I can't drive... 55

September 4, 2007 5:35 PM

When to drive our new car up a long distance and up a mountain... (more inside!)

My husband and I just purchased our first new vehicle, a 2007 Nissan Versa (known as a Nissan Tiida outside of the US). It now has 250 miles on it and we are planning to go from Orlando, Florida to Asheville, North Carolina next weekend. Should we take the new car? I have heard that you shouldn't drive a new car long distances or at higher speeds for a while. How many miles should we ideally have before a long trip? Just for reference the trip is about 590 miles and we bought the car on Friday with about 10 miles on it.
Thank you in advance for your help.

posted by ForeverDcember to travel & transportation (16 answers total)

Your owner's manual will tell you anything you need to know about the break-in period, if there is one. The last new car I got (which was about 10 years ago, sadly) required only that I not make sudden stops for the first however-many-miles.

Follow what the owner's manual says.
posted by The World Famous at 5:41 PM on September 4, 2007

i've never owned a new car, but i would think it might be a good opportunity to see how it performs, and see if anything's wrong with it that hasn't had time to reveal itself. but that's just me.
posted by thinkingwoman at 5:44 PM on September 4, 2007

Yes, this is a fine way to break in the new vehicle. Just take it easy on the hard accelerations until you hit 500 miles or so. Check the manual, but most manuals I have seen lately seem to deemphasize the importance of the break-in period. Just take it easy.
posted by caddis at 6:15 PM on September 4, 2007

Definitely follow the manuals.

Also, it's rare nowadays, but some cars are shipped with a special break-in motor oil. If this is the case for your car, follow the manual extra closely.
posted by Kwantsar at 6:23 PM on September 4, 2007

First, as mentioned: follow the owner's manual recommendations closely.

Second, it won't be long distances that likely interfere with your break-in period; it'll be (a) high speeds, (b) even speeds over long distances -- you should vary the speed here and there, (c) full-throttle acceleration, and (d) stressful hill climbing and such.

So if your route is flat land, has low speed limits, and you're not a leadfoot, take the car (unless the owner's manual tells you otherwise) -- and if you forsee hills, high speed limits or temptation getting the best of you, leave it behind.
posted by davejay at 6:55 PM on September 4, 2007

Oh, and if you plan to cruise-control the whole thing, I wouldn't take it. Varying speeds and all that.
posted by davejay at 6:55 PM on September 4, 2007

I've never heard of a break in period--Like caddis said I'd think this be a good way to break it in. I'm also about an hour and half below Ashville, there's nothing road engineered wise that I know who really "give the car something to handle." Take it.
posted by uncballzer at 6:56 PM on September 4, 2007

Break-in periods are real, but modern piston ring design has eliminated most of the old gremlins. It's now just about not putting too much stress on them until they seat properly, which occurs very quickly with the modern designs.

Just to muddy the waters, there is a very vocal, yet minority, school of thought that for best power and performance the engine should be broken in hard. The next time I see my NASCAR crew chief buddy I am asking this, but I don't see him that often now that he moved down South. Those engines may differ in this regard anyway.
posted by caddis at 7:23 PM on September 4, 2007

On my new Prius, I was told not to run the cruise for the first 1000 miles--as the computer was learning my acceleration/deceleration habits so as to optimize the operation. If you're not sure after reading through the manual, I would suggest calling the dealership where you got the car--they might know (or have seen issues with this model if ridden hard in an early stage)
posted by stevis23 at 7:27 PM on September 4, 2007

On preview, what caddis said...but anyone who's "into" cars has heard of breaking in an engine. When I bought my truck new ten years ago, the usual instructions were in the manual - vary the speed, no daredevil/high zoot shit for the first 1000 miles, then change the oil. I did exactly that (only took two weeks to get to 1k, since I drove across the state on back roads for sht sheer hell of it), and changed the oil dutifully. The break-in oil was special - it looked like no oil I've seen since, kinda this blue-green tint to it. For your reference, that truck now has about 200k on it, and is still very strong.

Of course, when I rebuilt the engine on my Impala, I immediately drove it like I stole it - burnouts, brake-torques, open-exhaust neighbor-irritating juvenalia, and a little highway jaunt at speeds reaching 150. That engine is also still running rather strong.

Myself? I'd drive the old car just to be on the safe side.
posted by notsnot at 7:38 PM on September 4, 2007

Those engines may differ in this regard anyway.

Er. Yeah. NASCAR engines are over 40 years old in terms of technology and design. It is not at all relevant to modern engines.

Breaking in of modern cars is essentially pointless. After 200-300 miles, any piston ring wear is within the tolerances that won't change measurably for 10-20,000 miles.

Modern engines are so good in this regard, that even if you were super gentle with it for 2000 miles, you'd probably only put about as many extra miles on the life of it. So its do 202,000 miles rather than a round 200 K or something stupid...

Don't worry about it. 250 miles is plenty. You will not glaze the cylinder bores of an engine (the 'constant speed problem) that has had that many hours and heat cycles through it. Even if you are on completely flat ground at exactly the same speed (the revs/load needs to be constant) any glazing would be removed over the next few hours of normal urban driving anyway.

In short - if you thrash it, you might get it to perform slightly better, it just won't last as long. But I mean drive it like you stole it, beat the shite out of it/pretend it's a rental car.

If you drive normally, it is unlikely that you will significantly affect the longevity of your engine, as long as you observe the oil change/service requirements.
posted by Brockles at 7:52 PM on September 4, 2007

Whoops. Sorry about the italics. I have one leg shorter than the other and didn't notice.
posted by Brockles at 7:53 PM on September 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

My last two cars said to drive at various speeds and keep it under 65mph for the first 600 miles. If you use the new car a lot, you can probably get most of those miles done running errands around town and be all broken in by the trip this weekend.
posted by mathowie at 8:00 PM on September 4, 2007

I've a 2001 Ranger that i broke in by turning the OverDrive on and off for 1000 miles as I have a long commute on the Interstate. It now has 210,000 trouble free miles. It has been on synthetic oils since about 50,000 and uses less than a quart of oil at the 10,000 oils changes (filter and top off at 5,000). My previous Ranger went 300,000 before I sold it. I owe this to the highway miles and PROPER service intervals.
No, you do not want my gas bills!
posted by raildr at 9:14 PM on September 4, 2007

The manual for the 2007 Camry I bought 2 weeks said to keep varying the speed (so no cruise) for the first 500 miles or so and no hard starts/stops. I drove it from Maryland to New Jersey the day after I bought it so you'll be just fine taking it.
posted by exhilaration at 8:16 AM on September 5, 2007

Thank you so much for all the answers. I never thought of looking in the manual (duh!) It said ""During the first 1,200 miles, follow these recommendations to obtain maximum engine performance and ensure the future reliability and economy of our new vehicle. Failure to follow these recommendations may result in shortened engine life and reduced engine performance. ""

Thank you again for all the great help!
posted by ForeverDcember at 3:45 PM on September 5, 2007