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15,000 mile oil change

My Telly's 15,000 mile oil change was done/will be done at:


  • Total voters
    115
Seems pretty ridiculous to advise ethanol free gasoline in the USA, its just not practical for the average motorist to obtain on a daily basis.
It’d be better if it was the only option.I’m on the vt border and I drive an extra 10-15 minutes out of the way to get 93 no ethonol for all my engines big and small.
 
It’d be better if it was the only option.I’m on the vt border and I drive an extra 10-15 minutes out of the way to get 93 no ethonol for all my engines big and small.
I live in a area with a lot of inland lakes, so if I really wanted ethanol free gasoline I could get it pretty easily... but even around me, I bet fewer than 1% of gas stations offer it.
 
Seems pretty ridiculous to advise ethanol free gasoline in the USA, its just not practical for the average motorist to obtain on a daily basis.
I agree. I read on other mechanics sites that those "remedies" are pretty much useless. But there does seem to be consensus that more frequent oil changes will help stave off the problems. I had mine in for some issues (dead battery and car drove sluggishly just before - on the highway) and the recall at around 3,500 miles so had an oil change done then. I have been doing mostly around town driving and about 100 miles pulling a travel trailer, so I figured I would be all set to do some summer traveling/camping. Sounds like Pennzoil Platinum 5W 30 is the way to go. I had another battery problem a week ago...makes me nervous, but I am getting a power pack so if it happens on the road I can charge it. I also noticed my gas mileage has gone down as well. Hope that doesn't continue.
 
About 15 years ago or so, I had conversation with guy who has a PHD in Chemical Engineering. At the time he worked for Dow Chemical in their lubricants division. We discussed synthetic oil vs conventional oil... and the topic of oil change intervals.

His basic position was that any SAE oil could easily go 5000 miles without failure. He felt your better off using a relatively inexpensive oil and changing it frequently. One of the main reasons he held that position was due to moisture getting into oil and turning acidic... he said that synthetic lubricants were no better than conventional oils with regard to the moisture/acidity issue.

Every since then I have had a different outlook on motor oils.

I personally rarely drive on short trips that contribute to problems with moisture, but still you never know how quickly some driving habits might change
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I'm changing mine every 5000 miles. Have always done my own oil changes - it's very easy on a Telly.
 
About 15 years ago or so, I had conversation with guy who has a PHD in Chemical Engineering. At the time he worked for Dow Chemical in their lubricants division. We discussed synthetic oil vs conventional oil... and the topic of oil change intervals.

His basic position was that any SAE oil could easily go 5000 miles without failure. He felt your better off using a relatively inexpensive oil and changing it frequently. One of the main reasons he held that position was due to moisture getting into oil and turning acidic... he said that synthetic lubricants were no better than conventional oils with regard to the moisture/acidity issue.

Every since then I have had a different outlook on motor oils.

I personally rarely drive on short trips that contribute to problems with moisture, but still you never know how quickly some driving habits might change
Sadly most of my driving right now is short trips. (It was a 5 hour highway drive that killed my battery - go figure). I used to drive a SAAB - the kind that you added oil to the gas in the proper ratio. Then the oil shortage hit and we were limited to 8 gallons on fillups (and waited in long lines) so I had to "guestimate" how much oil to add to the gas and had to dump the rest. And here I am 50+ years later still trying to figuure out oil. Go figure.
 
The engine Kia puts in the Telluride is in my opinion the vehicle’s biggest black mark.
Most manufacturers have either moved away from pure GDI engines, or they have gone to a combination of direct and port injection to avoid the problem of valve coking. Kia has chosen to make this engine an Atkinson cycle type, which can boost efficiency, but diminishes power density. 3.8L is a large displacement for less than 300 hp.
It is possible that the Atkinson cycle can allow some of the gasoline out of the cylinder and back into the manifold, which might clean the valves but who knows. Certainly this is the reason why they really want you to use top-tier fuel and an occasional fuel system cleaner like Techron.
Toyota has a great 3.5L v6 that puts out 300 hp and has both direct and port injection (depending on rpm) to avoid the valve build up issues. Wish Kia had something similar. 😩
 
The engine Kia puts in the Telluride is in my opinion the vehicle’s biggest black mark.
Most manufacturers have either moved away from pure GDI engines, or they have gone to a combination of direct and port injection to avoid the problem of valve coking. Kia has chosen to make this engine an Atkinson cycle type, which can boost efficiency, but diminishes power density. 3.8L is a large displacement for less than 300 hp.
It is possible that the Atkinson cycle can allow some of the gasoline out of the cylinder and back into the manifold, which might clean the valves but who knows. Certainly this is the reason why they really want you to use top-tier fuel and an occasional fuel system cleaner like Techron.
Toyota has a great 3.5L v6 that puts out 300 hp and has both direct and port injection (depending on rpm) to avoid the valve build up issues. Wish Kia had something similar. 😩

Not too late to change your mind and buy a Toyota.

Get the car that will make you happiest and with no regrets.

There should still be plenty of them sitting months on lots all over the country.

Tundra? <—- decent truck

4Runner? <—- need the off-road chops?

Highlander? 🤣
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Not too late to change your mind and buy a Toyota.

Get the car that will make you happiest and with no regrets.

There should still be plenty of them sitting months on lots all over the country.

Tundra? <—- decent truck

4Runner? <—- need the off-road chops?

Highlander? 🤣
You’re right!

I like the Telluride enough to go with it, I do wish Toyota would update the Sequoia tho.

My wife thinks it’s perfect, she’ll never even give the intake valves on the 3.8 GDI a second thought.

Me on the other hand, I’ll likely install a catch can on the pcv line, Maybe run some seafoam through it every six months or so. I’m sure it will be amazing.

@DarkMossJustin Besides, have you seen the headliner on the prestige? No Toyota has that!
 
You’re right!

I like the Telluride enough to go with it, I do wish Toyota would update the Sequoia tho.

My wife thinks it’s perfect, she’ll never even give the intake valves on the 3.8 GDI a second thought.

Me on the other hand, I’ll likely install a catch can on the pcv line, Maybe run some seafoam through it every six months or so. I’m sure it will be amazing.

@DarkMossJustin Besides, have you seen the headliner on the prestige? No Toyota has that!

Every day i stare lovingly at the dark gray premium cloth headliner on my Prestige Package AWD SX.

Ever checked out this thread? 😂
 
There's a couple things going on here of interest that I don't think anyone has commented on yet. The other issue with GDI that have no port injection (which Ford has moved to on their new 3.0 ecoboost block and the 5.0 coyote motor) is PCV - positive crankcase ventilation/vapor. It's an emissions requirement that positive pressure fumes from the crankcase are burnt off in the combustion cycle instead of released to open air. That is where the PCV system comes into play which vents the vapor into the manifold before the valve body , and then you get nasty oil build up on the valves that is not cleaned by the raw fuel hydrocarbons.

So what does that mean for us? We'll be thankful these motors are not turbocharged. Ford has started to move the turobcharged platforms to have port injection to solve for this valve buildup because the only way to clean them is to take apart the valvebody and clean them with walnut chipping or replace them altogether. You cant use fuel system cleaner or induction cleaner on turbo applications because they burn at a much higher temperature in the combustion cycle and can damage the turbos with heat in the exhaust.

So run top tier fuel, use the additive as directed, and if you really really care, run an oil catch can on the return PCV line and empty it every oil change.
 
Every day i stare lovingly at the dark gray premium cloth headliner on my Prestige Package AWD SX.
I stare lovingly every day at my wife - but hey, whatever floats your boat 😜
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Change at 5k miles, using Ultra Pennzoil Platnium 5W-30 and Kia Oil Filter.
 
Kia has chosen to make this engine an Atkinson cycle type, which can boost efficiency, but diminishes power density. 3.8L is a large displacement for less than 300 hp.

If power is the concern, there are some options you can do on the Atkinson cycle engine like replace the Air Intake with a K&N or the exhaust with the Borla and even a Stage 1 upgrade chip. Naturally aspirated . . . let it suck in more air! All in those three things are about $1,000 and pretty simple DIYs that can be swapped back out if you don't like it. The result might get you over 300HP.
 
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Quick math, that's over $1000 for 2 HP since its already "pumping out" 298?
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Quick math, that's over $1000 for 2 HP since its already "pumping out" 298?
I thought stock was 291 HP.

K&N could add 4-5 HP for $400
Borla Exhaust could add 8-12 HP $600 (although some folks on this forum are trying to negotiate a group rate)
Stage 1 performance chip could add up to 20 HP increase (doubtful it's that high) for $100 on sale
 
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I thought stock was 291 HP.

K&N could add 4-5 HP for $400
Borla Exhaust could add 8-12 HP $600 (although some folks on this forum are trying to negotiate a group rate)
Stage 1 performance chip could add up to 20 HP increase (doubtful it's that high) for $100 on sale
Interested on the chip, have you or anyone you know tried it with positive results?
 
Interested on the chip, have you or anyone you know tried it with positive results?
I have not tried it. I'm happy with my fuel efficiency and for what I tow and haul I have enough HP and torque. But if someone else tried it and noticed a bump without a major drop in fuel efficiency, I might be convinced to drop $100 since it's just an OBD connection. The claims might be a little overblown at 4mpg increase in fuel efficiency while also giving 20HP more, 50% more throttle response, and 19 ft-lb more torque. It's possible that this just doing the same thing that the driving modes do, just cranking it up a notch. This may be that tow mode that the Telluride is lacking. There is a 30-day money back guarantee but they do say that it may take up to 2 weeks of use to fully show the impact.
 
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I stare lovingly every day at my wife - but hey, whatever floats your boat 😜

If I was lucky enough to have a wife like you @BasilFawlty, that would be an option.

I remember all the loving looks from those wonderful almost 6 years with my beautiful ex 2009-2015 but now I need to move on with my life. Driving my Telly around my favorite drives on a year-long farewell “tour” of my home state is better than therapy and if I meet someone special along the way, she better like my Dark Moss Dune Brown Kia Telluride, classic chrome trim > NFE, Sport Mode, Belgian Malinois, the Constitution, and my particular sense of humor 😋
 
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