I just bought a 2008 Hyundai Elantra, and love it. However, I am confused about the wording in the owner’s manual about the break in period (first 600 miles for Hyundai). It states not to maintain a constant speed for a long period of time, and am wondering what they mean by “a long period of time.” Do they mean over an hour or half an hour? I do drive on the freeway for about 15 miles going to and from work every day, and am doing about 65-70 mph during this stretch, and the rest (about 15 miles) is about 50 mph on a US Highway with stop lights.
Can you do 60, then 65 then 70, then start again? Three minutes each would be good but don’t go crazy trying to be perfect. Okay, maybe ten minutes and switch. 600 miles will be over before you know it anyway.
65-70 is not constant. What they mean is do not place the cruise control on a empty highway at 63MPH for a 5 hour stretch for the initial miles.
Your normal driving routine fits the bill perfectly. You do about 12 minutes at high speed then 15 miles of acceleration then decelleration to a stop, several times in succession. Plus some idling. Excellent! That is exactly what the manual specifies. You need not take any additional measures.
I agree with Steve. Your normal driving routine sounds just right.
Agree that actiual daily city driving is close to ideal for break-in. I had to break in a Tyota by going on a trip. It was tough to drive relatively slow and vary my speed up and down for the first 1000 miles or so. The pupose of the speed variation is to get the rings to seat properly so there will be no oil consumption later.
Thanks everyone. With the amount of driving I do to and from work and around town on the weekends, I’ll probably hit 600 miles by the end of next week.