[Kurtosis]

Hello,

I own a 2012 Sorento 2.4l GDI with 4300 miles to date. I have changed the engine and oil filter twice, 1st time @ 1300 miles. 5 Quarts Castrol 5w20 and Just changed it @ 4300 and noticed it had used almost a Quart.I do a mixture of both highway and city. I understand new engines use alittle oil for breakin , but I was just curious if any one else has noticed this type of oil use on there
vehicle.

Regards

 

[Dr Bob]

A quart (950ml) used in 3000 miles does seem a little high. Our Cerato 2.0 used 250ml (10W-30) in the first 2000km and a further 500ml in the next 5000km, and none since; I'm not expecting significant usage after the first oil change (15000 km). Note that our first change is at 15000km. Why did you change so early?

If oil consumption remains higher than desirable, you could try 5W-30 or 10W-30.

 

[Kurtosis]

Dr Bob,

Thanks for reply , I changed it @ 1300 on advice from mechanic. Good call on the 10w30 thats what I used this time. My suspicion is that the 5w20 is a little on the thin side for this engine and it is being atomized and then burnt in cylinder. I see no blue smoke on startup or idle.This is my first GDI motor so its a bit of a learning curve.I see that your engine also used alittle in beginning maybe not so much as me due to the 10w30 your using.

Regards

 

[Dr Bob]

10W-30 is KIA recommended for our country (temperate to hot climate). Note that the viscosity of 20-grade oils can vary quite a lot and they can still be called 20.

30-grade is a much tighter specification. See kinematic viscosity in the following table:

Motor Oil Viscosity Grades Explained in Layman's Terms

15000 km before the first change might seem a bit long, but our usage is fairly conservative (40% highway, 40% easy commute, 20% suburban, 0% stop-start). Our car only used oil in the early stages on long, hot country runs. I trust the oil filter to get rid of stray metal during break-in that some seem to worry about.

You normally don't see blue smoke until the engine is using more than 1 litre of oil per 1000km, close to 2 quarts per 1000 miles. At that rate it is still manageable and doesn't foul the plugs.

 

[Kurtosis]

Very informative.Thank You

 

[kerrton]

This is a brand new car with less than 5000 miles, there's no way it should be a quart of oil down between change intervals, this is totally unacceptable. A new engine MAY use a small amount during break-in but no where near 1 quart over a couple thousand miles.

The advice above is good for older cars, but for a new car with full warranty I wouldn't be trying to mess around with different oil weights other than what's recommended for this car by the manufacturer.

The only question here is what the original poster asked but didn't really get an aswer: those who have the 2.4 GDI, have you noticed oil consumption like the OP has? We need to know if this is normal for this engine or not, and I'd be willing to bet money that it isn't. There is no way Kia/Hyundai designed this engine to consume oil like that, and that being the case you need to report this to your dealer.

The first step after we decide this is an abnormal problem is to get it documented with Kia, even if they don't take action right away, they'll likely get you to monitor it for several thousand miles to see if it improves, at least you've got it documented as a base case and you can compare into the future. And if things don't improve you have the documentation you need to justify warranty work and to get you an engine that runs wihtin spec which is what you paid a lot of money for.

Don't be content with oil consumption on new vechicle, that's why you have a 5 year warranty, stand up for yourself and monitor this closely.

 

[Buz.Soroul]

i bought my 2011 Sorento brandnew and i brought it back to them with 3,000 miles foe the first free oil change and the dealer asked me why do i want a change oil that fast, i just told them to check my engine oil, its like a slap in their face when i told that its because my oil was dirty already, i mean it looks thick and black in color already..

my 1st oil change is free at the dealership so thats the only time i brought them my car and right now i have 7,000 miles on my sorento and i do change the oil every 3,000 miles using a regular oil from autozone.

 

[Dr Bob]

Is it possible that the first change at 1300 miles wasn't topped up to the mark and you are overestimating the oil usage?

Changing to another grade might improve matters, but Castrol 5W-20 and Castrol 10W-30 aren't very different; Viscosity at 100°C is 9.1 vs. 10.6 cSt according to Castrol spec sheets. See what the oil section of the handbook says; most give a fairly wide range of alternative oil grades. You shouldn't expect a deleterious effect from moving to another grade.

I think you'll find that all will be well now that you have a few more miles on the car. See how you go with the new fill and monitor it closely.

 

[Kurtosis]

Will do Dr Bob. I will monitor this one closely. In the mean time I will continue gathering data on this issue and post my findings if I feel it might be relevant and or helpful to others. On a side note I had to look up the definition of "deleterious" lol .

Regards

 

[jetech00001]

it is not uncommon for a new engine to use a little oil till everything is seated and the amount of oil used in 2000 miles since your last oil change is pretty much in the normal range. i would just keep an eye on it and use the recommended SAE viscosity . i have the 2.4L gdi engine as yourself and have no problem with the 5W-20 and i live in the high desert of california and 100+ in the summer and my 5.7L Hemi uses 5W-20 also and never a problem. see link below for some good reading

Bob Is The Oil Guy - Forums powered by UBB.threads™

 

[Dr Bob]

I will monitor this one closely. In the mean time I will continue gathering data on this issue and post my findings if I feel it might be relevant and or helpful to others. On a side note I had to look up the definition of "deleterious" lol.
Regards

Keeping an eye on the oil is a good thing. Stick to well-known brands like Castrol.

Before joining this forum, I had a rough idea of oil grades (my Dad worked in the auto lubrication industry), but have done some reading to keep up with the topic. Bob is the Oil Guy is worth reading, but tends to provide "Too Much Information". I'm not that Bob, by the way.

I think that the current trend towards lower viscosity oils is somewhat political (fuel saving) and US advice on short oil-change interval is usually regarded as self-serving and somewhat conservative. I do note that the US has some harsh climates, however.

10W-30 oil is increasingly recommended in this country and there is a trend away from the common standard of 15W-40, e.g. Castrol GTX.

Deleterious: "Harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way". -Thought you'd like that one.

 

[DefMan]

I'm late to the game here but wanted to point out that it's best to check your fluids to be sure and not fall victim to dip stick scams as well. There's nothing wrong with checking it yourself or if your curious. I needed an oil change on my previous car so I took it to Avis Lube. Guy said I needed new transmission fluid and filter. Problem is, I swapped the filter few weeks earlier and my car was only 20k on it. He either didn't wipe the dipstick or or sprayed something on it. It was nice and pink when I took a rag and checked it myself. Got myself a free oil change after I raised my voice on why he couldn't tell fluid was good. I just picked up a sorento 2 weeks ago. Dealer gave me 2 free oil changes and free inspection as long I have it.

 

[Dr Bob]

I'm late to the game here but wanted to point out that it's best to check your fluids to be sure and not fall victim to dip stick scams as well. I needed an oil change on my previous car so I took it to Avis Lube. Guy said I needed new transmission fluid and filter. Problem is, I had swapped the filter few weeks earlier and my car was only 20k on it. He either didn't wipe the dipstick or or sprayed something on it.

Can happen. At one stage when attendants were still employed at service stations in Australia, it was common for them to check the oil and offer to add some for you. My wife sometimes came home with the engine slightly overfilled until I advised her against it. Oil (by the half litre) was very expensive. It's still much more expensive to buy oil by the single litre bottle, compared to the normal 5 litre container. ($40 vs. $70 was the most outrageous example I've seen).

An update on my previous post: Cerato 2.0 used 750ml in the first 7000km, and less than 100ml in the next 6000km. Oil still looks "Honey Coloured" at 13,000km according to my Son.

 

[Kurtosis]

Ok, Update to oil use: Currently @ 5300 with 1000 miles on 10w30 Castrol GTX , no measureable oil use seen on dip stick.But oil is already very dark IMO , looks like my Suzuki SX4 oil @ About 5000 miles. a quick check of rubbing oil between fingers and it seems slick like it should, but it has a very pronounced smell of fuel.I believe I am Going to send oil out for testing in future.

 

[Wry 'Cuda]

Interesting to see if the smell of fuel diminishes after a long, hot highway drive; also check if this lowers the oil on the dip-stick. Is the fuel consumption OK? Apparently the colour of the oil isn't very important.

 

[Kurtosis]

Hello Cuda,
Fuel smell is there after highway drive,Maybe 50 miles is not enough to burn it off , I did notice a small deviation on the dip stick , but checking with the dip stick is a rough guess at best anyways.I am getting around 28 - 29 mpg on highway @ 70 so not bad.Engine seems to run and idle well.

 

[Rick2456]

i agree....

I agree. I had a 2012 Sonata with the GDI engine and it never used a drop of oil.


QUOTE=kerrton;419348]This is a brand new car with less than 5000 miles, there's no way it should be a quart of oil down between change intervals, this is totally unacceptable. A new engine MAY use a small amount during break-in but no where near 1 quart over a couple thousand miles.

The advice above is good for older cars, but for a new car with full warranty I wouldn't be trying to mess around with different oil weights other than what's recommended for this car by the manufacturer.

The only question here is what the original poster asked but didn't really get an aswer: those who have the 2.4 GDI, have you noticed oil consumption like the OP has? We need to know if this is normal for this engine or not, and I'd be willing to bet money that it isn't. There is no way Kia/Hyundai designed this engine to consume oil like that, and that being the case you need to report this to your dealer.

The first step after we decide this is an abnormal problem is to get it documented with Kia, even if they don't take action right away, they'll likely get you to monitor it for several thousand miles to see if it improves, at least you've got it documented as a base case and you can compare into the future. And if things don't improve you have the documentation you need to justify warranty work and to get you an engine that runs wihtin spec which is what you paid a lot of money for.

Don't be content with oil consumption on new vechicle, that's why you have a 5 year warranty, stand up for yourself and monitor this closely.[/QUOTE]

 

[Wry 'Cuda]

I had a 2012 Sonata with the GDI engine and it never used a drop of oil.

That's the case with most modern cars, although some brands (e.g. Porsche) are known to use a bit. Kurtosis now reports that his car is using very little oil, which is to be expected.

When is oil consumption considered excessive? I would say when it reaches more than 1 litre per 10,000km. Even at that level, it would be hard to convince the dealer to do something about it. At 1 litre per 1000km, it's starting to become unmanageable and needs attention.

 

[kerrton]

I wouldn't accept any oil consumption in a new vehicle or one that is under 100,000 miles. New engines are manufacturered with very tight tolerances and are not designed to use oil beyond very small amounts that would be undectable on the dipstick. All the new cars that I've purchased including my 2011 Sorento with normally aspirated 2.4L 4 cylinder and my 2008 Nissan Rogue with 2.5 L 4 cylinder have not used a drop of oil and with my meticulous maintenance and easy driving style I wouldn't expect this to change at all in the next decade of use. You should not expect any less.