Oil / filter suggestions for 2012 Hyundai Elantra

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I am planning ahead for oil and filter to use on my 2012 Elantra. Currently have 3100 miles and changed oil and filter at 2K to PYB 5w-20 and PureOne. Reading here that was not necessary but that's where I'm at. The car is used mostly for an 80 mile each way daily commute to and from work. I'm an old, slow driver looking for max mpg, hence I bought the 6 speed MT Elantra. Manual suggests to use Quakerstate Energy Conserving Oil, API Service SM, ILSAC GF-4 or above and 5w-20 for best fuel economy. Range is 5w-20 to 10w-30 depending on temperature. Change interval for normal conditions is 7500 miles. I drive abut 70% highway miles and the rest stop and go. I live in a hilly section of Pennsylvania. The filter is located on the front bottom of the engine and there is no shield protecting it like on the last model Elantra so I am thinking of staying with the Hyundai filter now that I've compared the stock filter to the PureOne. The casing is much heavier and would likely better withstand a stone shot. I am also thinking I should install a light weight aluminum sheetmetal shield, in which case the outer durability of the filter would not be an issue. Any thoughts on the filter, any data on Hyundai filters? I am thinking that if I use synthetic oil 7500 miles would be ok. I would prefer Pennzoil to Q-State, but that's mostly because my Dad didn't like the looks of his lower end when he tore his 70 Malibu engine down and he used Q-state and then switched to Pennzoil. But that was long ago. I have a 98 Civic with 600K on it and I used mostly PYB in it, now 350K on current engine. Thoughts on Qstate vs. Pennzoil and dino vs. synthetic? Also what about a bypass if I want to get max miles on the engine? I don't know how that would fly with the warranty, but if I'm going to do it I should do it now, right? Thanks for any thoughts.
 
Don't do anything to void your warranty. That is the first thing. If the Hyundai filter is more heavy duty, and you are concerned about stones hitting it, then use the OEM. With your type of driving you should get more than 7500 miles out of a synthetic. I'd use your preferred synthetic for that interval, drain a small amount and get a UOA (used oil analysis - spelling it out because you are new here so not assuming you know what that means), and go from there regarding how long you can go.
 
Use what the mfg wants you to use while under warranty.

No muss. No fuss.
 
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Factory Hyundai Filter is very good and priced well. As for oil I think the oil you have in it would be an excellent choice. No need to go to synthetic. I would get a UOA simply because some of the Direct Injection Engines (Not Hyundai specifically) are having issues with fuel dilution. If that occurs you may want to shorten the drain interval to 5000 or 3750 miles depending on how severe it is.
 
Originally Posted By: Gene K
I would get a UOA simply because some of the Direct Injection Engines (Not Hyundai specifically) are having issues with fuel dilution. If that occurs you may want to shorten the drain interval to 5000 or 3750 miles depending on how severe it is.


The 2012 Elantra that is sold in North America is a MPI engine, not DI. I think people assume it's DI because the gas mileage is amazing for a compact (beats the sub-compacts). I test drove an Elantra and I really liked it, it was peppy for a compact (even with the AC on).

The Hyundai filter is a good filter, there will be no issue using it.

I wouldn't use QS just because the manual recommends it, those recommendations are.. silly. I personally would use a synthetic for 7,500, that's what I do with my Sonata. That's just my opinion though, I'm sure you could use a conventional for 7,500 with similar results.

My opinion on the bypass is that if you can uninstall it without the dealer knowing it was ever there, go for it. If not, I would wait until the warranty was over. While I would not expect you to have any issues during the warranty period, it would be awful if you did have an issue and could not get it taken care of. Plus that 100k warranty is a huge selling point for a lot of people, it'd be a shame to waste it!
 
Originally Posted By: schuylkill
I would prefer Pennzoil to Q-State, but that's mostly because my Dad didn't like the looks of his lower end when he tore his 70 Malibu engine down and he used Q-state and then switched to Pennzoil. But that was long ago. I have a 98 Civic with 600K on it and I used mostly PYB in it, now 350K on current engine. Thoughts on Qstate vs. Pennzoil and dino vs. synthetic?


You're certainly not going to have any problem with PYB, but if you do want to go synthetic, just about any direction you go, you'll get a great quality oil. I know Hyundai recommends QS, and as posted, I wouldn't use it just because my manual mentioned it, but price point wise the Quaker State Ultimate Durability would be an excellent synthetic choice and would save a few $$ over most other name brands. However Pennzoil Platinum/Ultra currently has some coupons as well. Either would be a great choice. Since Shell owns both Pennzoil and Q State, I wouldn't worry too much about the way things used to be back in the 70's. Either brand will be a great choice.
 
My Hyundai dealer recommends and uses Mobil 1 5W20 if you request a syn oil. I use it in my 3K mile 2011 Santa Fe and it runs quiet and smooth.
 
I have a 2011 Elantra, automatic with 4 cyl and get 40mpg on highway. Changed oil and filter (OEM) at 5k and put in Motorcraft semi-synthetic 5w-20 oil from Wally World. Can't beat the 5qt jug price..
 
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Use any products that meet the specs set by Hyundai.

The brand doesn't matter the specifications and certifications DO!

This will keep your new car warranty intact.
 
I have a 2010 Elantra SE 2.0L Beta I-4 engine - with 8K miles on the odometer . I am getting 25 MPG in city and about 31 MPG on what limited highway trips I have taken (less than 40 mile stretches). Specs say I should get 26 MPG city / 34 MPG H'Way. So far I have not hit those marks using Tier 1 gas , a dash of TCW-3 (896:1 ratio) and primarily PYB 5W 20 . First oil change was at 1K miles , second oil change was at 4K miles and next oil change will come in the next few hundred miles (I am considering to switch to M1 , QSUD or PP synthetic 5W 20 and run a 6K miles / 6 month OCI ). I have the last model year for the sport suspension model Elantra - she rides a little stiff but handles very well . The Elantra's just seem to get better with each model year - I definately would consider getting one again .
 
I have a 2009 Elantra SE w/ 5mt. I average 35-37 mpg routinely and I use whatever synthetic is on sale w/ 5k OCI's. I normally run 5w20, for this summer (because it was on clearance) I am running 5w30 Edge (SM) and my mpg has dropped by 1.5 mpg. I'll be changing next month back to a 20 wt- not sure which one yet.
 
Definitely use an OEM filter. I've seen more than a few Hyundai's with a little valvetrain noise when a non OEM filter was used. I also owned a 2003 Tiburon V6 and the one time I didn't use an OEM filter I had valvetrain noise. Put an OEM filtar back on and it was quiet as could be.
 
I have a 2011 Elantra and the general concensus is to stick with Hyundai filters. I was actually surprised how heavy and well made it seemed when I did my first oil change at 2500. I used QSUD 5W-20 because its cheap at Walmart in 5 quart jugs and the factory fill is supposedly Quaker State. Switching to synthetic made it run quieter on cold start so if QSUD stops becoming cheap I will just stick with name brand synthetic. I'm planning 5K OCI so there are no questions of warranty since I live in hot, dry and city.
 
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+1 ...The Hyundai oil filters are very good quality and built like a tank . No worries what so ever to use ...
 
Read the manual. Use the proper viscosity of oil. Any oil filter is good except for Fram. I like Wix because it uses coil springs instead of leaf springs and it has a bypass valve.
 
nice video
I'm definitely going with the Hyundai filter, their price is right too. I grabbed some QSUD qts at Ollies and I'm going to check it out. Anyone use easy drain plugs, pros and cons?
 
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