Preferred Break-In Method for new vehicle

[Marcozi]

Thanks for the info. I'm curious to know what BMW recommends for break-in ?

Basically, BMW considers the car to be "broken in" at 1200 miles/2000kms.

From the owner's manual:
Breaking-in period - General information
Moving parts need to be broken in to adjust to each other. The following instructions will help achieve a
long vehicle life and good economy.
Engine and differential
Always obey the official speed limit.
Up to 1,200 miles/2,000 km
Do not exceed the maximum engine and road speed:
▷ For gasoline engine 4,500 rpm and 100 mph/160 km/h.
Avoid full load or kickdown under all circumstances.
From 1,200 miles/2,000 km
The engine and vehicle speed can gradually be increased.

 

[zeroptzero]

Basically, BMW considers the car to be "broken in" at 1200 miles/2000kms.

From the owner's manual:
Breaking-in period - General information
Moving parts need to be broken in to adjust to each other. The following instructions will help achieve a
long vehicle life and good economy.
Engine and differential
Always obey the official speed limit.
Up to 1,200 miles/2,000 km
Do not exceed the maximum engine and road speed:
▷ For gasoline engine 4,500 rpm and 100 mph/160 km/h.
Avoid full load or kickdown under all circumstances.
From 1,200 miles/2,000 km
The engine and vehicle speed can gradually be increased.

Oh wow, I never would have expected BMW to be that conservative. Avoiding full load for 1,200 miles must be hard to do on that car

 

[faltic]

Go Easy but Not Too Easy ?
I brought home a new car in the last 3 weeks - 2024 Subaru BRZ, it was in the dealer show room and it only had 10 kms on it - no test drives ! yay. Everything I've been seeing lately has suggested taking it easy on break-in, while I agree not to drive it like it is stolen, I don't think being too gentle is any good either. Many automotive sources say to keep rpms under 4k, and throttle under 50%. For the first couple weeks I did keep rpms under 4k, and load under 50%, but I did a lot of engine braking too. I am now increasing rpms to 5000 , and more load for short periods of time in the 3k-5k range, the engine redline is 7500 rpms. Break-in is listed as 1000 miles, that seems crazy long to me, to be keeping load and rpms low. I won't be waiting that long, I think that is too gentle of a break-in process. I want to put a bit more pressure on piston rings and piston tops, so I am adding more load from 3000-5000 rpms in higher gears for maybe 5-8 seconds at a time.

At 1500 miles I plan to dump the factory fluid and I'll be running Amsoil 5w20 SS for this year , the car will be put away for winter storage in November and I will only be driving the car on weekends in good weather.

What kind of break in process do you prefer to follow ?

I normally drive all vehicles like the Grandpa I am. A new vehicle the same up to a week then with one or two short bursts of moderate acceleration on each drive for a couple weeks after that and call it good. Oh and change the oil and filter on my normal 6 months low mileage schedule. Never had a new vehicle use oil or exhibit an issue.

 

[zeroptzero]

I took my car out today for one more drive, it has been in winter storage since I brought it home a few weeks ago. I try to take it out on nice dry days to get some mileage on it, and I make sure I get the oil hot and drive for a good distance.

I now have 600 kms (400 miles) on it. I don't think I can wait until 1000 miles (1600 kms) to drive this car like normal, lol. I still plan to dump the factory oil after 1000 miles but I am not driving like a granny for that long.

Today I did some wider throttle and load spurts from 3000-5000 rpm in higher gears. I did a couple of low load rpm sweeps up to 7000 rpms in lower gears, it was low throttle / low load. I should be getting close to the point where rpms and load can be increased, without going too aggressive, a gradual increase. The rings should be fully seated by now. The vast majority of break-in will be done by 500 miles, I won't abuse it but I will start driving normally from that point onwards, but no need to baby it totally, that is the approach I am taking now.

 

[Patman]

You can probably start doing a lot more full throttle pulls now, I would suggest doing a full throttle run starting in second gear from about 3000 rpm up until about 500 rpm below the redline, continuing into 3rd and 4th gear, as long as you have a safe piece of road to do that.

 

[andrew_j]

Seems like a short term ownership vehicle in life unless you have a fleet. Just drive and enjoy it. Break in mostly benefits the end of life owner not new car owner.

 

[PWMDMD]

I've owned Acura, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Subaru, Volvo, Audi, Kia, and just bought another Subaru. I never had any of them consume any meaningful amount of oil and I've never had a major engine problem. I've always followed the manufacturer's suggested break-in as much as possible but can't swear I didn't need to gun it merging onto her highway here or there while still in the break-in period. I usually change the oil at 1,000 miles. After that I'm an oil and filter every 5,000 mile guy. I do run a thicker oil in the Kia than recommended but can't swear that has any meaningful effect above a quality 0W20. After a few thousand miles I usually start doing full throttle merges into the highway. I will do the same with the new Subaru and not over think it.

 

[zeroptzero]

You can probably start doing a lot more full throttle pulls now, I would suggest doing a full throttle run starting in second gear from about 3000 rpm up until about 500 rpm below the redline, continuing into 3rd and 4th gear, as long as you have a safe piece of road to do that.

Thanks Patman, I seem to be right at that point now, I agree with your suggestion. My rpm sweeps were done to about 500 below redline, but low throttle. I do the driving on some country roads with no one around (especially the cops).

 

[zeroptzero]

Seems like a short term ownership vehicle in life unless you have a fleet. Just drive and enjoy it. Break in mostly benefits the end of life owner not new car owner.

Good point. I have always been a guy to say that I want to keep my vehicles for life and run them into the ground, but in reality I never owned any of them beyond five years, mileage and boredom always got me, lol . I do want to keep the BRZ long term hence it being a garage queen, but we will see what life tosses my way in the future. Thanks

 

[zeroptzero]

I've owned Acura, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Subaru, Volvo, Audi, Kia, and just bought another Subaru. I never had any of them consume any meaningful amount of oil and I've never had a major engine problem. I've always followed the manufacturer's suggested break-in as much as possible but can't swear I didn't need to gun it merging onto her highway here or there while still in the break-in period. I usually change the oil at 1,000 miles. After that I'm an oil and filter every 5,000 mile guy. I do run a thicker oil in the Kia than recommended but can't swear that has any meaningful effect above a quality 0W20. After a few thousand miles I usually start doing full throttle merges into the highway. I will do the same with the new Subaru and not over think it.

The only part of 1000 mile (1600 kms) break-in I find hard is the 4000 rpm suggestion limit. I don't really drive my cars very hard and WOT high rpm driving would not be that hard to avoid, but keeping it under 4000 rpms and 50% throttle for 1000 miles is too much. I will use the 500 mile mark instead.

I renewed my insurance this spring and it became apparent how much insurance companies want to gouge existing customers. I've been accident free for 40 years, no speeding tickets, yet they wanted to hammer me on the Subaru BRZ car being added to the existing policy. I told them their pricing was crazy stupid, but they insisted their figures were correct. They forced me to switch companies and I found a great price on insurance with a different provider. I ended up saving a lot of money including my home, and my Subaru BRZ price is very affordable. I know a clean driving record is key though when searching for new insurers, speeding tickets can bite you bad and it sticks with you for quite a few years.

 

[odie]

KIA / HYUNDAI break in period . Page 2 .

O

Thread 'KIA Soul oil level reading is different'

Oct 22, 2024

from previous vehicles . Noticed this last night in the owners manual . Throughout the years I've used the NORMAL check of the oil level by checking the dipstick 15 > 20 minutes later after running . Then remove the dipstick to clean it off , reinstall and take it out for the oil LEVEL ( sometimes twice ) . Never removed oil cap or leave dipstick out of tube before the reading . Reason for this post is that the oil level of the new '25 Soul ( 2 Ltr. ) is reading around 3/4 between Low + Full with the usual method . Will be interesting to see if it reads higher with KIA's directions . The...

• odie
• Replies: 34
• Forum: Mechanical/Maintenance Forum

 

[KCJeep]

My method.

1) Make sure it’s fully warmed up.

2) Flog it like a rented mule.

 

[zeroptzero]

My method.

1) Make sure it’s fully warmed up.

2) Flog it like a rented mule.

Let me guess, your cars never burn a drop of oil either

 

[KCJeep]

Let me guess, your cars never burn a drop of oil either

How did you know?

 

[zeroptzero]

I checked the motor oil level this morning on my new car, it was down about 1/8th of a quart - with 400 miles on the car.

I checked the oil with the engine cold, and after it sat all night. I will compare it to hot levels next time I drive it, see how it compares. 0w20 oil and the break-in process should easily account for that small drop ?