Break in period necessary?

[phuzaxeman]

I am aware of the previous threads on this topic but I had a service manager, subaru tech, and salesman tell me that the 3.6 engine doesn't require break in.

 

I went ahead and did break in on my car but what are your thoughts? Tech guy said break in is only required on turbo engines.

[Ronin3.6R]

I took it easy first 1k miles. Only cause to me it makes sense. Recommended? heck, I'm not sure. I roughly followed this:

 

1000 miles: Vary your driving with a normal mix of city and highway.

 

 

Avoid hard starts and stops.

Avoid over-revving the engine, try to keep RPMs under 4000.

Vary your speeds over the full range of city and highway driving

Don't use cruise control much, if at all.

[raider600]

For new cars I've always had an oil change at 1k miles. My friend bought a 2015 forester and went back for a break in oil change, the techs were confused. haha but did it anyway.

[upstater]

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

that should prompt some discussion:munch:

[ammcinnis]

... I had a service manager, subaru tech, and salesman tell me that the 3.6 engine doesn't require break in ... But what are your thoughts?

 

RTFM (page 8-2):

Follow these instructions during the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km):

 

• Do not race the engine. And do not allow engine speed to exceed 4,000 rpm except in an emergency.
  
• Do not drive at one constant engine or vehicle speed for a long time, either fast or slow.
  
• Avoid starting suddenly and rapid acceleration, except in an emergency.
  
• Avoid hard braking, except in an emergency
  

Tech guy said break in is only required on turbo engines.

Ask "Tech Guy" to show you a Subaru document that supports this factoid ... or ask the service manager to put it in writing for you.

[Pleiades 3.6R]

Back when I sold cars the best running used vehicles I saw were owned by older people that bought them new, regularly drove them and followed the maintenance schedule. The cars never saw or even got close to redline and they ran like champs. Dealership employers would line up to buy the trade-ins before we had even finished the original sale paperwork. I'll pass on the "drive it like you stole it" break-in philosophy.

[rec630]

I am aware of the previous threads on this topic but I had a service manager, subaru tech, and salesman tell me that the 3.6 engine doesn't require break in.

 

I went ahead and did break in on my car but what are your thoughts? Tech guy said break in is only required on turbo engines.

 

I received the same info at the dealership. Had a long trip shortly after buying car and there wasn't a lot of city in the first 1000 miles but they said nothing to worry about. I did try to vary speeds as best as possible and not use cruise control much.

[gathermewool]

Just drive it. Follow the owner’s manual.

[Eugene Onegin]

^^^^ concur.

[phuzaxeman]

Just drive it. Follow the owner’s manual.

 

You can say, drive it and follow your certified subaru tech too?

[NickCawks]

I would like some additional information as the why the Subaru tech is saying this. Mostly out of curiosity because regardless of what he had to say I would still give the car 500 miles at least before beginning to womp on it.

[phuzaxeman]

I would like some additional information as the why the Subaru tech is saying this. Mostly out of curiosity because regardless of what he had to say I would still give the car 500 miles at least before beginning to womp on it.

 

Tech guy said non turbo subarus are built to handle normal duties which included some fast driving out from factory. It's really the turbo models that require the break in period.

 

Remember, this is a service guy and service manager I talked to. I did the 1000m break in period anyway.

[ehsnils]

Taking it easy in the beginning of the engine life is usually a good idea. One thing is that the cylinder walls are a bit rough and pushing the engine can overheat the piston rings and cause unnecessary oil consumption issues.

 

And if you drive it nicely in the beginning and keep your eyes on potential issues as well since there's always a risk that there was an assembly mishap.

[Pleiades 3.6R]

You can say, drive it and follow your certified subaru tech too?

 

"Certified tech" means at some point they passed a test, it doesn't mean they know more than the factory that actually builds them. Hell, it doesn't even mean they know how to properly do their job. It's just a meaningless title given to a dealership employee.

[ammcinnis]

"Certified tech" ... doesn't even mean they know how to properly do their job.

 

Yep. Never confuse credentials with competence.

[gathermewool]

You can say, drive it and follow your certified subaru tech too?

 

I could, but I wouldn’t ever.

[phuzaxeman]

I could, but I wouldn’t ever.

 

Why? He's a trained expert and works on subarus more than all of us.

[capttris]

One of the key aspects of engine break in, are the piston rings. They need to seat properly, which is done over time and temperature. The key is varying temperatures over time, which is done by varying load and RPM the first 1000 miles.

The first 1000-1500 miles go by really fast, so I don't know why anyone would choose not to perform a proper break in.

[Ronin3.6R]

One of the key aspects of engine break in, are the piston rings. They need to seat properly, which is done over time and temperature. The key is varying temperatures over time, which is done by varying load and RPM the first 1000 miles.

The first 1000-1500 miles go by really fast, so I don't know why anyone would choose not to perform a proper break in.

 

Exactly. With little or no effort really. I had to go get on the interstate a couple times to mix things up, but that was the extent of my "inconvenience". I also did first oil change at 3K. It was free and seemed prudent.

[legacy18]

Ive always heard 3,000 miles.. Also what ive noticed is i was getting say 26 MPG and after a couple thousand to 3 thousand i started getting 32..

[securityguy]

Break-in period is 1000 miles...not 3000.

[securityguy]

That's very interesting Derrick. Good to know. Then why put that in the owners manual?

[DugsSin]

driving the nuts off them at the plant!

 

Good thing all my Subies are female

 

That first thousand miles took one and 1/2 days for us.

[ehsnils]

They get driven like they are stolen in the factory....within 15 minutes of its maiden ignition start they are ran wide open to 70 + mph so that all emissions testing and systems checks can be done! If babying it was truly that big of an issue I don’t think engineers would have us driving the nuts off them at the plant!

It also depends on for how long it's driven that way.

 

Also look at metal phase changes that blacksmiths have knowledge of; hardening, unhardening, normalizing etc. The metal in the piston rings and other items is likely prepared for a certain initial abuse test cycle and may have a certain surface treatment that wears off.

 

One point behind the test runs is to also verify that it's correctly assembled. If it blows up during the test run then it's not a big deal, but annoyed customers is a big deal.

[capttris]

Like I said earlier, the rings need to seat properly and evenly based on time and temperature. 5-15 minutes and 2-3 miles around the factory track under heavy acceleration is a very tiny percentage of the 1500 mile break in period.