when i first got my scion, it was my first real car that i bought that had some power to it, i went from an 01 civic lx to a scion tc. big jump for me. my question is, which my dealer never told me this, that driving at high rpms during the break in period is bad for the engine. I didn't do it a lot, but I did it every now and then, and then in the first 500 miles, my friend neutral slammed it. Will this make my engine prone to problems in the future? Or will it wear the life of it out? Just my concerns about it...

 

i wouldnt sweat it

 

there's 2 trains of thought in the new car break in world, baby it, or bash it's face in. i don't personally know that either one is better, but i chose the baby it route

 

well, i don't know about that, i'm pretty paranoid about expensive things that i own, and this car is one of the most expensive things i own, being i'm 18, i don't have that much to own. I just want to know if i'm going to expect engine problems in the future now. Maybe that's just the paranoia kicking in.

 

You probably have little to worry about... engineers and designers make the cars almost idiot proof and account for people not doing the same thing when getting a new car. as long as you aren't red lining the baby all the time, a few pushes shouldn't mess things up...

You let other people drive your car???? CRAZY!

 

That was when i first got it, you'd be amazed how many people were jealous. Yeah, it was my best friend. Oooh, I've never red lined it, I'm not that stupid, I don't think? Or maybe I am for letting my friend drive it.

 

Only person who touches my car is my wife, my dad, and my friend Nick (Honey0Bucket), who all respect and love cars just as much as me... I still freak out though... I only trust myself in that baby.

 

I feel that. That's why I'm all like worried because I read the manual and it said to take it easy and not drive high rpms during break-in. I freaked out thinking my engine was going to die somehow. LOL. That's just how I am with my car. I didn't go at high rpms every day, more like once a week.

 

Realistically, if anything crazy broke, you're still warranteed and have no worries... Smile, Love your ride and have fun!

-WDS

 

There is a rev limiter on the car that keeps it from going over the redline. You should break in cars at normal driving speeds and conditions. It does not sound like you will have a problem.

 

This is true, they don't have to know anything. ;)

 

Thanks for all the info. This tC just drives a lot different from my civic, which my civic was an 01. The rpms seem to bounce at lower speeds but i suppose that's normal...

 

if you drive an automatic, "neutral dropping" it can seriously hurt your transmission. If you're trying to simulate the "launch" of a car that you can do with a manual, i wouldn't try.....my friends old 97 honda prelude suffered a few neutral drops....meaning reving in neutral,then cranking into a gear in an automatic....few thousand miles later, his tranny was totaly shot.....if you're into all the race type driving, i would've got a manual....which I did, haha

 

^Then you can just toast the clutch!

 

Great, it only happened once though. Will that hurt it in the long run? :\

 

If u start burnin oil more than normal.. take it in, they should replace the engine.. It has to fall into the toyota standards though.. thats what happen to mine.. had to bring it in every 1k miles till they fixed it.

 

well, it was only ONE time. I don't see how that could damage it?

 

It's fine. Stop worrying.

 

Neutral drops are terrible for a motor. To launch properly, learn how to use the brakes.

The good news is... if a neutral drop were to destroy your tranny, it'd do it immediatley. It wouldn't be some long-term buildup kind of thing. Since it didn't snap that time, then you're ok .

 

well in general, i wouldn't do it anymore in an automatic....no point launching your car in an auto.....if done too many times, you will always get a clunk in your tranny when the auto switches, and even some cracking can occur....if you only did it once, i wouldn't sweat it....but i wouldn't make it a habit....