i have a 2k1 maxima and it's brand new. is it true that there's no need to give the engine any "break-in" time because it's some new type of engine? that's what the dealer told me -- but i'm not sure if he knew what he was talking about. i've been driving it without any regards to the new negine since the dealer told me there was no need to, but i haven't been driving hard or anything. the engine currently has 450 miles on it. any information would be helpful!

 

It's only my opinion but, I think he was full of crap... or full of ideas of you coming in for future repairs. Think about it. You inflict unnneeded wear on your engine from the beginning, and that's all the more likely you'll be back in his garage, time and time again, over the life of your car. FACT: Dealerships don't make money on sales, they make it on repairs! Don't take the chance, take it slow til 1000 miles.

 

so you're suggesting that i keep it under 60mph for the first 1000 miles? sounds good. i wasn't going much faster than that anyways.

 

did you read the manual that came with your car?

 

i think the consensus is that our cars break in very slowly. some say that you'll see gains in efficiency and power up to ~10,000 miles. i personally haven't noticed much difference during my 49,000 miles of driving.

 

I drove all my cars from day one just like I drive every day. I drove hard sometimes, then cruised at times. I did 60 and 100 MPH. Even WOT to redline. I have NEVER had any mechanical problems or oil consumption on any of my vehicles. All got above average gas mileage including my Maxima which gets up near 30MPG on the highway! My old Honda had 170,000 miles on it and was still going stong. Just drive the car like you intend to. Be smart, make sure the oil is always full and clean. Do your first oil change at 1,000 miles. Other then that, there is no need to break in new cars.

Do you think indy 500 cars get the 1,000 mile break in before they race them?

 

Do indy cars get 170,000 miles out of their engines?

 

Drive it as you like...

That's asinine.. You are also breaking in the drivetrain (bearings and seals seating). That's why you are supposed to keep it under 60mph (the speed recommendation has nothing to do with the engine).
Go have a transmission put in.. what do you think they will tell you??? well??? yeah, take it easy for the first 1000 miles. Cars 101....

Also, Honda engine are NOT Nissan engines. Nissan uses a different microfinish on the cylinders. Nissans still require a breakin for the engine. They also last 2x longer than others. Thats the trade off. I would not run a nissan engine hard before giving everything a chance to break in. You will probably increase the likelihood that the car will use oil or smoke later in life. But hey njmaxseltd, good luck with yours...

You don't think Indy engines are tested before racing them? sheesh..

 

so do you think that i may have messed up my transmission/engine by going over the suggested speeds for the "breaking-in" period? as i had said, i only have like 480 miles on it, but i have done a little amount of heavy driving on the car. from now on i'm only going to drive 60mph and below until i reach my 1000 mark

 

don't sweat it. Salesmen go out and rag brand new cars pretty hard and they don't break. it happens. Proper break-in is insurance. I honestly believe you will be ok.

To argue the owners manual is BS, is asisine. Follow it as best you can. Truthfully, 60mph on our interstates will get you killed. Sometimes you have to merge and it takes 5000K to do it. It cant be avoided. Just respect the concept of break-in. Be good to it and it will be good to you

 

Once again it proves what morons most dealers are! The manual states 1000 miles, alternating speeds and no long distance constant-speed driving. No you don't need to break it in by driving like a senior citizen, nor do you want to redline it in every gear. Follow the manual (as everyone has said)as best as you can and you should be fine.

 

 

A good rule of thumb is never go above 3k. Doing 65 is ok on the break-in period. Even Honda's have a 600 mile break in period so the dealer is an a$$. Don't the engine in the Indy cars get taken apart after each race and repaired?

 

Basically, although the cylinders are highly polished and microfinished, my dealer and service guys said you should keep the tach under 3k....and vary your speeds if you are going on a long trip in the first 1000 miles or so....every half hour....so you don't make any hot spots...crap or no, thats what I did....after 1,000 miles, you should be able to do whatever you want to do!

Also, on the oil thing (at 1,000), this is getting to be a old time tale that is no longer applicable...in fact, Honda explicitly now saying don't do this, because the factory is adding additives to the oil to help things seat/seal better...so a basic oil change to get rid of metal shavings at that point, as opposed to waiting until 3750, is doing more harm than good.

 

Honda specifically states in their owner's manual that they put an additive in their oil. Nissan does not do that.

FOLLOW THE FRIGGIN' OWNER'S MANUAL. Take it easy for the first 1,000 and change the oil after the specified mileage (don't have a manual in front of me).

Geez... this isn't rocket science.

 

you need to calm the hell down

 

this breakin question gets asked ALOT.. nothing personal, people just get alittle snippy after repeating themselves alot.

 

Twice I've experience the results of someone being ignorant to the break-in. One was on a friends VR6 Volksvagon, moron floored it since he got it (~250ish? miles). Then he couldn't understand why identical VR6 Volks are faster than his, even with mods.

With my company's Dodge Caravans too. Received 4 brandnew 20 mile on the odo, I drove one, two new guys (younger, notorious tire squeeler in the Co) and one of the old men. Being Co cars we did switch on occasion, but we had 2-3k on the Odo by that point. Around the 50,000 mile mark, I decide decided to check the AvgMpg display of the vans. Mine read 18mpg (all city), the old guys van 20mpg (mix), the new guys 15&16mpg (75% highway). After howling on them for driving the vans too hard, with their denial the whole time, I took one for a week. NEVER GOT THE THING OVER 14MPG. Gave it to the old man for a week 16MPG!

Everyone think and do as they please, I won't (and the new guys, too)floor till it gets close 4-5k miles.

 

YES....good info man...good, i've been waiting for this kind of comparasion with the same cars and different guys with different drivings....here it is, a FACT, brake in your car properly...i broke mine all the way up to 1500 miles. just DO IT...its no biggie , save the fun for later

 

back to the first oil change. My first one i did at 2000 miles instead of 1000, for some reason i thought it had to be 2. Is that bad? I breok e the car in perfectly though till 1K varied speed and all.

 

i'm planning on getting my oil changed for the first time when the car eaches 1500 miles. i'm on 980 right now, but i'm going away for today for the weekend and i won't be back; i'll just change it when i'm back home.

 

I agree about breaking in, but what about test driving. Are we all not guilty of tearing the **** out out of a test drive vehicle? I like to know what the car can do. Most likely, your car was test driven by someone and my guess is that they were not too friendly with it. So don't get too **** about breaking it in because most likely someone has already done it for you.

 

That is why you order your car and wait for it. If the car has more than 30 miles on it, I won't buy it.

 

just drive it as you would like......

 

truer words have never been spoken.

 

my 2k2 has about 1300km on it now. I took it easy most of the time, but as pointed out sometime you gotta give it to merge etc. I know its hard not to stand on it, ive done it 3 or 4 times but dont I dont sweat it. its not like im taking it to redline in every gear everytime I drive.