Anybody have any thoughts on engine break-in? I am considering taking an 1100-mile trip with my newly purchased Totoya Corolla. Would you recommend such a trip?
Follow your owners manual. No other method. What’s so difficult?
Your owner’s manual probably says something about the break-in period. It would be advisable to put a few miles on the car before starting the trip and then vary the speed. By varying the speed, this should help the piston rings to seat. You should certainly avoid sustained high speeds.
It is not just the engine that needs to be broken in. Every part of the drive train, the brakes and the tires are new. If you are driving in a cooler climate as opposed to the desert, the cooler air circulating around the engine and new parts is good for break-in. If you can put a couple of hundred miles on the car before you go and then drive gently, varying the speed when possible, you will probably be fine.
As others have suggested, READ THE OWNER’S MANUAL. It will explain the break-in procedure. Whether or not you should take your trip depends on the driving involved.
Back roads, with varying speeds? OK, go for it.
Interstate highway with speeds of 70 mph or more for 1100 miles? Not a good idea for a new car.
Once again, READ THE MANUAL.
No problem at all IMHO. Break-in will occur in the first few miles anyway. The only don’t would be to run it an an extended high speed for a lot of miles. Vary it a bit at times; 60, 70. 65, and so on.
I recently purchased a new car and had to travel back & forth to a city 180 miles away. The MANUAL specifically said not to drive at either high or low speed for a long time, so I varied my speed on the freeway, occasonally accelrating fast and never driving 70 mph very long. I must have made a nusance out of myself, but the engine is nicely broken in now and oil consumption is nil.
Drive like you normally do(likely no high revs) and forget about it. My Civic sold with 225k never had a single internal engine repair nor oil consumption, it spent its first 800 miles driving on pure highway with cruise on at 70MPH.
I should add there was no break in procedure recommended in the manual. Just follow what is there if not drive normally.
As has already been stated, the absolute best advice that you could find on this topic is contained in a book that is sitting in your glove compartment.
While I do hope that you read it, the advice will likely say something like “vary your speed, avoid jackrabbit starts, and avoid speeds over 70 mph for x,xxxx miles”. But, rather than trusting me or anyone else on this board, you really have to read this book yourself–beginning with the break-in instructions and the information on controls, gauges and warning lights, and graduating to the rest of the book after you have read these basic points.
That being said–I’m sorry but I have to ask this–What do most people think that the Owner’s Manual contains? Since it is obvious that few people ever actually open this fantastic source of information, I have to wonder what they imagine is contained in that book. Why do so many people think that this book could not possibly pertain to them or to their car, despite the title–Owner’s Manual.