I recently purchased a 2002 Hyundai Santa FE with about 50,000 miles on it. I drive the car less than 10 miles a day on average, only to school and back. It runs well, the check engine light is not on, and I have noticed no problems. I went to Jiffy Lube today for an oil change and they recommended the following maintenance:
1) the dipstick does not go all the way down. I was thinking I would get the correct one because it is cheap,but I can’t figure out which dipstick to buy (there are 6 different ones on parts.com
2)transmission service (do I need this?)
3)oil system cleaning
4) fuel system cleaning
5)radiator service
Should I get and of these? And which dipstick should I get? Thank you very much.
First mistake - going to Jiffy Lube.
They try to sell you unneeded services .
Dipstick ? Doubtful .
Transmission service - look in your owners manual .
Oil and fuel cleaning - only cleaning this does is to your wallet .
Radiator service- again look at your owners manual .
Thank you. ACtually, I just realized which dipstick I need so anybody else can ignore that question (if I decide to buy one). If anybody else cares or wants to answer, my VIN is KM8SC73D72U266176
It is 4 speed automatic with a 2.7 MPI DOHC V6 engine. And I forgot to say that it is getting abysmal mileage (about 12mpg when it should get 19 with all city driving.)
Did you buy this from a Hyundai dealer? First up is to determine whether or not the rubber band/timing belt has been replaced. A Hyundai dealer “should” have done this based on time.
The belt MUST MUST MUST be replaced every 4 years or 60 K miles, which ever comes first. If the belt breaks on this interference engine it will cause major damage.
I’m glad to say that since 2006 all Hyundais are now using timing chains instead of belts.
The owners manual for my wifes 02 Sonata sez to change trans fluid every 105K miles. Not going to happen, as I change it every 40K miles. It’s as simple as draining and replacing 5 quarts of auto trans fluid with no filter to change. Be sure you use the Hyundai fluid.
If the 30K maintenance was done, you can wait until the 60K maintenance for anything else.
My wifes 02 Sonata with a 4 banger gets 31 MPG on the highway. With the same chasis (I believe) and a V6 I would guess you should get around 28 MPG on the highway. Do you?
As genex mentioned stay away from the quicky lubes.
I did buy from a Hyundai dealer, and am pretty sure that most of that type of maintenance would have been done. I can’t say what my highway mileage is as I only use the vehicle to get back and forth from school (4 miles away). It scares the crap out of me to drive on a highway. I normally drive until I have a quarter tank left and then refill and typically get somewhere from 12-15 mpg.
Go to a reputable mechanic, and get service. You don’t need to go to a Hyundai dealer for service. It’s a mistake to assume that the Hyundai dealer did the scheduled maintenance. Why should he have done so?
Change the transmission fluid, and engine coolant.
Based on TIME (8 years) change the timing belt. That might be about $600.
Change the spark plugs and air filter, and fuel filter (if it’s an external one).
Tell the mechanic the problem with the fuel mileage. He can check fuel pressure (engine running, 2000 rpm), engine coolant temperature sensor, etc. to find the cause of the poor fuel consumption.
Driving 4 miles twice a day might not even be enough to keep the battery charged,and it sure wont help the MPG.
It’s a shame that you apparently dont have any other options other then driving the car.
If you only drive 4 miles each way your car never gets fully warmed up and you can’t expect anywhere near EPA city mileage. If you are only driving 40 miles a week doubling your mileage would save you $4.50 a week,pretty small potatoes in the cost of owning a car.