Honda break in any advice

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I am picking up my 2009 Honda Crv this Tuesday coming up.

It has 70 miles on the odometer .

Reading the forums here and had a few questions on break in procedure.

Feel free to add any suggestions.

The info I found here so far is to leave the factory oil fill in until OLM gets down to around 10-20 %
and avoid crusing at steady speeds, making sure to keep a load on the motor.

I have never owned a new car and had heard that you should be easy on the brakes , is that true ?

Since my factory oil fill will take me close to winter I am thinking of either running a short oci with PYB 5-20

or will I be ok to just switch to PP 5-20 for the winter ?

We rack up 10,000 miles a year so I am planning on changing the oil very 5,000 miles ( twice a year )

I bought a bunch of PP with mobil 1 filter sale at AA so I am set for a few years and it only cost me another $10 per

oci to run PP with a M1 oil filter .

The reason for synthetic is that in Pa we do get some cold temps.
 
Sounds like you've already got it figured out.

Honda says to leave the factory fill in until the MM tells you to change it. I haven't seen much reason to do otherwise. Vary your engine RPM during the first few hundred miles. Don't stress the brakes for the first couple hundred.

I followed Honda's easy break-in steps, but my engine didn't feel its best until well after 10,000 miles. I'd probably go about it a different way if I had to do it over again. Drive it like you mean to drive it--don't avoid higher RPMs with a warm engine, but be certain that throttle changes are gradual and shifts are smooth. I definitely wouldn't beat on it, ever, but I'd like the engine to start developing appropriate wear patterns from the get-go.

After you've dumped the factory fill I suspect you'll be fine with any properly certified oil you choose. PP will do right by you. So will YB.

If your paint job is anything like mine, it's an amazing rock magnet. Better to buy a small stash of touch-up paint while they still offer the original stuff for your vehicle.

Anyway, congrats on your new ride, and have fun.
 
I asked the same question a week ago, since I just bought a Acura TL. There is anectodal evidence thru UOA's that the factory fill oil has high amounts of Moly and ZDDP. I have just come to a conclusion that I will follow the OLM and change it when its down to 10% so when I do a UOA it will let me know what the TBN is and how accurate the OLM is.
 
I had a CRV a few years ago and left the factory fill in until I got to 20%. Engine was one of the best little 4 cylinders I've ever had. One thing though....when I ran Mobil 1 5w-20 in it I had a very slight chatter in the engine that I could perceive between shifts or at stop lights. When I changed out to either Amsoil XL or Penzoil Platinum I never had the noise.
As for break-in be sure you don't 'load' the engine all the time. Reverse loading (lower gear while going downhill...causing reverse pressure on the rings) is also important. Just vary your driving as much as possible and take many hilly trips (up and down) in your area. After about 1k miles you've really got most of the break-in done. I would say at that point drive it normally.
 
Thanks for the info I appreciate the info. interesting idea on the reverse pressure on the rings, it makes sense. also nice to confirm the brakes break in procedure. I know about the Honda pain already as I detail cars, easy to fix but they scratch easy. sounds like driving around the city in my area will be good for it, we have lots of different size hills and varying terrain. the tough thing will be driving to work as it is 3 miles city driving and 7 miles highway. guess I will be making others on the road crazy with varying my speed LOL !
 
Do a VOA on the new Honda factory fill and post the results ....
thumbsup2.gif
 
Lol that is a good suggestion also. if I remember to pull a small sample of the factory fill I will send it out ans get a VOA, hasn't that been done before ?
 
Drive it like you normally would, but I'd give it a few good runs in the upper RPM range during the course of a trip.
 
just avoid hard-starts and sustained freeway speeds for however long the manual says (and anything else the manual says too). otherwise drive it like you normally would.
 
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