent until after the 100,000 mile mark. Two of my friends that frequently ride in the car noticed and commented about the increase in noise as well without me even asking them. I don't know if a possible cause would be the 0w20 or the buildup of carbon soot in the oil system (this is a very real issue with my car) or something else. If nothing else I will try going back to 5w30 once my current stash of 0w20 runs out. Any thoughts are welcome :)
 
Your plan to try a heavier oil is solid. It's likely viscosity loss due to fuel dilution, shear or a combination of both.

Well prior to trying Valvoline 0w20 in it, which has made the engine run better than ever, I had used Rotella T6 Multi Vehicle 5w30 (which worked great), and Mobil 1 0w40 prior to that (which was okay but nothing spectacular). It was definitely quieter with 5w30 but that was the oil that we started noticing the gradual increase in engine noise with between 3000-4000 miles on the OCI.

I originally thought it was an oil filter issue, which has been well documented with this engine, and upon cutting the filter open it was the worst I had every seen in person. But the problem has not been the oil filter since, it comes and goes when the oil itself is changed. Maybe it just a matter of going even shorter with the OCI, 3000 miles perhaps?
 
Well prior to trying Valvoline 0w20 in it, which has made the engine run better than ever, I had used Rotella T6 Multi Vehicle 5w30 (which worked great), and Mobil 1 0w40 prior to that (which was okay but nothing spectacular). It was definitely quieter with 5w30 but that was the oil that we started noticing the gradual increase in engine noise with between 3000-4000 miles on the OCI.

I originally thought it was an oil filter issue, which has been well documented with this engine, and upon cutting the filter open it was the worst I had every seen in person. But the problem has not been the oil filter since, it comes and goes when the oil itself is changed. Maybe it just a matter of going even shorter with the OCI, 3000 miles perhaps?

Does the oil smell like fuel? May be time to get a UOA done.
 
Surprisingly the oil change I did this morning had no fuel smell to it which is the first time it has happened since I started taking care of this car 20,000 miles ago. It usually smells like an open jerry can.

I'd definitely want to do a UOA then, see what you are dealing with. Would be good to do it of a sample from when it is actively noisy too, if possible.
 
Nature of the D.I beast, fuel dilution, i would stick with a heavier oil.
My 2014 buick with the 2.4 was the same, used oil smelled like a gas can
 
Of note as well, I measured the oil I drained from the oil change this morning and it consumed around a half quart of oil this last OCI. That is not putting anything in the danger zone but it is surprising considering how short the OCI was.
 
Aren't the 1.6l engines on the recall list for premature bearing failure? I double check on that before you rely on thicker oil to solve your engine noise issue.
 
The company Transit 250 in my sig has this issue, rod noises (high RPM rattle with little to no load) get progressively louder as the (too long IMO) 7500 mile OCI on MC 5W20 blend drags on. Not surprisingly, the top off quart of PYB 10W40 quiets it down a lot...:ROFLMAO:
 
My lady's 98 Camry gets louder the longer into a run after a oil change. The late 90s thru early 2000s Toyotas are known for that. And for what reason and Lord knows what that is. . But that car ran loud with Cam2 Superpromax and Super S semi synthetic in that car. I mean loud as soon as I put those oils in that car. I was using up extra quarts I had laying around. Yet in my Nissan Altima VQ... Cam2 Superpromax runs dead nuts quiet. At 1,400 miles I changed the oil in the Camry with Warren Distribution semi synthetic from Federated Auto parts... And it was way, way quieter. Started the car and it was noisy for about a half second... Then when the new oil got circulated... Way quieter. Like Hellen Keller would have noticed the big difference in noise level.
 
I used to drive a 2013 Hyundai ix35 with the 1.6 GDI engine. At 60k miles it developed a knock only when the engine was warm. The knock was only noticable after 2k rpm. I immediately changed the oil from 5w30 to 5w40 but that didn't help so I called a tow truck and took the car to the deler. They removed the oil pan and it was full of metal shavings from destroyed bearings. My oci was at the begining 5k and after 40kmiles 3k always with synthetic oil usually castrol. The car was 3 months out of warranty so I had to pay for the repairs.
 
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