What does the tC manual say about a break in period?

[eugovector]

The topic says it all. Noe that we have some tC owners, presumedly who have read their manuals, does it say anything specifically about a break in period?

[mackabee]

It's amazing how few people read their owner's manuals. New vehicles sold by Toyota/Lexus/Scion don't require an elaborate break-in period as cars did before. It is recommended that during the first 1000 miles the vehicle be driven around 2000-4000 Rpm, avoid jack rabbit starts, sudden acceleration, etc,. Basically you have to give time for the engine to "break in" this will result in longer engine life, better mpg, etc. Hope this helps.
:D
Mackabee

[CervezA]

thats it eh? I've been takin' it pretty easy w/my tC for the "break-in." been keepin the revs around 3k, 4k once in a while. one thing that my sis told me about from when she had to break in her rsx is that you don't want to shift at the same rpm all the time. it'll wear the cylinders unevenly. not too sure how true that is, but i'm takin the precautions just to be safe.

[eugovector]

Well, I'm looking at an auto, so I'll let the car determine the shiftpoints.

I live in RI right now, so I'm thinking I'm going to buy the car in Iowa where my parents live. I will hopefully be able to register, pay the tax, and insure it there, then drive it back to RI. Not only will I save money on taxes and insureance, but I'll be done with the break in period before I even get it home (1400 miles).

[CervezA]

try to stay away from the cruise control during the break-in. constant rpms is frowned upon as far as i know.

[TC_Sweetie]

Can anyone give me some more information about the break in period for a automatic ... mine is supposed to be coming late next week early next week! Not that i drive aggressively, im a chick and i never beat the hell out of my cars cuz that's just retarded

[SERG4U]

I know your not to slam brakes unless you need to.

Like when you come to a redlight just slow down way way ahide of time and when you come to a stop you shouldnt feel a jerk at all.

If you have to brake hard then do it but dont barke hard just because.
I would do this for the first 1000miles


BTW the stock brakes on my 03 corolla lasted 33k(95% city driving)

Right now I'm at 62k and looks like I might need some new brakes.

One more thing.....warrming up the car. Ok first off I always thought that I should warm it up untill the RPMS droped to just under 1k

Then my brother read his manual on his 01 330i and it said not to do it for longer then 30-40 sec. Well I'm not sure but because it is a BMW it might be differant.

Now that my car has over 60k miles on it I just let it warm up for about 30sec in the summer and like 1min in the winter (NOTE: I live in Socal)

Can someone post what the manual says?

[UnFocused]

My manual for my 05' xB says somthing to the effect of- warming up the engine is unessasary and wastes fuel. Warming up the engine should be done by driving the vehicle slowly for the first few minutes.

With my past Focus, i alway let it warm up a couple of minutes. With my xB, i let it warm up while im putting my seatbelt on and adjusting the HVAC, and radio ( about 30-60 seconds) then it takes me a couple of minutes to get out of my huge subdivision- so by the time i hit the freeway, its been running for a few minutes...

[erc]

My "local" scion dealership is a 3 hour highway drive from me. Varying the RPMs is going to be difficult; maybe I'll take the back roads.. but damn that's gonna be a long drive home.

[CervezA]

as far as breaks go, after 100 miles, they're broken in. Everytime you get your pads changed, it's 100 miles before you can think about stompin on 'em. as far as breaking the rest of the car in.. just don't drive like a maniac 'til your first oil change and you'll be fine; 1000 miles, even

[GeminiTwin]

Does anyone have some advice about whether it would be better in the long run to break in the car:

1. Over about a month long period with lots of short drives in between home and work and some longer drives here and there

2. Over a couple of weeks by trying to drive it more than I normally would.

3. Over a weekend by taking a trip from SD to the Bay Area (while trying not to stay at the same speed for long which will be difficult).

Note: My tC will be an Automatic and I'm assuming a break-in period of about 1,000 miles. I'd prefer to do option 1 or 2 as longs as there isn't a reason that those would be a bad idea. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks, Jayme

[vAnt]

BTW the stock brakes on my 03 corolla lasted 33k(95% city driving)

That's probably because you slowly brake... Slowly braking wears the brake faster then just slamming... Think about it... It's like a clutch... If you make sure the clutch is completely off or on... Then your clutch isn't going to wear as fast... But when you let the clutch 'slip' on or off... You are going to wear the clutch faster... The same thing applies to brakes... And when you brake slowly from the red light... Not only are you going to wear out your breaks faster... But your going to ____ off the person behind you...

So far... My Grandpa's 1995 Altima has never had his breaks replaced and it has yet to squeel... (110k miles btw... Mostly city)

Our 1991 Celica never needed replacements either and we sold it at 120k miles...

2001 X5 never replaced brakes yet...
2002 Camry never replaced brakes yet...

We always buy our cars brand new so no previous owners...

Are you driving with your brakes constantly on or something?

[RussianTC]

Originally Posted by GeminiTwin

Does anyone have some advice about whether it would be better in the long run to break in the car:
3. Over a weekend by taking a trip from SD to the Bay Area (while trying not to stay at the same speed for long which will be difficult).

I like option 3... that way you can show me your car

[GeminiTwin]

Originally Posted by RussianTC

I like option 3... that way you can show me your car

RussianTC, very funny I'm glad you were honest about why you picked option 3 but as much as I will want to show off my new ride, I really want to do what is best for the car (still not sure which option that would be). -Jayme