Advice on break-in period
#26
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S212 2011 Wagon and Wife's 2014 C350 sedan.
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#27
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Just to add my experience - I've driven my 2011 E350 Bluetec 3200 miles so far and there has been absolutely no oil consumption. For the break in, I drove it hard right from the start as well as extended highway trips (I've had the car 10 days averaging 320+ miles a day so far.) I think oil consumption is an excellent indicator of how well a car is broken in. I've broken in other cars this same way and never had any issues.
#28
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3200 miles in 10 days? Yikes! If you keep that up indefinetly the figures will be staggering.I hope to keep my Bluetec for at least 6-7 years (if not more) and am likely to average about 12k miles a year.I'm gonna break my car in rather gently (I'm a pretty "sedate" driver as it is) and hope that by doing so my goal can be reached.But it's good to see that even a "spirited" break-in regimen seems to be going well.
#29
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2012 S350 Bluetec 4Matic, Diamond White, P2
3200 miles in 10 days? Yikes! If you keep that up indefinetly the figures will be staggering.I hope to keep my Bluetec for at least 6-7 years (if not more) and am likely to average about 12k miles a year.I'm gonna break my car in rather gently (I'm a pretty "sedate" driver as it is) and hope that by doing so my goal can be reached.But it's good to see that even a "spirited" break-in regimen seems to be going well.
#30
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Diesels like and need to be driven hard. Consider that they are producing maximum power just off idle. While I have never gone completely insane with a brand new diesel, I certainly do not baby them. With most modern engines having such tight manufacturing tolerances, there is very little traditional breaking in needed. Just do what you feel best doing and enjoy the ride. There is little you are going to do to harm anything.
Hmmm...interesting.Yours is not the first thing I've read suggesting that one needn't baby today's engines when new.Perhaps I'll baby it for the first 2K or so and then jjst do my usual thing.....driving the Interstate at 65-70mph.
#31
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you guys do realize that even if you are on a long trip you can still change engine speed but keep cruising speed the same, right??
It's called changing gears...drive in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th.
It's called changing gears...drive in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th.
#32
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2011 E350 Sport 4Matic - P2 & Drivers Assist / 2010 C300 Sport 4Matic - P2 / 2013 Porsche Cayenne S
- Vary vehicle and engine speed
- No full throttle accelerations
- No kickdowns
- Do not rev past 2/3 of your rev range
Notice how there is nothing mentioned in there about speed. There really is no good reason to baby the engine that much. Look how many MBs are still on the road from the 80s and 90s. Do you really think their original owners babied their cars ? And they are still running. My colleague's dad just had his W124 officially certified at 1,000,000 miles by MB not too long ago. He never even knew that an engine needed to be broken in. At this day and age the engine manufacturing technologies have advanced so far that breaking in an engine is not as important as it has been before. I've babied cars since day one and I've driven cars like I've stole them since day one and I can honestly say there has been no difference in the way the cars have performed. If you want to take away anything about engine breaking in and this thread remember this one thing because it is the most important good thing you can do to your engine. Never start stomping on the accelerator until the car has warmed up properly. I'm not just talking about the engine but also the fluids. Make sure your engine, oil and transmission fluid is up to temperature before you start your spirited drives. Driving a car hard while it is cold does significantly more damage then anything else.
Benz has been creating cars for the past 125 years. They had plenty of time to idiot proof the break-in procedures. They have thought of everything, and even more, that has been mentioned in this thread and they have taken it into consideration when rolling out new cars/engines. These cars are not fragile. They were designed and built with speed in mind. Just go and enjoy your car from day one. If you follow the US highway code you will be treating your new engine just fine.
#33
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Porsche Macan S SportDesign / Ex M-B's: 11 & 10 & 06 E350's, 02 S500
Man, I'm an OCD paranoid about my car, and even I didn't get so worrisome during the break in period. Just keep the RPM's shifting relatively regularly (not jarringly, as that'll do more harm then good), don't haul a$$, but IMO a good spirited blast once or twice might be good for it (no evidence, just how I feel), to really "break it in", which I did maybe a few times in middle of my Grandma driving routines. Changing the oil may be good I guess (
) but since I don't DIY, if Mercedes doesn't say to do it, I'll save my money and DIY. I'm very gentle on motors naturally, so I figured by being myself I broke it in very well.
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#34
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2012 S350 Bluetec 4Matic, Diamond White, P2
While I was getting my first service done (10K mi.) I was chatting with the service advisor and the technician that worked on my car. I asked how many engine problems they see that could be attributed to incorrect break-in procedures. There answer? None, zero, nada. Hope that makes everyone feel a bit better.
#35
BMW dealer told me at pickup, with all these new transmission ratios, break-in RPM remain significant, vehicle speed becomes almost a non-issue.
He advised not to drive it over 4,000 rpm, to vary engine speed, driving types [in town, highway, etc] and avoid lugging the engine past moderate shift point, and cruise control for the first 1,000 miles. Makes sense.
Fragments do break loose when new reciprocating parts are started and used. But logically, most of these tiny pieces and the largest of them are shed in the first hundred turns of the motor. Once this initial mating and abrading and shearing of reciprocal surfaces takes place, subsequent shedding of metal pieces is actually quite low. The filter becomes the big damage preventer in the first hundred rpms.
As to magnetic drain plugs, it’s interesting that the poster states that Porsche employs them. Wouldn’t Porsche’s extensive use of non-magnetic engine alloys by weight afford the least benefit to Porsche than any other engine?
He advised not to drive it over 4,000 rpm, to vary engine speed, driving types [in town, highway, etc] and avoid lugging the engine past moderate shift point, and cruise control for the first 1,000 miles. Makes sense.
Fragments do break loose when new reciprocating parts are started and used. But logically, most of these tiny pieces and the largest of them are shed in the first hundred turns of the motor. Once this initial mating and abrading and shearing of reciprocal surfaces takes place, subsequent shedding of metal pieces is actually quite low. The filter becomes the big damage preventer in the first hundred rpms.
As to magnetic drain plugs, it’s interesting that the poster states that Porsche employs them. Wouldn’t Porsche’s extensive use of non-magnetic engine alloys by weight afford the least benefit to Porsche than any other engine?