what's the typical break-in period for a new car? i've been hearing all these different things - first 50 miles, first 1000 miles, first 2000 miles, first oil change - ???

 

take the advice of the owners manual.. and search here, we've talking about this ALOT. (you arent just braking in the engine, theres drivetrain and wheelbearings/brakes)

 

still havent received my manual -

 

Did you buy your car new? If so why wasn't it in there? If its a 2K2 make the dealer swap it out of a new one!

 

my dealer told me 1000 and to bring the car in for its first oil change. (on them).

 

yes it was new - and no, it was not IN the car - i have no idea why..

 

yeah, i got a 2k2, and they didnt give me the owners manual, i got the black fake leather holder, but no owners manual. i was told break in is until 1st oil change.

 

im just waiting for them to give me a call to pick it up

 

I like to go to 1,000 miles and do an oil change. You should be broken in at that point. I wouldnt put synthetic oil in until 5,000 miles.

 

Once your broken in, your valve seats and rings etc will have already seated.
You can go to synthetic oil as soon as your broken in.

Some say modern engines have much much less of a breaking -in period than used to be the case.
Many manufactureres fill their vehicles with full synthetic oil from the factory....


Fred...

 

Drive it so you're having fun. I think the whole "new car break in period" thing could be a myth, made-up by ultra conservative people. anyhow, Nissan gave you a warranty right?

 

The break in period is not a myth. You need to take it easy and if possible don't do freeway driving. The are needs to be constantly reving up and down for the rings, valves, etc to seat properly.

I've seen high compression Honda engines that are fully built burn oil because of improperly seated rings. Owner's fault for not breaking in properly. Albeit the engines are running a 10:1 compression, but you get the picture.

 

Go to this link. You can download a PDF copy of the owners manual there.
http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/deptog.asp?dept%5Fid=37

 

The manual is never in the car. They like to hand it to you once you've finished the deal. You should call them to get it. I hope they gave you the window sticker, right?

 

The way a car is broken-in determines how long it lasts (manufacturing defects not withstanding). IMO the major components to be concerned with are 1. the motor, 2. the transmission and drivetrain, and 3. the brakes/suspension.

A motor that's been properly broken in will use very little oil between changes. It will get good gas mileage, idle smoothly, rev freely and pull strong up to redline. It will pass smog emissions checks with low readings.

Transmissions properly broken in will last many years, shift smoothly, and in general be a joy for the owner. The transaxle/drive shafts will be quiet and last a long time.

Brakes/Suspension components will provide good service life and no major failures over the life of the car. Brake pads and rotors will probably be the only components that need replacing over time.

The advice of the other people here is sound, read and follow the owner's manual. If Nissan determines that the break-in procedures were not adhered to you might end up paying for any repairs out of pocket!

I've overheard service writers trying to blame customers for excessive oil use due to improper break-in.

 

OK - I have to ask - How does one properly break in a car. I've never known. This car is the 4th I've ever owned - first 2 were purchased used and got over 150K miles on them with no problems. The last car I had was purchased new, with 3 miles on it at delivery time. And at 62K miles in 3 yrs it had spent well over 2 months in the shop with numerous electrical/alternator related problems but was already showing signs of transmission trouble.

So, my 1 week old Maxima has 500 miles on it right now. My driving is 75% highway/interstate - 25% city.

What should I change for the next 500 miles so that I'm sure to properly break in the car. The dealer just said to drive it cautiously.

 

One of the best sources of information on engine breakin (IMO) are the people who rebuild motors for a living.

Here's some things I've learned from them that apply to new motors:

1. Never drive long distances at the same engine speed. What this means is that you don't get on the freeway and set the cruise control. Forget about cruise control until you have 10,000 miles on the car. It's a lot easier to vary engine speed than you might think. I would shift in and out of overdrive if I was on the freeway for long periods of time. The idea is to mix up the rpm, has something to do with bearings and rings properly seating.

2. Avoid long warm-ups or extended idle. Allow 2 minutes for the engine to start warming up then drive gently until motor is completely warmed up. If you're in a very cold climate you could extend the warm-up time to maybe 5 minutes.

3. Occasionally perform moderate pulls up to 5000 rpm, only when motor and drivetrain are completely warmed up. By the time the engine has 5,000 miles on it you should have done several "pulls" up to 6000 rpm. By the time the motor has 10,000 miles on it there should have been at least a dozen full throttle pulls up to redline followed by coasting down to cruise speed.

At 10,000 miles the engine is pretty much broken in. Another thing I was told to do is occasionally leave the transmission in a lower gear (on the Maxima second gear works great) and do some agressive revving of the motor. Accelerate up to redline from around 3000 rpm, back off and let the car slow down and repeat this several times. If you have a twisty road to drive on this is a great way to do this stretching exercise. I accelerate hard on the straightaways and use the engine braking to get through the curves and pull hard as I'm coming out of the curve.

There are a lot of other things I've heard over the years. Some say to never use overdrive until the engine is broken in. This keeps you from lugging the motor. I used the overdrive sparingly for the first 10,000 miles. This might help to break in the transmission too, keeping the load on it reduced.

NEVER allow the motor to overheat, always keep the oil level topped off, no full throttle starts, first oil change at 2500 miles, etc.

The owner's manual is a pretty good source of information. If you have a machine shop in town (who doesn't?) drop by and ask them about engine break-in techniques. Every one I've been to is more than happy to answer questions.

IMO, if the engine uses 1/2 a quart of oil between oil changes (5000 mile intervals) for the life of the car then the motor is well broken in. My 1982 Toyota 4X4 had 267,000 miles on it when I sold it. It was still using 1/2 a quart of oil between oil changes. The same was true of my 1998 Honda Accord with 100,000 miles on it. That's been my experience with every car I've owned to date.

Good luck!

 

WOW - thank you!

 

thanks for the great info!!