Is my Car getting "OLD"......what should I do different?

Question

I have a 2003 Hyundai Elantra GLS, I bought it brand new that year. It has just under 75,000 miles on it. It still runs great, I just replaced the origonal battery last week actually; It has never really had a "Tune up", because, it has allways worked well, and I just dont have the money to do it. But should I? The car is totally paid off, and I am NOT planning on buying a new one any time soon so I want this car to last a long time. Should I change to that High milage Motor oil, the type for 75k+ cars? Or is that just a scam? Does it make a difference, I mean the car works great. I put dry gass and treatment in the tank when I fill up, more in the winter. It is a 5-speed standard BTW. I have all new tires, and front breaks on it, just had my break job like 3 months ago, if that. New wipers etc. Just trying to prevent a major break down before one happens, I remember my first vehicle was a 92 Ford F-150 truck, it was expensive to fix. Well any advice would be great!! THX!

Answer 1

If your motor has no obvious leaks anywhere high mileage oil is not needed at all for any reason. I have a friend who ones a chain of Quaker State Quick change business. He stated that at a class he attended on high mileage oil that it's only plus was it's ability to stop very small oil leaks. Some guys are going to tell you that high mileage oil is a semi-synthetic which unless stated on the bottle simply is not true. Stick to really good detergent oil of the viscosity that your owners manual calls for. We have find that Havoline,Valvoline, and Quaker State are top notch Texas oils. Guys who like Pennsylvania brands, Brad Penn and Gulf keep things clean and well protected. I'm particularly impressed with the Brad Penn brand because the 5W-30 drops out in a solid stream directly after a hard run of 25 -50 miles. Im sure you've seen some oil splatter all over the place.

Answer 2

That Is Not Really Old I The Newest I Own Is 1976 ;-).. But Ya Switch Over To High Mileage Oil I Would Remouund Maxlife And I Would Get It Tuned Up And Get The Tranny Fuild And Filter Changed.

Answer 3

OLD? No. You may want to go for the tune up. New plugs and wires, air filter, ect. NOt sure what your tranny service intervals are but I am going to guess every 50k miles. I don't think I would switch to the synthetic oil now. As the miles add on, it will start to burn off oil, and I think that it will burn off the syn oil faster than conventional oil.

Answer 4

That wouldn't work unless you restricted certain roads for the different classes of vehicles. Otherwise, the same old POS minivan that is only allowed to go, say 55 MPH, coul be on the same highway as the brand new Corvette that is allowed to go 100+ MPH. That would make for a very dangerous situation. Since most people can't afford to drive a supercar, that Vette that is going 120 mph would be putting the other 98% of drivers, as well as him/herself, at a huge risk for a crash.

Answer 5

I would switch to a synthetic oil better lubrication. Change the air filter, and gas filter, and rotor, all less than $10 and all things you can do yourself. Sounds like you are doing everything right and the car should last a long time.

Answer 6

that aint old
but you should really do a tune up from spark plugs to air filters everything and you should use synthetic oil

Answer 7

preventive maintenance is the key. Go by manufactures recommendations. All fluids , need changed at one point, All belts hoses and etc need inspected at one point.

Answer 8

if you have never had a tune up...at least change the plugs.