Help me plan a strategy for a neglected Kia

E

Elijah1

Joined
Aug 12, 2016
Messages
78
Location
NE Indiana
So my lovely new bride has finally let me take over the maintenance on her Kia Forte. I was horrified to find her oil filter was dated 10/19. I asked her when the last time she had her oil changed, and she gave me a puzzled look. I tried not to get angry, and just took a walk. About 3 quarts came out when I drained it. I’m guessing that oil had 25-30k on it, looking at her title paperwork and when she bought it. I’m sure the thing has more sludge than I know what to do with. So I filled it with Supertech and a Fram synthetic filter. Plan on changing that oil again in about a month. I ordered HPL’s engine clean tonight. I think next month I’ll add that. Obviously I’ll be changing the filter too.

Anyone have any advice on what I should do to try and make the best of this situation? I would assume short intervals on filters is definitely called for. Once I put that HPL in it, I assume it’s best to run it a few thousand miles before replacing it. But filters I ASSume are going to get plugged up pretty quickly. I ordered a filter cutting tool tonight so I can visually inspect the filters to make sure I’m on the right track. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I’m not really in a position to replace her car at this point, because I just bought myself a new car last month. I guess if I absolutely have to, I can but I don’t like the idea of having two car payments.
 
I think i would do a couple of runs with M1 high mileage. After a couple of oci, then i would add the HPL cleaner.

Are you saying this is the factory fill and its never been changed?
 
spasm3 said:
I think i would do a couple of runs with M1 high mileage. After a couple of oci, then i would add the HPL cleaner.

Are you saying this is the factory fill and its never been changed?
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No she bought it with approximately 79k miles on it, according to the title papers, it now has 103xxx. She never changed it after she bought it. She says it’s not her fault 🙄🙄🙄
 
Chris142 said:
All you can do is change the oil and filter often. Make sure that it gets up to operating temp every time you drive it and hope it stays together.
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Thankfully, she has a decent drive to work now. About 40 miles each way. So the oil will definitely get up to temperature.
 
Considering it's still hot outside I'd honestly use Castrol GTX classic 20w-50 which it can run since these engines spec 50 grade elsewhere. it's got 3700 ppm of calcium which is a lot. Castrol Euro 5w-30 has 2800. M1 0w-40 does some cleaning with some esters. HPL would be a waste this early on. Clean it with something else for a few thousand then use it so you can run it longer.
 
If it were me, I would just do a couple of shorter intervals with whatever is on sale and then keep an eye on things from there to be sure she stays on a regular schedule. I'd also assume the other fluids have been neglected too and get them changed out as soon as possible. I probably wouldn't replace the car until you get her on board with proper maintenance.
 
fisher83 said:
If it were me, I would just do a couple of shorter intervals with whatever is on sale and then keep an eye on things from there to be sure she stays on a regular schedule. I'd also assume the other fluids have been neglected too and get them changed out as soon as possible. I probably wouldn't replace the car until you get her on board with proper maintenance.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I kind of feel bad for her, she didn’t have a dad to teach her how to take care of things like this. But you’re absolutely right, until she’s willing to actively participate in keeping up on things… enjoy your neglected Kia.
 
Not much you can do to mitigate existing damage. But, you could run HPL engine cleaner for 3-4k and then go to an off the shelf HM oil, which ever is cheapest. At this point, its a kia, and when it goes boom, you won't be mad about spending tons of money on oil changes using some magic oil that is supposedly gonna fix things.

At this point, plan on a new vehicle within the next 100k miles (if it makes it to 200k at all).

I am still baffled people give hyunda/kia their money after the amount of people I personally know who had engine replaced multiple times outside of warranty due to the class action law suit. The writing is on the wall: Buy cheap car pay big price. (By cheap I mean poorly built).
 
Elijah1 said:
So my lovely new bride has finally let me take over the maintenance on her Kia Forte. I was horrified to find her oil filter was dated 10/19. I asked her when the last time she had her oil changed, and she gave me a puzzled look. I tried not to get angry, and just took a walk. About 3 quarts came out when I drained it. I’m guessing that oil had 25-30k on it, looking at her title paperwork and when she bought it. I’m sure the thing has more sludge than I know what to do with. So I filled it with Supertech and a Fram synthetic filter. Plan on changing that oil again in about a month. I ordered HPL’s engine clean tonight. I think next month I’ll add that. Obviously I’ll be changing the filter too.

Anyone have any advice on what I should do to try and make the best of this situation? I would assume short intervals on filters is definitely called for. Once I put that HPL in it, I assume it’s best to run it a few thousand miles before replacing it. But filters I ASSume are going to get plugged up pretty quickly. I ordered a filter cutting tool tonight so I can visually inspect the filters to make sure I’m on the right track. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I’m not really in a position to replace her car at this point, because I just bought myself a new car last month. I guess if I absolutely have to, I can but I don’t like the idea of having two car payments.
Click to expand...
I don't know if you want to do this but a some before/after pics would be interesting. ;)

Your plan of action sounds good IMO.
 
HPL supplement doesn't carry the cleaning power of it's oils. HPL Oils are Powerhouse Cleaners.
Keep changing that oil early. You can stop when the dipstick shows clear or amber brown at 1k of the OCI. You may need 3-4 early changes first. Do a quick engine flush also. Google BG Products. BG EPR gets rave reviews. You put it in just prior to an oil change.

Normally, all Hyunkia Theta IIs should go by the Severe Service Recommendation and changed every 3.5k.
Your idea of about 2k OCIs for the next few would be what I'd do, had I ever neglected mine..... which is never.
 
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