Cosmic Benz

I will be picking up my new black on black E63 in about a week. Many of you have been through this process and I wonder if there is any advice you would want to share with a new owner—a lesson(s) that you have learned through the experience of picking up your new car and driving through the first miles.

I searched "break-in" and got nothing from the search engine. Most forums have lengthy and turbulent discussions about the correct strategy for doing this.

Having been a management consultant for many years, I place great value on the wisdom of experience. So, if you have any recommendations gleaned from your new-owner experience, please share them with me. You can be sure I will appreciate any advice that might save me time, money, or avoid problems.

mche55!

DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT

lbE55

It took me a while to get used to the smell . . . I don't know . . . something kind of like burnt rubber.

I just ignore the smell now.

I landed in the middle on the break-in issue. I didn't red-line it, but I would often do some hard accelerations, getting the RPMs up fairly high.

Enjoy yourself!

Cosmic Benz

When I got my 2007 Z06, I followed several threads on the Corvette forum that discussed the pluses and minuses of various break-in strategies. That site has a lot of engineers and they all agreed that the motors do not need to be "broken-in" in the traditional sense, but the transmission and rear end need to be gradually exposed to hard acceleration and high speeds.

MB has built the cars to withstand the rigors of poor maintenance and hard usage, so it is probably immaterial. If break-in was critical (one procedure over another), they would make that clear and if it was hyper-critical to longevity (read, their warranty costs) they would put a governor on the engine for X period of time.

My natural tendency is to gradually increase RPM and acceleration over the first 1000 miles, then just drive it.

mogz

Vary your RPM.

mamamiakeroppi

AC might make humming noise during the first 1000 miles. Oh and be careful with the front fog lights hitting debris or rocks when driving on freeway. My parents' e63's front right foglight got shattered about 3 weeks ago. Cost about $180 plus labor and tax to replace.

for breaking-in, just follow the manual. We follow exactly what the manual says and now its broken in pretty good.

nlk10010

Well, if your dealer doesn't put miles on the car before you get it you're ahead of the game.

I was reluctant to use M mode but if you don't you'll never get the RPMs up past 2000 or so, so use M (at least some of the time) and vary the RPMs up to 3500-4500.

=NLK=

Cosmic Benz

My car is coming in from Germany straight into my hands. They had one on the lot with 91 miles, but I did not want it. When people "road test" and E63, they typically run the **** out of it. I don't think it hurts the engine at all, but they can overload the transmission and screw up the brakes during these test runs.

nlk10010

Yes, well, again it depends on the dealer. Mine was ordered from Germany and I waited 4 months for it, yet when I took delivery it had 15 miles on the odometer (and no certificate that it had been test driven in Germany). So I could be wrong but based on my experience with my M5 and from what others had said, I figure the dealer took it on a 10 mile or so joyride. Hopefully your experience will be different.

I really think cars nowadays are much tougher than they're given credit for, but being careful the first 1000 miles can't hurt.

Good luck with your car and enjoy the ride (and the anticipation!).

=NLK=

05VENOM

The manual recommends driving the first 1,000 miles at varying speeds, avoid full throttle and accelerating kick-downs. It makes a point to say
additional instructions for AMG vehicles...do no exceed 85 mph and avoid going over 4500 rpm.

My car had 40 miles on it when delivered. I followed the recommendations
(believe me,it was very hard) and she runs beautiful. Now have 1,200 miles and she keeps getting better. Good Luck!

Bluemax

Sorry to threadjack, But how do you get them in " M " mode? I just put a deposit on one today

BlkE63AMG

Brakes..... This may be the most irritating aspect of the E63 early on. You will not be able to brake smoothly. It speaks nothing to your driving prowess but rather to the electonic braking aide attempting to guess what is going on. Have 4000 miles now and the brakes are smooth.

Ordered mine too from Germany and tracked it here. Came w/ 20 miles on it. *******s!!!! I almost didn't take delivery, but after waiting 5 months I said what the heck. Has been great. Have black and cashmere. Clean black is awesome. I want a ZO6 or a 911 Turbo but convincing the wife may take time. How do you like it? The E63 has been great, you will DEFINITELY love it. Congrats.

nlk10010

There's a button on the center console that cycles among M, C and S, and you can change the mode on the fly. At my age, however, I had to make a conscious effort to remember I needed to shift and what control to use. Sometimes I'd start from a stop and wonder why the engine kept getting louder and louder; other times I'd try to shift using the button that changes tracks on the CD cartridge (couldn't figure out why the song kept changing ).

=NLK=

05VENOM

It was my understanding they did away with the electronic brake aide.
I just hit 1,200 miles and the brakes haven't been an issue(besides a little squealing)

jangy

I agree 100%. Slowly add variability and punch. it will thank you fro it later. I actually believe that breaking themn in right adds performance AND reliability (wishful!!).

Cosmic Benz

Thank you one and all for contributing to this thread. When you are a newbie, you are appreciative for any information that saves you time and money--or just worry.

jangy

Anytime bro. Enjoy that thing. The E63 is a magnificant piece of machinery.

I'll help you get the most from your benz and you help me get my waistline down to below 40

Yacht Master

05Venom/manual is right on. the only thing I would add is to avoid extended idle time and don't baby it too much rings need a little pressure to seat. By 1200 miles let her rip, and if you are **** like me change oil at 1500.
Congratulations and good luck

Cosmic Benz

Just as a follow-up factoid, I talked with my MB salesman. My car is ready for delivery and he said it came in with 10 miles on it. He said there will be 1 or 2 additional miles put on, but it should be delivered with 11 or 12.

I would like to know how the 10 factory miles were put on the car. If they ran the p**s out of it, what is the big deal about "break-in."

It's hard to imagine factory engineers "testing" the car by driving around at 55-65 MPH, easing that baby around the test area.

It would be very interesting to know exactly what maneuvers they put the car through during their procedure.

nlk10010

Again, good question.

Mine supposedly came in with 8 miles (how it got the other 7 is the problem).

We do tend to trust that if they do something to the car "at the factory" it's OK. And they DO test drive some cars for an extended period. That's why I can't understand "break-in". Of course you can wring the car out without abusing it, which is what gives rise to our concern about dealer joyriding. But I really have to believe that these cars come "broken-in" from the Factory.

=NLK=

RJC

Follow the recommendations in the owner's manual as MB does not want warranty claims and they know what's best to avoid them. Remember, break-in extends beyond just the engine and to the entire drivetrain. Brakes also have their own break-in procedure and is listed in the manual as well.

nlk10010

I agree completely. There's very little if anything to be gained and a lot to lose if you DON'T follow MB's instructions.

I'm just curious as to the purpose of factory test driving. No matter how skilled you are I fail to see how ANYONE can wring out the car while adhering to the break-in guidelines OR how one can violate them without possibly damaging the engine, driveline or brakes. This goes for the "certified" test drives; the informal 5-10 mile jaunts could just be relaxed rides to see if everything is functioning properly.

Again, who knows? But I'm not about to tempt fate (or warranty) because I can't wait 1000 miles.


=NLK=

Bluemax

Hey Cosmic,

Your going to love this car. I have in two days put over three hundred miles on her. Thanks for the heads up on your mileage. Makes me wonder who put the other thirty miles on mine.

I think my first mod will be the lowering module. Not sure if renntech is the one i should try. Anybody with an E63 have one installed yet? Any problems ?

Robert

Cosmic Benz

Just got home with mine. Picked up with 14 miles on her. The next 1000 miles will be tough for me, but I do believe in a sensible break-in process. I love the car.

Break-in protocol is mostly for the owner. Advice on this forum, on Corvette forums, BMW forums--about 50% of the people who buy these cars drive them like they stole them.

So far, there is no available data that suggests any break in process leads to extra warranty issues--most of that is assembly or off quality supplier components.

If there is any impact, it is probably on functional longevity or on maintenance costs over 100,000 miles on the hard break in versus factory recommended break in maintenance costs.

Since I seldom keep a car for over 2 years, it doesn't matter, but I treat my car like I treat my dog--nothing but the best.