Breaking in a Yaris?

[ponieswhee]

Hey everybody,
I got my 07 liftback last week and I've been wondering about the break in period. I've been trying to stay under 3500 rpm but with no tach I'm a little lost. Where I live in upstate NY it's pretty hilly and sometimes I stretch 3rd gear out to 65 mph or so (very briefly). Any idea how many revs I'm running when I do that? I read in another post that the Yarii run about 3K rpm in overdrive at 70 mph, so I'm guessing at least 4.5-5k in 3rd gear at 65?
I usually shift 1-2 almost immediately
2-3 around 25 mph
3-4 anywhere between 40 and 65 mph
Is this fine for the break in or should I be driving even more conservatively?

[rage2]

Drive it like you stole it. That'll give you the most power.

[ponieswhee]

Originally Posted by rage2

Drive it like you stole it. That'll give you the most power.

Although that sounds like the most fun way to break in a car, I'm a little suspicious of the "drive it like you stole it" ideology. I've heard people say the rings get a better seal if you beat the heck out of the motor the first thousand miles but that goes against everything I've heard in the past. Anyone have any input on this?

[Pars]

Originally Posted by ponieswhee

Although that sounds like the most fun way to break in a car, I'm a little suspicious of the "drive it like you stole it" ideology. I've heard people say the rings get a better seal if you beat the heck out of the motor the first thousand miles but that goes against everything I've heard in the past. Anyone have any input on this?

"drive it like you stole it" ideology does seem to work, but most of us speed demons don't know when to stop and then the engine ends up broken. My guess is, once it's got about 30,000 miles of serious driving on it, it's ready to be babied. However, I wouldn't start going hard on the engine until it's well past the break-in period (which I believe is at about 500miles, according to manual).

[rage2]

Originally Posted by ponieswhee

Although that sounds like the most fun way to break in a car, I'm a little suspicious of the "drive it like you stole it" ideology. I've heard people say the rings get a better seal if you beat the heck out of the motor the first thousand miles but that goes against everything I've heard in the past. Anyone have any input on this?

I've owned 8 brand new cars, from a Mazda 323 to a SLK 32 AMG. I've broken each one in by driving hard off the lot. Each one of my cars can out accelerate an identical model easily, and lasted till I sold the cars (from 60,000km up to 140,000km). Engine tolerances nowadays are so precise, plus the fact that engines are turned cold at the factory to find and avoid problems, that the old break-in processes are no longer required. That's from my experience. The only time I've broken in an engine easy (only 300km or so) is when I've built a custom motor from scratch for my Porsche, where tolerances aren't as tight as something from the factory.

Other people's experiences:

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

Of course this deals with just ENGINES. Transmissions, differentials usually aren't run at all, and might be a good idea to take it a bit easier on those parts by not going too hard (ie clutch drop launches lol) or hitting top speed right off the lot.

[SLIK4]

i was wonderin when the break in point is also and whats the best way to break in ur yaris

[Vervepipes]

I thought it had to do with getting the proper varnish on the cylinders

[driver centric]

I think the manual recommends taking it easy for the first 1000 miles. With no tach, I upshift at the recommended speeds in the manual (15, 25, 40, 45 mph). Thank goodness I only have about 50 miles of break-in left! :D

[ponieswhee]

Originally Posted by driver centric

I think the manual recommends taking it easy for the first 1000 miles. With no tach, I upshift at the recommended speeds in the manual (15, 25, 40, 45 mph). Thank goodness I only have about 50 miles of break-in left! :D

wow thanks for the replies guys. i guess i should have read the manual :P

but thanks to my commute i already have over 500 miles on my car so the point will be moot in a week. i have trouble in this car guessing at my revs because it's so quiet. i had my old Probe pretty dialed in by sound, but i guess i'll get used to the yaris. i think a nice intake/exhaust setup should make it a little easier and more entertaining.

[death is my gift]

Originally Posted by driver centric

I think the manual recommends taking it easy for the first 1000 miles. With no tach, I upshift at the recommended speeds in the manual (15, 25, 40, 45 mph). Thank goodness I only have about 50 miles of break-in left! :D

yep, the dealer (and the manual) told me 1000 miles. and i am also 50 miles away from burning it up! but, uh...not literally.

[fearturtle44]

Yeah, I would take it easy for the first 1000 miles. But with today's engines I don't think it is a biggie for either the manual or auto.

Kevin

[501]

there is know need for an elaborate break in period with most of toyotas products. they do recommend that you take it easy for the first 800 miles.

[blacksan]

I am a machinist by trade and have been involved in motor work for longer then I care to remember. Having said that I firmly believe in manufacture suggest break in. There is a reason for them telling you this folks! These motors need to bed in the components to some degree. Not all motors will be the same due to production tolerance in individual parts, but you can not go wrong by following procedure. On the other hand not following procedure is in fact POSSIBLY abusing the motor which MIGHT lead to premature failure and most certainly contribute to shortened service life of the engine. I have seen a lot of debris in oil samples of relatively new engines before. I would even suggest that you swap your filter and top off you oil at about 500 miles.

[ponieswhee]

Originally Posted by blacksan

I am a machinist by trade and have been involved in motor work for longer then I care to remember. Having said that I firmly believe in manufacture suggest break in. There is a reason for them telling you this folks! These motors need to bed in the components to some degree. Not all motors will be the same due to production tolerance in individual parts, but you can not go wrong by following procedure. On the other hand not following procedure is in fact POSSIBLY abusing the motor which MIGHT lead to premature failure and most certainly contribute to shortened service life of the engine. I have seen a lot of debris in oil samples of relatively new engines before. I would even suggest that you swap your filter and top off you oil at about 500 miles.

Like I said, I'm almost done with the break in period, so it won't kill me take it easy for a week. The roads around here are tight and curvy enough to the point where it seems like the stock 185/60 tires are more of a performance bottleneck than not being able to wind the motor all the way out. I'll take your suggestion and check the oil filter tomorrow. Would it be ok to switch to Mobil 1 when I do that, or is there some reason the first change has to be done at 3000 miles?

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by ponieswhee

Like I said, I'm almost done with the break in period, so it won't kill me take it easy for a week. The roads around here are tight and curvy enough to the point where it seems like the stock 185/60 tires are more of a performance bottleneck than not being able to wind the motor all the way out. I'll take your suggestion and check the oil filter tomorrow. Would it be ok to switch to Mobil 1 when I do that, or is there some reason the first change has to be done at 3000 miles?

You could run synthetic in a new motor. As far as oil change intervals are concerned a good filter/dino oil combo can go 5,000 with out any problems. Now, if you really want to get the most bang for your buck buy a good filter (Wix is my choice) and use your Mobil 1 for even longer drain intervals. You could go 15,000 on Mobil 1 by just swapping the filter every 5,000 and toping off.

We used Amsoil and Wix filters for heavy equipment applications backed by regular oil sample analysis which showed the Amsoil still providing protection for longer drain intervals then I would have ever thought feasible.

[rage2]

Originally Posted by blacksan

On the other hand not following procedure is in fact POSSIBLY abusing the motor which MIGHT lead to premature failure and most certainly contribute to shortened service life of the engine.

If manufacturers relied on consumers to follow a procedure to ensure there's no premature failure, there'd be a warranty catastrophe in the industry and companies losing money every year replacing parts because it was out of their control but still fall within their responsibility. More than 1/2 the new owners don't read the manual or don't even know about break-in procedures, and a whole lot (like myself) believe in driving it hard right off the bat. Don't forget about rental car fleets, I doubt someone renting a brand new car will adhere to a break-in schedule :).

I've raced my cars in Solo1 and Solo2, and it's one of my secrets for staying in stock class and have a power advantage over others, because it's consistent that hard break-in will give me what others call a factory freak, 5-10% more power than average. Never have I had a premature failure. One of my older cars, I sold to a friend at 90,000km, and it's still running like a champ at 320,000km today with no oil being burnt (Acura Integra).

Of course, I only have a small sample of data with 9 cars, so it's up to you to decide if my way is better or not.

[ponieswhee]

Well I'm at 580 miles now. Tonight on the way home from work I'll flog it a bit and see what she's got. Change over to full synthetic tomorrow and have some fun before I weigh my car down with a ton of audio junk. This is my first new car and I want to be careful with it, but I do value the advice of people who compete in their own cars and I got this thing to have a little fun while saving gas.

[ChinoCharles]

I'm with Rage on this one. Having driven next to various Yarii and driven a couple myself, I can say mine felt and looked a lot different than the others. I wouldn't baby her too much, although I sympathize with anyone vowing to strictly adhere to the manual. I'm just not one to play by the rules.