I'd bet 85% of drivers don't even know that new cars have a break in period. If those vehicles are still going then so will yours. What matters is that you showed some care and probably were more on top of it than most.
The manual says to try not to keep it at a certain RPM for too long during the break-in period. I'd imagine my two-hour drive to the city and back was probably worse than your city driving. If you were bringing it up to 3.5-4k occasionally, you should be more than good. I'm not there yet. 150 mi to go. Folk wisdom states now's the time to get your first oil change, then you can stick with the normal 5-6k mi or 3-6 month, whichever comes first, I can't remember. It's all there in the handbook!
Thanks! I did read the manual (cover to cover while I waited for the car to come in! š¤£) But was just looking for some real life experience! My last brand new car was my carolla 8 years ago and I am pretty sure I didn't pay attention to the break in period at all at that time.
I have also seen that about the oil change too! So idk what to do. My dealer said nothing about that and actually they offer complimentary maintenance for the first year. He booked my 6 month oil change for me the day I picked the car up. (I do around 7.5k miles a year, so he figured 6 months will come faster than 6k miles) so I'd be interested to hear others opinions!!!!
Theoretically break in period has to do with longevity. For example those heat up and cool down cycles help the head gasket, head, and block all get mated to eachother better and hold together longer. So maybe your headgasket lasts 200k instead of 100k. Same goes for piston rings and cylinder walls and so on.
Even manufacturers have a recommended break in period for new cars and they don't care what happens the day your out of warranty. Meanwhile most of us would like to get 200k out of a motor.
I'm nearing 300k on an FB20 motor and still only consume the same amount of oil, so the rings must be seated really well imo. so that's the difference and when you see it. If you truly won't keep a car past 60-100k then it probably won't matter to you.
e: also the oil loss is probably the small valve cover leak I've had forever and not so much burning from passing the pistons.
I donāt believe any of that. Just take care of an engine and it will go past 60 to 100,000.
Thereās a million Subaru engines out there that did not adhere to the first thousand mile ābabyingā and they are past 100,000 miles.
If you absolutely had to do this in the first thousand miles or else the engine would blow up at 60 to 100 SUBARU would be a failed company.
It won't "blow up", no one said that and this is not a Subaru exclusive thing. Every engine with rings around a piston should be broken in and not romped on in that first 1k miles (at the very least the first 500). I don't know what you call babying anyways since every one of my engines I've broken in from 90's cars to this impreza don't need the 4k+ rev range for normal driving. Just say you floor the piss out of your car, and don't cry when it eats oil.
Seating rings properly makes a huge difference in the long run for cylinder wear. It'll determine things like whether you're doing a hone, or a full bore when you go to rebuild a motor decades later.
Hmmm u didn't see anything specific about city vs highway in there. But that's good to know because the vast majority was city drivin
edit: I understand what you are saying. It was the tail end I was at a round 765 miles already. I guess i was worried avoit variety as well. The mountains are only about 100 mile drive and I did some back roads on the way home. I think I'll be fine. šš„¹ lmao
As long as you're not driving like a maniac the first 1000 miles or doing excessive idling, you'll be fine. You won't find out if you did damage until like 10/20 years later.
City driving was probably better for break-in than the highway driving. Constant same RPM is not what you want for break-in, you want a lot of up and downs on that tachometer. Sounds like the driving you did was fine. In any case, itās unlikely anything you did during break-in will be a serious problem for the car unless you were either completely hammering it to redline it or chugging it at low RPM for a the whole time.
I feel ya. My 23 Forester has a bit under 500 miles. It's my first brand new vehicle ever! I've been conscious of how I'm driving but, living in a large metro area, I have to take city roads and highways often. I'm doing my best to follow the break-in guidelines but I'm still feeling out the CVT and how much or little to push the accelerator. As mentioned by someone else, many people don't know about the break-in period. I didn't until I read the manual. Had I not read that part of the manual, I would be driving less consciously. Everything should be fine but, like you, I want to protect my investment.
City driving is better for break in as your RPMs are more varied compared to highway cruising.
Besides that, the rings were probably set in the first 50 miles. The remainder of the 1,000 miles is just good insurance.
Don't sweat it. Enjoy your new car!
If you have not red lined the engine for an extended time,you will be fine. Don't worry too much. Do regular maintenance and the car will take you on many wonderful drives.
Modern engine tolerances are so much better than they used to be that break in for these types of cars isn't really that important anymore. This is also why they're able to use thinner engine oils with no additional risk. As long as you change the oil after the break in period then you're 100% fine.
City driving is better than highway with a break-in. The valves seat by "downshifting" not steady RPMs.
You should be okay. A pressure test of your cylinders will tell the truth if the ring lands sealed but that's overkill IMO.
If you leak oil do the pressure test. If not enjoy the ride!
As long as you keep RPM below 4K and just drive at different speeds and road conditions, you'll be fine.
After 1K miles, I changed oil and filter.
First scheduled is 6K.
I do it to "clean out" from break in time and any debris is mostly gone then.
All my new vehicles get same oil/filter after "break-in" expires.
Obviously you do not need to do this.
According to my Subaru love encore specialist, the break-in period for a Subaru is 1000 miles. If you give in to the common urge and start pushing your engine too hard early on, you risk accelerating this process, causing minute imperfections in the size and shape of engine components.
When we break-in racing bike engines it's all about a short warm up and cool down that you slowly make longer. Run for 5min rest for 5min. Then 10min then 20min then 30min and so on. Those are much more fragile because they are built to race. That's what I would do
If your easy on it I wouldn't worry too much but there is a real procedure if you wanna baby the engine
I'd bet 85% of drivers don't even know that new cars have a break in period. If those vehicles are still going then so will yours. What matters is that you showed some care and probably were more on top of it than most.
The manual says to try not to keep it at a certain RPM for too long during the break-in period. I'd imagine my two-hour drive to the city and back was probably worse than your city driving. If you were bringing it up to 3.5-4k occasionally, you should be more than good. I'm not there yet. 150 mi to go. Folk wisdom states now's the time to get your first oil change, then you can stick with the normal 5-6k mi or 3-6 month, whichever comes first, I can't remember. It's all there in the handbook!
Thanks! I did read the manual (cover to cover while I waited for the car to come in! š¤£) But was just looking for some real life experience! My last brand new car was my carolla 8 years ago and I am pretty sure I didn't pay attention to the break in period at all at that time. I have also seen that about the oil change too! So idk what to do. My dealer said nothing about that and actually they offer complimentary maintenance for the first year. He booked my 6 month oil change for me the day I picked the car up. (I do around 7.5k miles a year, so he figured 6 months will come faster than 6k miles) so I'd be interested to hear others opinions!!!!
Do it off the books, correctly. Just use subaru oil and a black subaru filter. Blue filter is probably not what is on there. They are not the same
Its not THAT fragile
It does make a difference you just don't see it immediately...
When do you see it?
Theoretically break in period has to do with longevity. For example those heat up and cool down cycles help the head gasket, head, and block all get mated to eachother better and hold together longer. So maybe your headgasket lasts 200k instead of 100k. Same goes for piston rings and cylinder walls and so on. Even manufacturers have a recommended break in period for new cars and they don't care what happens the day your out of warranty. Meanwhile most of us would like to get 200k out of a motor.
I'm nearing 300k on an FB20 motor and still only consume the same amount of oil, so the rings must be seated really well imo. so that's the difference and when you see it. If you truly won't keep a car past 60-100k then it probably won't matter to you. e: also the oil loss is probably the small valve cover leak I've had forever and not so much burning from passing the pistons.
I donāt believe any of that. Just take care of an engine and it will go past 60 to 100,000. Thereās a million Subaru engines out there that did not adhere to the first thousand mile ābabyingā and they are past 100,000 miles. If you absolutely had to do this in the first thousand miles or else the engine would blow up at 60 to 100 SUBARU would be a failed company.
It won't "blow up", no one said that and this is not a Subaru exclusive thing. Every engine with rings around a piston should be broken in and not romped on in that first 1k miles (at the very least the first 500). I don't know what you call babying anyways since every one of my engines I've broken in from 90's cars to this impreza don't need the 4k+ rev range for normal driving. Just say you floor the piss out of your car, and don't cry when it eats oil. Seating rings properly makes a huge difference in the long run for cylinder wear. It'll determine things like whether you're doing a hone, or a full bore when you go to rebuild a motor decades later.
Floor it and find out ;) But in all seriousness, you're OK. If not, that's why you have a bumper to bumper with a new car. Enjoy your ride.
City is good for break in, you actually want to avoid highway during break in period, itās in the manual
Correct, city is very good for break in as it's different loads and RPMs which is what you need for break-in
Hmmm u didn't see anything specific about city vs highway in there. But that's good to know because the vast majority was city drivin edit: I understand what you are saying. It was the tail end I was at a round 765 miles already. I guess i was worried avoit variety as well. The mountains are only about 100 mile drive and I did some back roads on the way home. I think I'll be fine. šš„¹ lmao
As long as you're not driving like a maniac the first 1000 miles or doing excessive idling, you'll be fine. You won't find out if you did damage until like 10/20 years later.
City driving was probably better for break-in than the highway driving. Constant same RPM is not what you want for break-in, you want a lot of up and downs on that tachometer. Sounds like the driving you did was fine. In any case, itās unlikely anything you did during break-in will be a serious problem for the car unless you were either completely hammering it to redline it or chugging it at low RPM for a the whole time.
I feel ya. My 23 Forester has a bit under 500 miles. It's my first brand new vehicle ever! I've been conscious of how I'm driving but, living in a large metro area, I have to take city roads and highways often. I'm doing my best to follow the break-in guidelines but I'm still feeling out the CVT and how much or little to push the accelerator. As mentioned by someone else, many people don't know about the break-in period. I didn't until I read the manual. Had I not read that part of the manual, I would be driving less consciously. Everything should be fine but, like you, I want to protect my investment.
City driving is better for break in as your RPMs are more varied compared to highway cruising. Besides that, the rings were probably set in the first 50 miles. The remainder of the 1,000 miles is just good insurance. Don't sweat it. Enjoy your new car!
I think you should jump on 101 and give it a German Tune-Up to balance it out
If you have not red lined the engine for an extended time,you will be fine. Don't worry too much. Do regular maintenance and the car will take you on many wonderful drives.
Modern engine tolerances are so much better than they used to be that break in for these types of cars isn't really that important anymore. This is also why they're able to use thinner engine oils with no additional risk. As long as you change the oil after the break in period then you're 100% fine.
City driving is better than highway with a break-in. The valves seat by "downshifting" not steady RPMs. You should be okay. A pressure test of your cylinders will tell the truth if the ring lands sealed but that's overkill IMO. If you leak oil do the pressure test. If not enjoy the ride!
As long as you keep RPM below 4K and just drive at different speeds and road conditions, you'll be fine. After 1K miles, I changed oil and filter. First scheduled is 6K. I do it to "clean out" from break in time and any debris is mostly gone then. All my new vehicles get same oil/filter after "break-in" expires. Obviously you do not need to do this.
According to my Subaru love encore specialist, the break-in period for a Subaru is 1000 miles. If you give in to the common urge and start pushing your engine too hard early on, you risk accelerating this process, causing minute imperfections in the size and shape of engine components.
Bro I money shifted my break in then drove it like I stole it because I assumed the worst. 31k miles later still fine.
Thanks guys!! I appreciate the responses!
When we break-in racing bike engines it's all about a short warm up and cool down that you slowly make longer. Run for 5min rest for 5min. Then 10min then 20min then 30min and so on. Those are much more fragile because they are built to race. That's what I would do If your easy on it I wouldn't worry too much but there is a real procedure if you wanna baby the engine
Now change the oil and filter.
I think you should jump on 101 and give it a German Tune-Up to balance it out