2011 Hyundai Touring: Valvoline and "Semi-Syn"

Serumph · Sep 19, 2011

Need help with this because I made horrible error of taking wife with me to get oil change at Valvoline. They say that my 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring requires semi-synthetic oil, which costs 50 dollars for an oil change out the door. She said no way. So I got oil of proper weight but not proper quality according to Valvoline.

Help? Who is right, Valvoline or wife?

OldCowboy · Sep 19, 2011

What does the owner's manual say????

borislav · Sep 19, 2011

First off welcome to BITOG , relax , your Elantra will be OK !
Just run this oil and enjoy your new ride .

Dan55 · Sep 19, 2011

What does it say in the owners manual , as far as I know all 5/20 is semi syn.

OldCowboy · Sep 19, 2011

You might want to point out to your wife that Hyundai may not honor the engine warranty if you fail to use the proper oil. Saving $20 on an oil change becomes chump change if you have to replace a $5000 engine on your dime.

cmf · Sep 19, 2011

I just checked your owners manual and it says nothing about semi-syn. It just says to use API SM, ILSAC GF-4 or above in 5w20 or 5w30. In short, Valvoline wanted to sell you a more expensive oil because they make more money that way.

I am a little confused as to why you did not check the manual yourself before going to an oil change place. It's always good to know exactly what you need to avoid being ripped off.

ARCOgraphite · Sep 19, 2011

Originally Posted By: OldCowboy
You might want to point out to your wife that Hyundai may not honor the engine warranty if you fail to use the proper oil. Saving $20 on an oil change becomes chump change if you have to replace a $5000 engine on your dime.
Synthetic is not a spec. Conventional and Synthetic meet the same ILSAC GF-5/ SN. If hyundai or subaru want a higher spec oil they better release a spec like: Honda HTO-06 or DEXOS-I or VW 504/507, otherwise "synthetic" is meaningless since there is no requirement for group IV and or V synthetic base oil to be used in synthetic oil sold in North America. That rant aside - how do they spec the lube for the new Sonata turbo 4?

cmf · Sep 19, 2011

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
That rant aside - how do they spec the lube for the new Sonata turbo 4?

API SM, ILSAC GF-4 or higher 5w40 is recommended, 5w30 is suitable if 5w40 is not available. Oil change every 4,800 miles or 6 months under normal conditions; 3,000 or 3 months under severe conditions.

NateDN10 · Sep 19, 2011

Originally Posted By: Dan55
What does it say in the owners manual , as far as I know all 5/20 is semi syn.

There are plenty of full-conventional 5W-20s. Now 0W-20 is a different story.

Also, they wanted $50 for a semi-syn oil change and tried to mislead you on what the car required? I'd suggest a different oil change place...

Rand · Sep 19, 2011

Originally Posted By: Serumph
Need help with this because I made horrible error of taking wife with me to get oil change at Valvoline. They say that my 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring requires semi-synthetic oil, which costs 50 dollars for an oil change out the door. She said no way. So I got oil of proper weight but not proper quality according to Valvoline.

Help? Who is right, Valvoline or wife?

typical upsell junk. I dont know if I would want their bulk oil but semi-syn isnt necessary.

someguy · Sep 19, 2011

My 2011 Elantra non touring model does not specify conventional or synthetic only that it must meet SM GF4 specs or greater. Valvoline conventional oil will be fine for this application. If you get any engine noise as a result of the oil change its likely the filter. Hyundai has a TSB about noise complaints with various non factory filters.

Good for you for not falling for the upsell, next time change your own oil. For $50 you can change your own oil twice with full synthetic and factory filters.

hemitom · Sep 19, 2011

Man you didn't make a mistake by taking your wife, she just saved you money, you were almost taken by the classic up sell.

If i were you i would take her all the time.

and kudo's to your wife for saying no outright to them.

bepperb · Sep 19, 2011

Your wife wins. Instant Oil changes are hit or miss, the one you go to is a miss.

chubbs1 · Sep 19, 2011

I would never go to that place again. As Arco said, the term "semi-syn" or "synthetic" is meaningless as a spec. Either way, I am pretty sure VWB has better spec's than the Durablend. I would have to check on it though.

You have the right oil in.

ernied · Sep 19, 2011

if you go to the vavoline web site and check what oil you should use it might say synpower they say my santafe with the 3.3 is a high performance suv and needs synpower they say the same for my sonata with the 2.4 i think it is just to rip you off.

tcmo · Sep 19, 2011

I have the same car. Manual says 5W20 or 5W-30, SM, GF4 oil. Filler cap say 5W-20. No mention of semi-or synthetic oil. They do recommend Quaker State by name.

OldCowboy · Sep 19, 2011

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted By: OldCowboy
You might want to point out to your wife that Hyundai may not honor the engine warranty if you fail to use the proper oil. Saving $20 on an oil change becomes chump change if you have to replace a $5000 engine on your dime.
Synthetic is not a spec. Conventional and Synthetic meet the same ILSAC GF-5/ SN. If hyundai or subaru want a higher spec oil they better release a spec like: Honda HTO-06 or DEXOS-I or VW 504/507, otherwise "synthetic" is meaningless since there is no requirement for group IV and or V synthetic base oil to be used in synthetic oil sold in North America. That rant aside - how do they spec the lube for the new Sonata turbo 4?

Actually, I said nothing about synthetic or semi-synthetic or conventional oil. I simply stated he needs to use the proper oil as defined by Hyundai.

poiuy223 · Sep 19, 2011

If a Hyundai Elantra was spec'd for synthetics, I'd trade it in for another car. An econobox requiring expensive oil sounds counterintuitive to me.

Merkava_4 · Sep 19, 2011

There's no way in [censored] I'd pay $50 for an oil change. Not even if I was Warren Buffet.

Rand · Sep 19, 2011

Originally Posted By: poiuy223
If a Hyundai Elantra was spec'd for synthetics, I'd trade it in for another car. An econobox requiring expensive oil sounds counterintuitive to me.

Elantra touring.. isnt an elantra. Thats the small euro style wagon. vs the tin can 4door sedan.

2011 Hyundai Touring: Valvoline and "Semi-Syn"

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