Hi, I just hot a SOP AWD EX, The dealer didnt tell me anything about breakin period. THe manual doesnt say much either, just dont accelarete fact, break hard and full trottle for the 1st 600 miles. Are theere any speed limits, any other things I should be watching out for? I am at 170 mile and have been trying to stay under 65. is that OK?\\\\Todd

Just attended a owners workshop at my dealer....was told the following on break in....Drive it like you would everday, plus try not take it on a long trip the first 500 miles or so because the steady speed for a long period of time is not good on the cylinders...city and highway drive combined together works well for break in.

I agree with Eazy E. Try to vary your speed, don't go over 70ish and don't do jackrabbit starts. I'm breaking mine in still (picked on 5/24) and i'm driving like an old lady. The manual says 600miles, but i'm going to play it safe for around 800-1000 miles, just to make sure the rings get a nice, good seal. :)

Also, make the first oil change around 3,750 miles and check your oil level frequently. Top off until 3750, then do the first change. Honda uses a specially formulated "oil" with an additive molybendenum(sp? to assist in the break-in.

btw, driving like an old lady gives great gas mileage!

HTH![/u]

Aw hey-ul! I guess I gotta drive like the proverbial old lady to get good mileage. But it seems like I do that already and I get lousey mileage. Have not, however, taken it on a really LONG trip to check mileage.

just bought an e yesterday.
the dealer was by far the best we've dealt ever dealt with.
he said basically the same as your dealer....a slow gradual stop is best. try not to drive at the same speed for 400 miles. (don't use cruise till after 400 miles, drive at varying speeds) don't accelerate real hard.

The manual says no fast starts and no hard stops for 600 miles. No mention of no use of cruise control or avoiding constant speed driving.

I think everyone has a different philosophy for breaking in the engine, and most make sense on some level. I chose to trust the manual (which didn't mention highway driving) and made a 400 mile (round trip) IKEA run the second day we had the E.

Since the trip we've put another 400 miles on her and she's doing great (performance wise and MPG wise) ...

Here's the mileage so far:
(EX 4WD, all using Texaco 87 octane gas)

Date Miles Gallons MPG
23-May 162 7.54 21.49
24-May 188 8.18 22.98
26-May 260 11.2 23.21
28-May 255 11.04 23.10

400 miles to Ikea? Good lorrd, I have 3 of them in 30 kilometres. :lol: We are spoilt here.

More on topic, gas mileage seems fine after the "breakin". I drove conservatively for that period, now I am driving my "E" as I usually do. Looks like about 30 miles to the Imperial gallon.

[quote:9285769ee7="isketerol"]400 miles to Ikea? Good lorrd, I have 3 of them in 30 kilometres. :lol: We are spoilt here.

[/quote:9285769ee7]

Oh just go ahead and brag, why don't ya?

I have to drive about 300 miles for one, and oh the tale I could tell about trying to take a desktop home in my other SUV.

:D

Have some stories here -- like the one time my eyes (IKEA shopping cart) were bigger than my stomach (cargo space in my Jeep wrangler). Thank god for the free twine they provide in their loading area. (That, and some amazing aerodynamic properties of cardboard that I had heard about...)

The only issue I had with the 'E' at IKEA was that I didn't have any brochures to give to all of the people with questions while we were loading... It was VERY nice to be able to side a 7ft bed frame inside, shut the door, and drive away!

Not to be completely contrarian, but to promote a bit of discussion, I point you to the following link about engine break in procedures and ring seal quality. http://mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm Unfortunately, my personal experience with both race and street motors favors the contrarian view.

cheers

I aksed my dealer svc mgr point blank about the startup oil. He said there is NO extra additives put in at the factory, just straight motor oil. No jackrabbit starts or hard stops, otherwise drive it the way you would normally, vary the speed on the highway for the first 600 miles or so and you are good to go. I've got about 350 now in mixed driving.

On the highway I cycle from about 50 to 75 up and down watching my revs to about 4000. I will also start to increase my revs in each gear about 500rpm every so often until I can hit around 5500 to 6000 in each. Engine feels loose already ands should be great when I'm done. I've done this the same way to 2 multi-valve VW's and 2 Saab turbos with great results, no oil burning or issues of any kind.

SOP, EX, 4WD, 5spd.

Excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is IKEA and why is it so popular to drive a 400 mile round trip for?

IMO, IKEA is a great place to get decent looking/quality home stuff (furniture, knick nacks, kitchens, etc) for an amazingly low price (around here, anyways).

Quick example:

We wanted to replace our townhouses early 80's kitchen (counters + base/wall cabinets). Doing the work ourselves, the cabinets/counters from Home Depot/Lowes were around $1500, and all they stocked were the kinda old-fashioned kind that looked like the ones we were removing. They could "special order" all sorts of stuff, but it'd be 5-6 weeks, and cost a lot more money.

Anyhow, at IKEA, the whole thing cost $900. They had a cool "white" brand that we liked, and they were super (!!!) quick/easy to assemble and install.

Here's a picture of the E all loaded up:
(72 boxes/bags, ... 956 pounds in parts, plus 400 pounds in people)
BTW, bloated as it was, the E ran GREAT. Did about 80 MPH the way back to the beach, and had no problems hitting 85-90 to pass folks. Had no problems with it rolling during turns either, which surprised me considering all of the weight it was carrying! That tank of gas avg'd 24.3 mpg.

http://www.blipnet.net/coppermine/albums/Ques%202003-Su%20KITCHEN/normal_P1010009.JPG
http://www.blipnet.net/coppermine/albums/Ques%202003-Su%20KITCHEN/normal_P1010010.JPG

Here's it unloaded:
http://www.blipnet.net/coppermine/albums/Ques%202003-Su%20KITCHEN/normal_P1010012.JPG
http://www.blipnet.net/coppermine/albums/Ques%202003-Su%20KITCHEN/normal_P1010013.JPG

:)