# Break-in period for new car **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 20, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363 "2012-04-20T03:40:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/1 "2012-04-20T03:40:31Z")
So, googling around, I’ve seen all sorts of stuff on this, from people advising to vary the speed and keep the RPMs low for the first thousand miles (and changing the oil after 20 miles and 1000 miles) to people saying that new cars are so good these days that a break-in period isn’t really necessary or that beneficial. So what do you guys think? More specifically, I may buy a car and drive it across the country within a couple of weeks of buying it. Does this strike you as a bad idea? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/2 "2012-04-20T03:46:38Z")
I say go for it. From what I’ve read years ago, the ‘break-in’ period was to seat the piston rings and break in the camshaft. Now when was the last time your heard about piston ring or camshaft problems on a car? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/3 "2012-04-20T03:56:52Z")
Just do what the manufacturer recommends. Don’t listen to people online. What kind of car are you getting? Most manufacturers recommend not driving at constant speed for the first 1000 miles or so. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/4 "2012-04-20T04:01:11Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Just do what the manufacturer recommends. :smack: Yeah that’s a good idea. I honestly didn’t think of just reading the manual (no sarcasm intended here). > [@](#): > > What kind of car are you getting? 328 x-drive ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/5 "2012-04-20T04:05:57Z")
Follow the manufacturer’s guide. New engines and other rotating things won’t be bedded in to each other’s matching parts when the car is fresh off the line. It’s also important to be able to have a valid claim on your warranty if necessary. I had a new Honda Civic which said keep below a certain engine speed for the first 3000km and have the first service/check at 1500km. Hardly arduous. In your case, getting the service done at the right mileage would be the most difficult. Oh, also, don’t allow excessive lugging on the engine. Use your gears to keep the engine in it’s proper operating range. (not shudderingly slow and not screamingly fast) ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/6 "2012-04-20T04:21:43Z")
Come on, get the 335, you know you want one. The 328 is for the plebeians. 😛 Are you going to get an E90 or wait for the new model (F01)? EDIT: Oops, forgot the whole point of the post. My friend’s 2009 335i manual instructions were “do not exceed 100 mph or 4,500 RPM or use full throttle for the first 1,200 miles, and continuously vary the engine and road speed.” ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/7 "2012-04-20T04:40:02Z")
The only reason I might think twice about driving a brand-new car cross-country would be that lemon-type problems often show up in the first few thousand miles. Note that I would probably think about this for 15 seconds before saying “screw it, cars these days are pretty reliable” and go anyway. I doubt you’ll have anything to worry about in a new BMW, especially if you have a couple weeks to make sure she’s as-advertised. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/8 "2012-04-20T18:08:52Z")
When I got my new car about a month ago, they never told me anything about a break in period. I also took it on a really long road trip (about 1600 miles give or take) a week after I got it and I didn’t have any problems. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/9 "2012-04-20T19:45:01Z")
We were told when we got our new car that you just had to avoid going at one constant speed for any length of time. We drive it up the highway about 70 miles immediately on picking it up, making sure not to stay at any one speed for more than ten minutes. The car’s still running fine. That was almost 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/10 "2012-04-20T22:25:02Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > We were told when we got our new car that you just had to avoid going at one constant speed for any length of time. Why is this, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/11 "2012-04-20T22:37:35Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Why is this, exactly? It is not that driving at a constant speed hurts anything in itself, but that it is desirable to subject the engine to varying, moderate loads - and driving at a constant speed (as on a highway) places very little load on the engine. Interestingly, the manual for my new V8 Jeep included the following tidbit: > [@](#): > > While cruising, brief full-throttle acceleration within the > limits of local traffic laws contributes to a good break-in. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/12 "2012-04-21T02:05:50Z")
I bought a new Ford Contour (stick shift) in 1997, and have religiously kept fuel records ever since. I don’t recall any particular driving habits recommemded for the break-in procedure, but the the fuel compsumption results are interesting. For the first several years, the comsumption varied between 29 and 31 mpg, with a slowly increasing trend. This increase continued until 2003, when it hit 34 to 36 mpg. It has remained at that level ever since. The driving was all of the same type, over the same routes, at around 10,000 miles per year. The only thing that I can think of was that the car was gradually breaking itself in during the early period. The car now has almost 160,000 miles on it, with the original clutch. can anyone beat that record? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-in-period-for-new-car/619363/13 "2012-04-21T02:47:20Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Most manufacturers recommend not driving at constant speed for the first 1000 miles or so. Right. If nothing else, the not stopping for any bathroom breaks tends to make the new car interior messy & smelly.