Hyundai Santa Fe Oil Changes for the New Boxy Turbo and the Older Ones

The Santa Fe was redesigned for 2024 into a squared-off three-row SUV, and its gas version now comes only with a 2.5L turbocharged engine paired with an eight-speed wet dual clutch transmission. Earlier Santa Fes, from the 2019 to 2023 generation and before, used several different engines and conventional automatics. So the first thing we ask a Santa Fe is its year, and the second is what the oil cap says.

What the current manual specifies

Hyundai's online 2025 Santa Fe owner's manual lists the engine oil at about 6.13 US quarts for a drain and refill, full synthetic, API SN PLUS or SP or ILSAC GF-6, SAE 0W-30. The 0W-30 is a step heavier than the 0W-20 in most non-turbo Hyundais, and the manual says that using a lower-grade oil, mineral or semi-synthetic, moves the car to the severe schedule.

The same manual lists the normal schedule at 8,000 miles or 12 months for oil and filter, and the severe and low-mileage schedule at 5,000 miles or 6 months. Spark plugs on the turbo are due every 48,000 miles, half the interval of Hyundai's non-turbo 2.5L. Coolant is first replaced at 120,000 miles or 120 months, then every 24,000 miles or 24 months.

The wet dual clutch transmission

The eight-speed wet DCT uses two separate fluids, a cooling oil of about 3.5 quarts and a control oil of about 2.6 quarts, each a specific GS WDCTF product named in the manual. Under severe use, Hyundai lists replacement of the dual clutch fluid every 56,000 miles.

Towing a trailer or driving in heavy stop-and-go traffic are both on Hyundai's severe list, and both are the kind of use a three-row SUV gets around here. If your Santa Fe tows a small camper to Topaz Lake or crawls along South Virginia Street at rush hour, ask us to look at the transmission line on your schedule. We will tell you what the manual says before we suggest anything.

Northern Nevada items on a Santa Fe

• Turbo plus altitude: our Gardnerville service center sits at about 4,785 feet (USGS), and the turbo works harder in thin air, one more reason to stick with the specified 0W-30.
• Hot summers: Minden averages about 68 days a year at 90 F or more (NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals), which loads the cooling system and the A/C.
• AWD models carry a rear differential and transfer case with 75W-85 GL-5 gear oil, covered by our differential service.
• Cabin and engine air filters, which dust and smoke load quickly.
• Battery test at participating locations before winter.

Drive in

Any of our four service centers, no appointment: Mae Anne Avenue and Longley Lane in Reno, College Parkway in Carson City, US 395 in Gardnerville. We pour the grade the manual lists for your year and engine, change the filter, run the multi-point maintenance check, and reset the oil-life reminder. You hear what we found before anything else is done.