Napa 5w20 Syn - 6850mi - 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.4

[mcritch]

hi folks! got the wife's 2011 Hyundai Sonata's UOA in today. the iron is very high and the aluminum is a little higher than normal. history - the factory fill was left in for 3750, then the dealer bulk fill (i think chevron) replacement was left in for 5k. the UOA below is the 3rd oil change and is 5w20 Napa Synthetic SM. we refilled it with the same oil. the next change will be Mobil 1 5w20 SM (i scored some on sale at tractor supply). recommended viscosities in the manual are 5w20, 5w30 and 10w30. most of the threads here recommended the 5w20. so far there hasnt been any oil consumption. 70% of the miles are short trips. i plan on running this change about 3500-4k miles and testing again (severe service OCI is 3750). ideas? thoughts? i welcome your comments!! matt

 

[semaj281]

Yikes. I would give MC 5w20 or a Pennzoil product a try once your M1 stash is depleted. I wouldn't bother paying for a UOA on the M1 run though; the results will be skewed by the 2 runs of this Napa Synthetic.

 

[fdcg27]

This is still a young engine, so the wear metals may not mean much and the silicon may not either. This oil does look pretty weak, though. Try a couple of runs on the M1 5W-20 and then do another UOA, to see where you're at. 75 ppm iron in >7K seems scary high, but that may just be an artifact of break-in, as the high silicon may be as well. You might want to take a look at the integrity of the intake south of the air cleaner. High silicon with lots of iron could indicate a leak, although copper and lead look fine. What's with the potassium, though? Sodium is also high, but that's part of the add pack for an Ashland oil. Potassium isn't, though. Could this guy have a head gasket leak? Maybe take this UOA to the dealer and ask that they check for a bad head gasket?

 

[qr25de]

Use the same interval for the next few oil changes as your goal now is to trend your wearing-in motor. Is your goal to extend the oil change interval?

 

[semaj281]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

Maybe take this UOA to the dealer and ask that they check for a bad head gasket?

Wouldn't a head gasket leak show evidence of antifreeze in the UOA?

 

[The Critic]

Lots of fuel dilution here, which is not surprising with a DI engine. 3750 is a more appropriate interval since the fuel is not helping the oil protect the engine.

 

[daves87rs]

Sounds like the oil took a beating. Not surprised with the DI here...

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: semaj281

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

Maybe take this UOA to the dealer and ask that they check for a bad head gasket?

Wouldn't a head gasket leak show evidence of antifreeze in the UOA?

I don't know. I have no idea what Blackstone is testing for with "antifreeze". I do wonder where the potassium is coming from, though. Potassium is a classic marker for coolant in the oil. I stand to be corrected if anyone has another reason for the potassium being present in this sample. Lab error?

 

[chubbs1]

That is such a minuscule amount of (K) I would not even worry about it. The other metals are worth noting but I would not call them too troubling yet. My advice to you is to use a name brand major like M1, Pennzoil and maybe up the viscosity up to 5w30. I have the same engine and the 5w20 in there is the consistency of water. It reeks of gasoline as well. I am using 5w30 from here on out and I suggest the same for you. Did the oil smell unusually of gasoline? Compared to the other vehicles I have it is noxious, so I was wondering if you notice the same. KEEP THIS CAR TAKEN CARE OF BY THE BOOK FOR WARRANTY PURPOSES! CYA Follow severe service schedule, do not do a UOA until you get that sodium out (at least two changes) before another UOA and you will be able to assess coolant better. Stay away from oils with sodium in them for now...Valvoline, GTX, Mobil 5k, off the top of my head. Good luck! I will be sending in a sample from mine soon. It will be a good contrast since I flushed the heck out of my engine

 

[mcritch]

hi folks to answer most of the questions posed: not as interested in extending the OCI as just seeing how these engines wear. took a chance on the longer OCI and this is not something that will be repeated. i got the Napa Syn when it was on firesale ($1.99/qt) - there are some outstanding UOA's of it here in other rigs (it is made by ashland) so i figured we'd give it a try. the M1 is the same way - got it on firesale (again, $1.99/qt). no real rationale for using either of these except i have them. the sample was thin and did smell of fuel. i suspect that the fuel dilution probably was the primary cause of the high wear. i dont think there is a coolant leak as the levels havent moved a drop in the tanks but we will keep a close eye on it. if any other UOA's show elevated potassium i'll get them to look at it. chubbs - do you have a thread about your rig? which 5w30 you using? i have 5qt of M1 5w30 ESP left from the jetta tdi i just sold. thoughts? thanks guys! matt

 

[Artem]

Either it's some seriously weak juice or this motor and the driving conditions were to blame. Possibly all of the above? The OP should follow the severe service interval and re-sample later on with a different oil.

 

[webfors]

use a 30 weight, reduce OCI to severe schedule, and resample after a couple of runs on the same oil. These DI engines.... oh my.

 

[GMFan]

Originally Posted By: mcritch

70% of the miles are short trips. i plan on running this change about 3500-4k miles and testing again (severe service OCI is 3750). ideas? thoughts? i welcome your comments!! matt

IMHO you are headed in the right direction. 70% short trips are severe service and an OCI closer to 4000 miles would be my course of action. DI motors certainly seem to put oil through its paces.

 

[jorton]

Valvoline did say napa oil has a watered down add pack except for the sodium I guess.

Originally Posted By: The Critic

Lots of fuel dilution here, which is not surprising with a DI engine. 3750 is a more appropriate interval since the fuel is not helping the oil protect the engine.

And the fuel is wrecking viscosity, see flash point too. Consider running Kendall 30 or Synthetic 10w-30.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: mcritch

i suspect that the fuel dilution probably was the primary cause of the high wear.

That and the factor of having 5W-20 in there to begin with. But hey, the cold startup flow must've been excellent.

 

[mcritch]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4

Originally Posted By: mcritch

i suspect that the fuel dilution probably was the primary cause of the high wear.

That and the factor of having 5W-20 in there to begin with. But hey, the cold startup flow must've been excellent.

5w20 is the hyundai recommended and hyundai preferred viscosity. whats in there now will be dumped at 3k and i'll switch to 5w30.

 

[04SE]

Now you have me interested to see what my 2.4 is doing. I have the pre-DI motor with Mobil1 5w20 (SN) in mine. I had planned on running 7,500 miles but I might change that to 5,000 as I am definitely "severe service" with my 2.2 mile trip to/from work.

 

[Boss302fan]

I wonder if they have the same fuel issues with the new 3.5 V6... My 2011 Santa Fe V6 has 10K miles using 0W20 Mobil 1 but I may go to the 0W30 after winter...

 

[Brons2]

That oil is beat down. Your OCI is too long for your application. I have the same engine in a non-DI config and I get iron wear in the single digits or low double digits on a 5-6K OCI on conventional or synthetic. Based on that I have trended more towards using conventional as of late. If you're going to run the severe service intervals you might want to consider a good conventional as well. I've got mine filled with Motorcraft 5w20 semi-syn right now and the engine seems to like it. Will run 5K and I might do a UOA.

 

[Tucson Five-O]

Boss302fan, I have the same 3.5L V-6 engine in my 2011 Kia Sorento. Thankfully, it is not DI like the Hyundai Sonata I-4 engine. I doubt you will see high fuel dilution and the resulting viscosity loss in yours. I used PYB and it started @ 8.4 and finished @ 8.3 after 7500+ miles. The engine may turn out to like a slightly thicker oil for best wear results, but the PYB 5W-20 was rock solid. Gary