Thread: Starting the Azera

When I start my 2007 Azera, the motor immediately revs up to 1500-1800 rpm. It then gradually slows down. The car still has the original (5W-20?) oil in it, and it's at about 3K miles on the odometer. This at starting temperatures in the 60's F (in San Diego).

Since I REALLY hate the idea of a revving engine at start-up, I immediately shift it into gear to slow down the rpm. If I didn't do that, it would rev for 5-10 seconds before slowing down under 1000 rpm.

Does anyone else experience this high of a rev at start-up?

Another thing, the lifters tap for about 2 seconds on start-up. I initially thought that this was merely collapsed hydraulics. Turns out this engine does not have hydraulic lifters.

Does anyone know if the "tappet" is of a roller design, or is it a "flat tappet"?

I've decided to do a 5K oil change interval, even though most of my cold start travel is 10-15 miles. I seldom load the motor, so the blow-by's going to be minimal. At 3K the oil looks pretty good (light amber).

I'm going to switch to 10W-30 at the first oil change (nothing protects an engine better than adequate viscosity), and use that for about a year, then switch to 10W-30 during the winter months (55-65F cold starts), and SAE-30 for the warmer months (70F cold starts).

Would like to hear from others regarding the questions posed in para 2 & 4.

My 06 with 11k miles on it revs like that at startup. It's not noticable on mine until the weather turns cold......I mean really cold, not 60 degrees. It's a little annoying but like you said, it only lasts for few seconds. I suspect it's ambient temp related. Let's see what others say.

When I start my 2007 Azera, the motor immediately revs up to 1500-1800 rpm.Â*Â*It then gradually slows down.Â*The car still has the original (5W-20?) oil in it, and it's at about 3K miles on the odometer.Â*Â*
This at starting temperatures in the 60's F (in San Diego).

Ours does likewise here in Murrieta California (Same climate) and I don't
care for that either. I think the original factory fill was indeed 5W-20.

Since I REALLY hate the idea of a revving engine at start-up, I immediately shift it into gear to slow down the rpm.Â*Â*If I didn't do that, it would rev for 5-10 seconds before slowing down under 1000 rpm.

Likewise here. I start it with my left hand and immediately pull
it into gear with my right hand just as quickly as possible.

Does anyone else experience this high of a rev at start-up?

Yes, I think that we all do.

Another thing, the lifters tap for about 2 seconds on start-up.Â*Â*I initially thought that this was merely collapsed hydraulics.Â*Â*Turns out this engine does not have hydraulic lifters.Â*Â*

Ours does not do that. You're correct. No hydraulics . . adjustments are by shims.

Does anyone know if the "tappet" is of a roller design, or is it a "flat tappet"?

Don't know for sure but I think it is a flat design tappet.

I've decided to do a 5K oil change interval, even though most of my cold start travel is 10-15 miles.Â*Â*I seldom load the motor, so the blow-by's going to be minimal.Â*Â*At 3K the oil looks pretty good (light amber).

Change it now ASAP. I found that at 3,500, the original oil was filthy.
Oil analysis proved that. Wish I had changed out the old dirty stuff earlier.
Don't rely on the color or looks!
I use Mobil 1 5W-20.

I'm going to switch to 10W-30 at the first oil change (nothing protects an engine better than adequate viscosity), and use that for about a year, then switch to 10W-30 during the winter months (55-65F cold starts), and SAE-30 for the warmer months (70F cold starts).

No no! You are thinking bass-awkwards! You want the thinnest oil viscocity as possible
when you first fire it up so the lubrication gets to the critical parts quickly.
The thicker the oil is, the longer it takes for the oil to move to those parts.
Are you considering straight 30W for the summer? I hope not.

Would like to hear from others regarding the questions posed in para 2 & 4.

Originally Posted by Snaglepus

Change it now ASAP. I found that at 3,500, the original oil was filthy. Oil analysis proved that.

Where/how did you have the oil analyzed? How much did it cost? How do you go about it?

Originally Posted by Snaglepus

You are thinking bass-awkwards! You want the thinnest oil viscosity as possible when you first fire it up so the lubrication gets to the critical parts quickly. The thicker the oil is, the longer it takes for the oil to move to those parts.

There are three major places inside an engine where lubrication is important. Plain bearings (connecting rod, mains), cylinder walls and cam-to-lifter. (There are many others, but these are the most critical.) "Surface tension" holds oil in the bearings (the thicker the oil, the better it is retained), cylinder walls retain some oil trapped between the piston and the cylinder wall (surface tension again), the cam-to-lifter is probably the most oil deprived on start-up.

Once started, oil is fed to the bearings and cam lobes by a positive displacement pump. That positive displacement action doesn't much care about the difference in viscosity found within the range of oils available for use in combustion engines. The only place where a thinner oil tends to lubricate better than a thicker oil while it's cold is the piston to cylinder wall interface. The only way oil gets to the cylinder wall is by "throw-off" from the connecting rod bearings. Thicker oil doesn't flow through the connecting rod/journal interface as well as does thinner oil.

However, once heated to operating temperature, the thinner oils being promoted these days depend on "sacrificial" additives to make up for the loss of protection provided by higher viscosity oil. Sacrificial additives are a less than equal substitute for oil viscosity when it comes to metal-to-metal protection.

Originally Posted by Snaglepus

Are you considering straight 30W for the summer?

Yes. Nothing is more robust than a mono-grade oil. Multi-grades will lose viscosity due to shearing of the Viscosity Index Improvers over time. Mono-grades have no VII to shear. They stay in grade where a multi-grade does not.

Also, if a 5W-xx oil is designed to work well at sub-zero temperatures, a mono-grade SAE-30 should work even better with starting temperatures of 50-75F degrees higher here in SoCal. When I used 10W-30 oil in my Grand Prix in the winter, it would consume a quart between 5000 mile oil changes. When I used SAE-30 in the summer, it would consume less than half a quart. The engine also ran quieter with the SAE-30.

Living in SW Florida, my one-time concern with selecting viscosity based on the seasonal changes has pretty much gone by the board. And maybe it's an unnecessary expense, but I will do an intermediate (3750 mile) oil/filter change between normal scheduled changes, if nothing else, it'll make me feel better! Also it's what I've done with my '90 Honda Accord which currently has 249,000 miles on it and still needs no oil between changes.

And Snaglepus, welcome to THIS Azera forum!...

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My 07' ltd. does the same thing, revs. to about 1800-2000 rmps. I think I read here or another forum that Hyundai has a TSB out on this. The high revs are for miss firing at start. All newer models have the computer reset to start with high revs for the factory.

About the oil the multi-grade is better for modern autos. The high number is cold viscosity, "flow rates";the smaller number is hot viscosity. 10W-30 "30 cold-10 hot." Check other sites or visit major brand oil web sites for more info.

Not to highjack this thread but does anyone know if the MPG go up much in the summer, ie. thinner oil?

Originally Posted by qballlll

My 07' ltd. does the same thing, revs. to about 1800-2000 rmps. I think I read here or another forum that Hyundai has a TSB out on this. The high revs are for miss firing at start. All newer models have the computer reset to start with high revs for the factory.

I'm going to call the dealer maintenance shop to see if the computer can be set to rev no higher than 1000-1200 on start-up. Revving a cold engine that way is the worst thing one can do from a cylinder and cam wear standpoint. For now, I'm simply slapping it into gear as quickly as possible to slow the rev's down. I don't really like doing that either.

Originally Posted by qballlll

About the oil the multi-grade is better for modern autos. The high number is cold viscosity, "flow rates";the smaller number is hot viscosity. 10W-30 "30 cold-10 hot." Check other sites or visit major brand oil web sites for more info.

You've got that backwards. A multi-grade oil (10W-30) has the viscosity of a 10wt oil when it's cold, and the viscosity of a 30wt oil when it's hot. It accomplishes this with heat-activated viscosity improvers. That doesn't mean the the oil's thinner when cold, it isn't. A 10-wt oil at 32F is MUCH thicker than a 30-wt oil at 200F, but it is MUCH thinner than that same 30-wt is at the same temperature.

The only "flow" that's important is the flow to the cams and the throw-off from the connecting rod bearings to oil the cylinder walls. It's here that the high rev's when cold do so much engine wear.

Originally Posted by qballlll

Not to highjack this thread but does anyone know if the MPG go up much in the summer, ie. thinner oil?

Yes, mileage should go up in the summer. The oil will be a little thinner which will contribute to slightly higher mileage, but the bigger contributers will be the reduction in energy lost to a cold environment instead of doing work, and better vaporization of the fuel.

Regards, Gary in Sandy Eggo

qballlll Wrote:
About the oil the multi-grade is better for modern autos. The high number is cold viscosity, "flow rates";the smaller number is hot viscosity. 10W-30 "30 cold-10 hot." Check other sites or visit major brand oil web sites for more info.
You've got that backwards. A multi-grade oil (10W-30) has the viscosity of a 10wt oil when it's cold, and the viscosity of a 30wt oil when it's hot. It accomplishes this with heat-activated viscosity improvers. That doesn't mean the the oil's thinner when cold, it isn't. A 10-wt oil at 32F is MUCH thicker than a 30-wt oil at 200F, but it is MUCH thinner than that same 30-wt is at the same temperature.

I've always known this to be that 10w30 oil, for instance, is thick like a 10 weight but has the viscocity (stickyness) of a 30 weight.

Originally Posted by Snaglepus

Likewise here. I start it with my left hand and immediately pull
it into gear with my right hand just as quickly as possible.

New plan. Until I get around to the maintenance shop to see if it can be re-programmed, here's what I'll be doing to speed things up.

Before starting the car, place the transmission in neutral. Then, as soon as it starts, give it a slap into gear. Much faster than trying to thread the shift lever through the zig-zag and into gear.

I think it is related to the security system. The dealer reset the computer and suggested that there is a problem with a key. But no, nothing worked. Its really annoying. I thought I was the only one with this problem. Did you learn anything because I put this post?