Breaking in new car...Acura TL...Urban myth?
 

My brother-in-law just bought a new Acura TL. What a car!

What are the current thoughts on breaking in new car engines? Change oil early? Vary engine speed? Or just drive it?

glenmore
1991 300CE

Though not the same class of car, I purchased a 2002 Honda Civic new about a year ago. The sales rep. was emphatic that I not change the factory filled oil for at least 10,000 miles. I called the service mgr. the following day for a confirmation on this. Got the same story.

It would be interesting to learn what other mfgs. have to say about this. What did the Acura dealership have to say?

When we bought our Passat, it was stated in the owner's manual not to touch the factory filled oil for 5K miles. Varying speeds were encouraged, and steady high speeds were not. Now if you're driving a diesel it takes about 100,000 miles before it's broken in ;)

If you talk to lubrication engineers, they'll tell you to change out the oil from a new car as soon as you get it into your driveway. As-built, the engines have a lot of measurable debris from the factory, regardless of how clean the manufacturer tries to build the engine.

I'm not sure, but I believe the initial oil fill has a slightly higher concentration of antiscuffing agents, which is good for breaking in an engine. The antiscuffing agents help "heal over" the areas where you get metal-to-metal contact.

I'm not sure how to handle this debate. Should you dump the initial oil charge to remove a lot of contaminants?... or should you leave the initial oil charge in the engine, let the antiscuffing agents do the work and hope the oil filter removes most of the contaminants (at least the larger particles)? I'm still open on this.

Glenmore, when they talk about varying engine speeds, the key points are the cylinder walls and rings. Varying your speed diffuses the ridge that develops at the top of the bore. Different rpm's and load conditions stretch the piston/conn rod assembly to different lengths within the bore. If you don't vary your speed, you develop a sharp ridge which can damage the rings when you finally do decide to step on the gas.

In layman's terms, some say to break in the car the way you plan to drive it. If you plan to do spirited driving with the car, then sport around during break-in.

It is also recommended to use brief full-throttle acceleration from time to time. This helps seat the rings. The rings are purposely designed to channel the cumbustion pressure behind the top ring, forcing it outward against the bore wall. The crosshatching on the bore wall acts somewhat as a file to burnish the ring, compensating for circular imperfections, eventually forming a tight 360° seal in each bore. This'll give maximum engine efficiency and least oil consumption past the rings for the life of the engine. I would recommend doing this in any gear but first. Use brief (~3-5 sec) open throttle at low rpm, not redline at high rpm!

Heck, when you think about it, sporting around should be recommended for any car's break-in regimen.

I would say depends on how long you are going to keep it. If less then 100k miles just drive it. If for a long period of time then I would change the oil in the first 1k miles and drive slowly, with no high rpm runs. I don't know why Honda says to keep the oil in there for 10k. Were they paying for maintance? Honda doesn't make there own "special" oil, it sounds like they just didn't want to pay for it.

Honda isn't paying for the maint - the customer does which makes it even harder to comprehend. Normally when you pull into a dealership, they try to sell you all sorts of things that you don't need. This made the 10K thing even harder to understand?

I've always changed oil & filter after the first 2000 miles. So far this hasn't hurt, but the last new vehicle I did this to was a 1995 model.

Indeed....an interesting debate.

glenmore- Good for your Brother-in-Law. The interior of the new TL is very nicely built. As far as the break-in is concerned, someone in the M5 forum-I can't seem to find the link- suggested a 2000 mile rule. For the first 500 miles, drive the car mildly, never exceed 3500rpm. For the next 1000 miles, gradually increase the engine speed and vary load patterns on the car. For the final 500 miles, he suggested drive the car as agressive as you never will, such as full trottle. After that, you can just switch back to your normal driving habits. In regards to the engine oil, I would switch over to synthetic oil after the initial 6000miles, as suggested by the mobile 1.

Acura TL - Good choice

I recently replaced my 1988 Honda Accord (182K miles) with a 2001 Acura TL. Check the owners manual regarding the break-in procedure.

I change the oil in my 1988 Accord at 500 miles, 1500 miles, 3000 miles, then every 3000 miles with Valvoline dyno oil. When I retired the car with 182K miles the engine ran like new.

I would also recommend frequent transmission fluid changes - use only Honda ATF.

My owner's manual says " A new or reconditioned engine is filled with an initial operation oil in the factory or in a MERCEDES-BENZ service station. This oil is specially developed for the specific operating conditions during the first 1300 - 1600 km / 800 - 1000 miles."