NjDude

The dealer told me that there is no "break in period" for the IS, "no need to baby your car". Is this true ?

mcfly

The dealer hasn't read the owner's manual. You should.

caymandive

iTrader: (2)

Too controversial, but I believe it myself and I also believe the car will make more power and consume less oil in the long run if you drive it fairly hard during the 1st 20 miles of ownership. This creates an even wear pattern around the piston rings and the cylinder wall. To get the best possible even breakin this requires hard driving for the first few miles (20) as opposed to buying a car and letting it idle, which would be far worse than any of the other break in methods.

Biggest thing I was worried about during the first 1000 miles of driving was to make sure I wore the brake rotors in properly.

mcfly

Agreed. Break it in with plenty of changes in engine RPM and load. Sitting idle is the worst thing you can do.

caymandive

iTrader: (2)

I would say for the first 500 miles (1st 20 miles are the critical ones) drive at varrying engine speeds. Dont baby it but dont shoot the moon with it. The key is seating the rings in a variety of partial throttle and short bursts of acceleration. After accelerating let off the throttle, while still in gear, letting the engine slow down the car.

Also, keep in mind the new motor will consume a little bit of oil durring break in and even after. Heavy abuse will consume oil on even a healthy motor.

Bichon

I believe in following the manufacturer's recommendations, spelled out in the owners manual, which advise avoiding hard acceleration and varying the speed a lot during the first 1000km (621 miles?) I've done this with all my vehicles, and it has worked well for me.

If you decide to go with the school of thought that says to run it real hard during break in, at least have the good sense to let the engine warm up (by driving moderately) before you hammer it.

Tony1

The manual claims 621 miles is the magic number of which it's broken in.. lol

ahohnstein

1000 km = 621 miles. !@#$ i just stated the obvious.... I guess i was just trying to say that it's not some random odd number that they threw out.

flipside909

A good well broken in motor will have less chances of having oil leakage, especially through the valve cover seals as it ages. The first 500-1000 miles, you should drive easily...and varying your engine speeds are definitely a plus. Avoid jackrabbit starts (as your manual should say)..keep it below 4k if you can or less if possible and don't use the cruise control on long stretches. Planting it into redline every chance you get during the first 1,000 miles will not do you any good. Take it easy the first 500-1000 miles and you shouldn't have a problem years to come.

Yuri

I just passed my 1000miles should I change the oil or wait for the 5,000miles as stated in the owners manual?

mcfly

Some people like an early change to remove any particulate matter from the oil that was shed during break-in. Others think it's unnecessary. You'll have to make up your own mind based on the available evidence.

I've alwasy done an oil change on my vehicles early, but lately have decided it's most likely not needed.

caymandive

iTrader: (2)

I'm not doing my 1st oil change until I hit 5000 miles per the dealership instruction. I have 2500 mi on my car now and when I checked the oil on the dipstick lst week it looks perfect so far. The oil is as clear as it gets and hasn't burned any that I can tell.

mcfly

Clear or dark oil isn't any indication of it's ability to continue to resist shearing forces and provide lubrication. The only way to tell what state your oil is in is to get an oil analysis done.

Looking at your oil and deciding "yup, still good" is like a doctor looking at a patient and declaring "yup, perfect health" without actually making an examination.

NjDude

Thank you everyone for your valued input.

eg6turbo

my friend works at the toyota plant in fremont and he said that when a car come off the line...someone jumps in and floors that ****** to 90 mph and drives it about a couple miles really hard and fast to check for wind noise.....