What would you consider to be adequate miles to fully break-in an xB automatic. I now have 960 miles on mine----with only 330 of that at highway speeds the remainder is city.

 

It was broken in when it hit the dealers lot. There is no breakin period for new cars. Thats an old idea which is no longer relavent....

 

Riiight...don't tell him to read his manual...I mean, it's not like you're a DEALER or anything...



Personally, I'd find a different source for my Scion if I lived in or near Hatfield, PA.

Oh, and just to add my own PERSONAL opinion, I changed the oil at 1000 miles in both my wife's xA and my xB, and I found SIGNIFICANT metal flakes...nothing I was concerned with, because it's normal during BREAK-IN, but it made me very glad I changed the oil when I did.

 

xActly is right on the money.

I also agree with changing the oil frequently while breaking in.

I changed mine at 250 miles, 500 miles, 1000 miles, and then at 2000 I put in synthetics and started with normal oil change intervals.

I'm a little more **** about that than most, but like xActly said, I could see suspended metal in the oil when you had it in the light it looked like metal flake paint. By the change at 2000 miles that was gone.

 

A little supporting info will help understand.
My dealer that great source of reliable info, says that Toyota runs engines at the factory and puts about ( 400 to 600) miles on the engine to break it in before it ever gets into a car body.

That said, I still took it easy for the first thousand miles and then ramped up the RPM slowly.

I figure I will be living with the car for years so why not break it in slowly. Whats the rush.

Being an oil weenie I changed to Mobil one at 1000 miles. And do change the oil more frequently then the book says for the first few thousand miles.

I did this on a Honda Accord and it required no oil to be added between changes when it had 125k miles on it. Your mileage may carry…

 

My question is, when do we change the trans fluid if we want the Xb to last for ever?

 

I say it would be safe to do the switch to synthetics now. I waited till 1K.
That's funny about "no such thing as breaking in a vehicle". Did they suddenly lose all their moving mechanical parts inside the engine??? I can't believe he actually made that comment. And a dealer no less. LMFAO

 

Switch to synthetic tranny fluid the same time as motor oil. 1,000 miles. Hope this helps.
I did this to my last work van and retired it (still running fine) with 500,000 miles. Never even opened up either engine or trans except for filter changes.

 

I am a newbie on trans fluid. Can you recommend a synthetic trans fluid? I want to get 500k out of my trans too!

 

Mobil 1 for the motor and Royal Purple for the trans.

 

Just what does the oil filter on these cars do? The Toyota oil filter allows visible metal flakes in the oil to just pass through? What do they use for filter media - chicken wire?

 

Was there a point to this post, or are you just trying to find some way to defend a moron? Guilt by association, and all that...

Maybe you're ok leaving metal flakes in your oil, confident that the $4 mass-produced filter will take care of each & every one of them. I'm not ok with that. I personally like CLEAN oil. Call me crazy.

 

"... I changed mine at 250 miles, 500 miles, 1000 miles, and then at 2000 I put in synthetics and started with normal oil change intervals."

That is what I would do, too. Did you have to raise the car somehow to get at the oil filter? I could not reach the filter.

"... My dealer... says that Toyota runs engines at the factory and puts about (400 to 600) miles on the engine to break it in before it ever gets into a car body."

Nonsense - imagine what that would cost. Not one car maker does that.

"... I changed the oil at 1000 miles in both my wife's xA and my xB, and I found SIGNIFICANT metal flakes..."

That is a problem and you should make an issue with the dealer. There could be trouble down the road.

 

No that is not a problem. That is normal during break-in and that is why it was good that I changed the oil at 1000 miles. Subsequent oil changes (every 2000 miles) have shown no abnormalities in the amount of engine wear.

 

Modern engines are closely machined and need minimal break in. Break in wear should consist of polishing the mating surfaces, which produces microscopic wear particles trapped by the filter. Production of flakes of metal indicates a problem that is more than break-in. The reason that flakes of metal are not trapped by the filter is that they are too heavy to circulate with the oil. The question is where they came from. To be safe, I would document the flakes with the dealer, in case something happened after the warranty was up.

 

This is a common misconception. Complaining about an issue that is not present while in warranty does not extend your warranty. If it were the case, everyone would go in saying my engine knocks sometimes, the trans slipped once, all the wheel bearings sometimes make noise when the car has 35K miles and then show up at 75K miles with a broke engine or trans saying "I told you about this at 35K miles and you didn't fix it, here's my documentation. Now fix it free. Not trying to flame but I see it at my dealer all the time (not Toyota). My recommendation, buy the extended warranty or trade it in before the factory warranty is up if you are worried about it.

 

My first oil change was at 500 miles.

Used Mobil 1 and filter. Some say its too early for synthetic, but I have had no issues and currently get 31~32 mpg every fill.

Visible metal flakes does not sound normal, I would be concerned. I cannot believe that Japanese mechanics and techs would leave that obvious of manufacturing debris in a product. Trust me, I'm Japanese and it would be a blow to my pride of craftsmanship to do so!

And lastly, I find it hard to believe that Scion runs each motor for an equvalent 400~600 miles. Time and cost prohibitive...unless there is hard proof of this somewhere.

 

The motors are run long enough to bring them up to operating temp and check for leaks then sent to the line for installation. Thats all. It wouldn't make sense to run them 400-600 miles.

 

Just to let you know, I switched to synthetic at 500 miles and changed the oil at 1000. Since I'm a heavy foot driver I'm only seeing 29-30mpg. I'll be changing the oil again at 1500 though. The next will be 3000 miles.

 

It is widely published that Toyota makes some of the best filters around. I am staying with them for the life of the vehicle, and yes, I change my own oil.

I am lowered nearly 2" and am not a small guy (6'0" 250#) and I can reach mine. You sure you are reaching in the right place? It is just to the right of center.

Moved to M&CC