[frgg]

Hello Guys:

I just like to know if there is a "break-in period" for the engine? I just have 3 weeks with my car but I need to know if I have to treat any different than normal daily driving, or perhaps do I need to take it for a long drive?

Thank a lot.

frgg

 

[jtonline]

Frgg, I think different people have different ideas about breaking-in a new car. Mazda USA, have this to say about a break-in period:

No special break-in is necessary, but a few precautions in the first 1,000 km (600 miles) may add to the performance, economy, and life of the vehicle.

•Do not race the engine
•Do not maintain one constant speed, either slow or fast, for a long period of time.
•Do not drive constantly at full-throttle or high engine rpm for extended periods of time.
•Avoid unnecessary hard stops.
•Avoid full-throttle starts.

The manufacturer's recommended oil change & service intervals vary depending on the country of sale, due to differing operating conditions.

 

[NotAPreppie]

There are many theories about proper break-in for modern engines. Most of them are probably perfectly safe but the safest (from a warranty perspective) is to follow the manufacturer's recommendation.

 

[DJ9999]

The bottom line is just drive like a normal person. Which jtonline bulleted out.

 

[Cman]

I take it easy for the first 1200 kms. Easy on the brakes and I do manual mode while driving upshifting and downshifting varying the engine revs. I also did an oil change at 800kms. Now the next change will be at 4000kms and I go 4k after that for oil changes.

I'm at 1600+kms now about a month since getting the car...............now I let'r rip!!!!!

Tony

 

[greaseman85]

Is this still a thing with modern technology? I've never "broken in" an engine since I bought my first new car in 2006, and I've never had problems.

 

[santa]

Is this still a thing with modern technology? I've never "broken in" an engine since I bought my first new car in 2006, and I've never had problems.

I've never broken a car in either and I bought my first brand new one in 2000 and a few more since then.
All I've done is driven them normally.
I've never changed oil prior to the first oil change, which has been at 20,000-30,000 km depending on model and none of them has had any significant oil usage.

 

[greaseman85]

Yep and this is the first time I've heard of changing the oil before the first scheduled oil change....

 

[DJ9999]

I"ve never heard of any failures attributed to not "breaking in" a vehicle. People do it to make themselves feel good and that's okay.

 

[NotAPreppie]

I broke in my '8 very carefully. Had to rebuild the engine at 55k miles (though after the 8yr warranty was up).
That's probably more to do with the shortcomings of the Renesis engine.

 

[Levi3xt]

I take it easy for the first 1200 kms. Easy on the brakes and I do manual mode while driving upshifting and downshifting varying the engine revs. I also did an oil change at 800kms. Now the next change will be at 4000kms and I go 4k after that for oil changes.

I'm at 1600+kms now about a month since getting the car...............now I let'r rip!!!!!

Tony

I'm pretty well on the same line as Cman. I did my first oil change at about 800kms and my second at 6000kms. (The dealer will do the next at 10,000kms....keep within the warranty). Of course I also took it easy for the first 1000kms BUT, then again I pretty well take it easy most of the time. I can appreciate those who think it's not required but, then again, apart from the cost of the oil and my time it doesn't hurt. In fact it might even help but who knows the truth? To each his/her own.

 

[Geezer]

I"ve never heard of any failures attributed to not "breaking in" a vehicle. People do it to make themselves feel good and that's okay.

On the other hand when I worked at a marina in my youthful days, I had seen some pretty sorry messes that started their existence as outboard motors but were obviously abused until they died a slow and agonizing death (although usually at a very tender age and still supposedly under warranty.) The owners of these atrocities naturally claimed that they had babied their motors and treated them with utter respect. Right!

 

[ghmpm]

Used to be machining was not as good in the old days so extended break-in periods allowed the motor to seat-in and (hopefully) not burn oil etc. Now the tolerances are much closer so an extended period is not necessary. The last few vehicles I have bought new I was told to drive sanely (yeah right) for 100 miles or so. Meaning no jack rabbit starts, vary speed and go easy on brakes and tires etc. This is not a big deal so I do it and have had no problems. In addition, most tires need 50-60 miles to perform well so what is another 30-40 miles?