Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
When I brought up the oil change interval to my Hyundai service manager he said, "You need to change the oil every 3,000 miles, and I charge $30+ to do it." This is a bald-faced lie. Every car I have ever owned (and I lived a good part of my life in the Arizona desert) has done just fine with 7,500 mile intervals using conventional oil.
As Oscar Wilde said, "In America, the young are always ready to give those who are older than themselves the full benefit of their inexperience" ; -)
I drive my car mostly in city and conservatively. I have accumulated aprox. 4000 miles since new.
Computer indicates that consumption is about 16 mpg.
In my estimation, that is very poor.
My old Infiniti Q45 with big V8 averaged about 18 mpg. with same type of driving.
Friends who drive Avalon are getting better than 20 mpg.
Immediately drive Azera to nearest Toyota dealer, trade for Prius
Prius MPG will exceed your current 18 MPG
Is your mpg reading based on the computer readout or actual miles divided by gallons of gas between fillups?
All fillups are not created equal, depend on fuel cut-off setting on the gas pump and if the car is on a slope. My data include three fillups, the first and last made on level ground.
http://www.theautochannel.com/new
s/2006/06/14/011176.html
That's certainly an impressive endorsement, and I commend you. Where I live, it's currently 104 degrees outside and that's considered "severe service" territory according to my Sonata's owner manual. I generally keep my cars 7 - 9 years - sometimes more, so it behooves me to take a conservative approach for motor oil service. When I have occasionally trusted any matter to luck, it almost inevitably comes back to bite me on the you-know-where.
I will use full synthetic Castrol or Mobil 1 as I have in other cars. Likely will use a 5000 mile change interval, due to the heat and will run 5W-20 to get best mileage, as I do in my Honda.
I consider the slight extra cost worth it to improve long term engine prospects.
Has anyone attempted to change their own oil and a 2006 Azera? Looks like the filter is a throwback to the 1950's using a cartridge insert rather than a spin-on filter.
If you've changed oil, can you tell me where the filter housing is placed and is it accessible? I see that NAPA has a Gold series oil filter available. Thanks in advance
I will check it out.
I also just ordered replacement bulbs from a PIAA dealer, as though the headlights are ok, I want more light on the road. Will report once installed.
Register, log in and go to site requirements. Download appropriate plug-in(s) for graphics viewing.
abfisch
You are entitled to your opinion on the Prius being a piece of junk, but can you substantiate statements like the Prius' battery failing after 8 years (given that no one in the U.S. has owned one that long) and the CVT cutting out after the warranty (maybe in the Prius discussion so this one doesn't go off track)?
He just thinks Prius owners are smug better than thou people who love the smell of their....Oh my, I have been watching way to much "South Park"
Anyway back you your regually scheduled slugfest.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
So . . . Just to clarify. You must take the Azera to a Hyundai Dealer for a regular oil change because they have not made the oil filter available.
I went to a "Lube" place and they drained the oil and everything and then found out that the filter is "not available" and "cannot be ordered". So they refilled the oil WITH THE OLD FILTER and told me "sorry, you must take this to the dealer." (They didn't charge me.)
Can oil filters be "picked up" at the parts department and then taken to a Lube place each time the oil needs changing.
No, I don't change my own oil.
The bolt pattern of the Azera is 5/114 & the wheels I am looking at are 5/114.3
My question to the wheel representative was "what is the ".3" of a difference on the pattern will they fit the car??" the answer was I’m not sure let me place you on hold for the next hour or until you get tired of being on hold & decide to hang up... which I did!
So does anyone know if that ".3" difference in the bolt pattern is going to make any difference?
I will get confirmation (from someone) before ordering of course. I just don’t feel like asking someone who knows less than I do about wheels.
My question to the wheel representative was "what is the ".3" of a difference on the pattern will they fit the car??
I'm no expert here, but I'm almost certain that number is the distance (in millimeters) from the center of the hub to the location of the center of the lug-nut holes. If that is correct, I'm guessing the 114 is just rounded to the closest millimeter and you're probably just fine, but I'm certain somebody here knows for sure!
Personally I wouldn't trust spiffy-lubers to do this work. There are two gaskets involved and a compression ring for the oil plug at the pan. That may just be too much for these "technicians". If they did do this work, I would be bird-dogging them the whole time just to be sure these are actually installed.
The job is an easy DIY, but I understand not wanting to.
-Loren
How about activating the 'limp-home' option?
How about the can tool update for the 1-2 shift pause?
Thanks for any ideas
Mike
You also want to get them to agree to reprogram any of these features if you have to have service where the battery is disconnected, because the computer does not 'remember' them. (it does rememeber TB updates, but not your personal preferences)
>Mike<
Question about the tires: I have the Limited with the 17" Michelin tires. The door plate said 30lbs. inflation pressure. Has anyone experimented with higher pressure (I'm running 32 now.) At 30 the tires look very low; if you run higher, has it impacted your ride?
Also, curiously, my Azera does not have a manufacturer sticker on the door frame with the VIN #, engine, build date, etc. Am I just blind or is it located elsewhere? I looked at the places indicated in the owner manual, but can't see a sticker.
Your help is appreciated, the Azera is a great car!
What are other owners running as far as psi goes?
I have found that the tires lose pressure within a week or two, so I figure a pound lost anyway. Never have had any tire store, or oil change store get all four tires aired as they were told to do. So it is something which you have to do yourself, or you will have at least one, if not all tires to change pressure on.
Note that adding or subtracting pressures is something lots of people do, there is a recommended pressure by each manufacturer, and thus the only officially recognized one to go by. Anything else is opinions - personal preferences and not a pressure recommended for you use. So if ya over or under inflate, you are on your own. And remember six pounds over or under, can be really dangerous. Think of it this way, tires heat up and go higher, and they also lose pressure in time, so please be careful to get it right.
-Loren
Thank you
Manufacturers typically set the pressure requirements on the low side. This makes the ride a little softer and usually causes the tire to wear a little faster. The tire is also typically a softer durometer which adds to the wear factor. Factory tires may wear out around 25 to 30K miles. You may do better or worse dependant on your driving habits and tire maintenance. I typically get 60 to 70K miles from the original factory tires.
Here are my thoughts and application.
1. I check 'cold' tire pressure at least once a week and keep them within +/- 1/2 lb. I use 32 lbs as a benchmark.
2. I remove and rotate the tires once a month. This gives me an opportunity to remove small stones and inspect the tires for wear and allows me to wash the tires and wheels inside and out along with the wheel wells.
3. The tires tell me if inflation pressure is to high or to low. To high and the center wears faster, to low and the shoulders wear faster. Vehicle weight may vary due to stuff in trunk, number of passengers typically in vehicle or constant changing of weight. One passenger, then four passengers, then three passengers or the size of the passenger from tiny lady to football center. Centers are typically solid individuals, ran into a few some years ago. This information tells me if I need to increase to 33 or 34 lbs or reduce to 30 or 31 lbs.
4. Tire wear will tell me about alignment. If not in alignment the tire may show more wear on one shoulder than another or scuffing of the rubber.
5. Inspection may also find punctures or cuts that would go unnoticed.
Dealers and other service facilities do not always check tire pressure because the tires are hot and inflation pressures may vary do to heat level of tires. Remember the heat level can vary from tire to tire for many reasons.
There are many other applications and reasons for the tire pressure that works for you.
Enjoy and safe driving to all.
The tire pressure changes according to the tire temperature. The temperature goes up due to the increased ambient temperature, heat on hot roads, driving(rubbing against asphalt roads) and etc. There is a chemistry formula "P=nRT/V" T and V stand for Temp. and Vol., respectively. If you put more air into ur tire, n increases. Then, the rubber stretches so V increases a little in a non-linear manner. So, P is adjusted accordingly. If the ambient temp. goes up, also the rubber stratches and V increases a little. And P changes.
Foget about the formula. Here in Texas, if you set the tire pressure to 30psi in the morning(summer), you will observe the tire pressure goes up to 33~34psi in the afternoon. In the cool weather, the tire pressure will down to 29~28.5 psi. If you have a professional tire gauge, you can try it.
Anyhow, the 30psi tire pressure set in the morning will be different from the 30 psi setting in the afternoon.
When you set your tire pressure, make sure check it before drinving in the morning when the road surface is cooled down and the ambient temperature is adequate(65~75F).
According to the tire pressure, vehicle dynamics changes.
For instance, the wheel alignment and the tire contact patch area change. So vehicle handling charateristics changes. So does the gas milage.
If you use soft side wall tires, you may need a little bit higher tire pressure. The low profile tire has a harder side wall to imporove the handling. Your tire pressure are definately considered when the engineers tuned the damping and sping coeffs. in ur strut shock absorber and spring.
There are more complex physics. Leave the all to the engineers. You can simply follow the manuf. recommendation.
Good afternoon.
:confuse:
Me thinks you got your sayings mixed.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B27FA38EE%2D2159%2D4820%- 2DA9E0%2DC411EDA2A98D%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=nwhpf
Article: link title
Toyota Avalon and Chevrolet Impala received the highest ratings - a "Good"
You can get an opinion anywhere.
Were you gonna get hens teeth???
An overall Good should be Hyundai's goal. Anything less is quacking in the wind.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
The only area I'm really disappointed with the Azera is crash test results.
The front crash test results were confusing since the NHTSA gave it only "4 stars" after testing it. There was head and leg trauma involved.
The IIHS gave it a "good" front crash rating, but NEVER tested it. They just took the data from Hyundai and translated it into a score.
Personally, I feel the NHTSA is more accurate since they actually tested the vehicle.
Now comes the "side impact" test. The IIHS actually tested the Azera and did not just rely upon data from Hyundai. Here the Azera scored an "Acceptable", not a "good." In fact it got a "poor" on the driver's pelvis/legs with a pelvis facture being "likely". This is very disappointing -- especially since both the Avalon and Impala scored "good".
Also note that Hyundai made changes to the Azera in April/2006 and upgraded the structural components in the roof and side and made improvement in the side air bags. If your Azera was built BEFORE April, you will still have the old structures and airbag system and will have even WORSE results than were reported since they tested the "upgraded" vehicle.
And why would Hyundai make changes to the Azera anyway. It's because they knew they had a HUGE problem with safety. They scrambled to make modifications before the IIHS safety tests and strengthened the roof and side and improved the air bags. Even then, it is not good.
So, in my book the Azera gets a "4 Star" frontal crash rating and an "acceptable" side crash rating with side air bags.
That is one of the poorest "new car" test results in years. In fact, the frontal crash test numbers from the NHTSA on the Azera indicated it was the WORST car in 2006 in its class. Hyundai should be ashamed of themselves -- especially after all of the hype of "world-class" safety.
The Azera is a 10 in all areas in my book except for safety. Unfortunately it drops it's overall score to the 7's because of it. In fact, on Edmunds, I believe my score to be lowest given even though I LOVE the car. I just can't give a "9" or a "10" to a car that has the worst crash test data results of any car in its class.
Sad.
And, yes, I know a lot of you think the safety tests are "meaningless" and "worthless." We've been down that road before with the frontal crash test data discussions. I don't with to debate again how "meaningless" the crash tests are.
Personally, I don't believe they are meaningless and expect a "world class" car to get nothing but a 5 star frontal and a "good" on side impact. Anything else, in my opinion, is unacceptable. Period.