New Car Break-In Period

[pinkandgrey]

Alright, I'm back with another ridiculous car question for the "car guys" among you. 

Don't worry--I already know not to start the car more than once a day! (an inside joke)

Anyway, the manual says that during the break-in period of 1200 miles, one shouldn't drive at constant speeds or RPMs for long periods of time."

Naturally, that kind of vague language drives (ha) me crazy. What is a "long" period of time?? 30 seconds? Five minutes? An hour? 

Where I live, I have to get on the highway to go anywhere. That means I'm going to be driving roughly 70mph give or take for at least 10 minutes. 

I want to do the break-in period "right" in order to help preserve future reliability. 

Chuckle away and share your thoughts lol 

Thank you!

[Horseshoez]

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@pinkandgrey wrote:

Alright, I'm back with another ridiculous car question for the "car guys" among you. 

Don't worry--I already know not to start the car more than once a day! (an inside joke)

Anyway, the manual says that during the break-in period of 1200 miles, one shouldn't drive at constant speeds or RPMs for long periods of time."

Naturally, that kind of vague language drives (ha) me crazy. What is a "long" period of time?? 30 seconds? Five minutes? An hour? 

Where I live, I have to get on the highway to go anywhere. That means I'm going to be driving roughly 70mph give or take for at least 10 minutes. 

I want to do the break-in period "right" in order to help preserve future reliability. 

Chuckle away and share your thoughts lol 

Thank you!

---

Best way, stay off the highway for the first 1,200 miles.  Yeah, it'll take longer to get anywhere, but you'll be complying with the instructions in your Owner's Manual.

[pinkandgrey]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

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@pinkandgrey wrote:

Alright, I'm back with another ridiculous car question for the "car guys" among you. 

Don't worry--I already know not to start the car more than once a day! (an inside joke)

Anyway, the manual says that during the break-in period of 1200 miles, one shouldn't drive at constant speeds or RPMs for long periods of time."

Naturally, that kind of vague language drives (ha) me crazy. What is a "long" period of time?? 30 seconds? Five minutes? An hour? 

Where I live, I have to get on the highway to go anywhere. That means I'm going to be driving roughly 70mph give or take for at least 10 minutes. 

I want to do the break-in period "right" in order to help preserve future reliability. 

Chuckle away and share your thoughts lol 

Thank you!

---

Best way, stay off the highway for the first 1,200 miles.  Yeah, it'll take longer to get anywhere, but you'll be complying with the instructions in your Owner's Manual.

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I actually CAN'T do that lol; that's the problem. I live in a small town outside of another small town. There are no side roads. 

[Horseshoez]

The goal is to vary the engine speed; how many gears does your transmission have?

[pinkandgrey]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

The goal is to vary the engine speed; how many gears does your transmission have?

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Nine speeds, if I'm not mistaken. 

Gears? Just the standard P, N, D, R? Lol maybe that's not what you're asking

[NoHardLimits]

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@pinkandgrey wrote:

Alright, I'm back with another ridiculous car question for the "car guys" among you. 

Don't worry--I already know not to start the car more than once a day! (an inside joke)

Anyway, the manual says that during the break-in period of 1200 miles, one shouldn't drive at constant speeds or RPMs for long periods of time."

Naturally, that kind of vague language drives (ha) me crazy. What is a "long" period of time?? 30 seconds? Five minutes? An hour? 

Where I live, I have to get on the highway to go anywhere. That means I'm going to be driving roughly 70mph give or take for at least 10 minutes. 

I want to do the break-in period "right" in order to help preserve future reliability. 

Chuckle away and share your thoughts lol 

Thank you!

---

10 minutes at 70mph is fine.  

I had the same question when I took delivery of a new car at the factory, and then had to drive it over 500 miles home.  The "concierge" who walked through my car's setup with me told me to vary my highway speed periodically (assuming 70mph speed limit, try:  65, 80, 70, 60, etc.) and exit every hour or so for a bathroom/food break on local roads.

[pinkandgrey]

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@NoHardLimits wrote:

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@pinkandgrey wrote:

Alright, I'm back with another ridiculous car question for the "car guys" among you. 

Don't worry--I already know not to start the car more than once a day! (an inside joke)

Anyway, the manual says that during the break-in period of 1200 miles, one shouldn't drive at constant speeds or RPMs for long periods of time."

Naturally, that kind of vague language drives (ha) me crazy. What is a "long" period of time?? 30 seconds? Five minutes? An hour? 

Where I live, I have to get on the highway to go anywhere. That means I'm going to be driving roughly 70mph give or take for at least 10 minutes. 

I want to do the break-in period "right" in order to help preserve future reliability. 

Chuckle away and share your thoughts lol 

Thank you!

---

10 minutes at 70mph is fine.  

I had the same question when I took delivery of a new car at the factory, and then had to drive it over 500 miles home.  The "concierge" who walked through my car's setup with me told me to vary my highway speed periodically (assuming 70mph speed limit, try:  65, 80, 70, 60, etc.) and exit every hour or so for a bathroom/food break on local roads.

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Interesting. Good to know. Thanks for the reply! 

[Horseshoez]

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@pinkandgrey wrote:

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@Horseshoez wrote:

The goal is to vary the engine speed; how many gears does your transmission have?

---

Nine speeds, if I'm not mistaken. 

Gears? Just the standard P, N, D, R? Lol maybe that's not what you're asking

---

Does your car have paddle shifters and/or a shifter with a + and - gate?

[IsFiveCardsEnough]

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  If you're driving during rush hour traffic is going to be forcing you to vary your speed all the time anyway, and unless your home and your office are directly off the ramps, you'll have some city/town driving in there too to spread things out.

Take some trips through town too, and you should be just fine.

They just don't want you getting on the highway and doing 70 for hours on end with no variation until things break in.

[pinkandgrey]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

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@pinkandgrey wrote:

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@Horseshoez wrote:

The goal is to vary the engine speed; how many gears does your transmission have?

---

Nine speeds, if I'm not mistaken. 

Gears? Just the standard P, N, D, R? Lol maybe that's not what you're asking

---

Does your car have paddle shifters and/or a shifter with a + and - gate?

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It does