Hi all. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Curious what best practices everyone followed during the break-in period. I tried using the search function before posting, but nothing came back. Appreciate any suggestions!

 

you’re right. Hard to find anything concrete.
personally : no hard braking. No hard acceleration. No high rpm. Drive as fast as I want. For the first 1000 miles.

 

Great info!! Thanks for sharing.

 

Not sure where you got this, but here's what the owner's manual states:



I avoided hard braking and full throttle for the first about 600 miles... I did get it up to like 4000 RPM a few times, but didn't go near redline before break-in was done. Also, I made sure not to cruise at super-low RPM for too long. I'd vary my speed up and down to make sure the engine was spending time in different RPM ranges.

But you'll be fine. Don't stress about it too much.

The owner's manual is either in your car from new, or we have the digital owner's manual in the car's infotainment system.

 

Just found it on page 121. That will teach me to read the manual on my cell lol.

Thanks!

 

While it doesnt say it in this owners manual in the past a rule of thumb was to keep the RPM's below 4k during the break in period. Dont slam the brakes but gradually come to a stop, except if you are in a potential life threatening situation then do whatever needed to stay safe.

 

That was my approach (followed on all my previous cars), but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Appreciate your reply!

 

Anyone knows the reason behind these procedures? I get the part of keeping RPM low because new engine might need to get smoothed out and rings to sit properly until they are safe to rev to redline.
● For the first 621 miles (1000 km):

1. Breaking in your new Lexus
   To extend the life of the vehicle, observing
   
   the following precautions is recommended: ● For the first 186 miles (300 km):
   Avoid sudden stops. (What is concern here? Brakes? Personally I don't consider brakes significant to warrant a proper break-in because they will be replaced in a year or 2 anyway)
   
   • Do not drive at extremely high speeds. (How high is extremely high, I hit 85 mph during break-in briefly. Also, what's the purpose here? Engine RPM can be relatively low at around 2.5k while speed is at 85 mph)
     
   • Avoid sudden acceleration. (This I think it's to keep the RPM low)
     
   • Do not drive continuously in low gears. (Why? Stop and go traffic it's always in low gears, so I should avoid stop and go during break-in?)
     
   • Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods. (Not sure what this one's purpose is for)
     

 

No sudden stops = breaking in new brakes and rotors

No extreme high speeds = puts strain on new pistons and rings

No sudden acceleration = same as extreme high speed


Do not drive continuously in low gears = I always thought it was tied to breaking in the transmission

Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods = allows piston rings to seat correctly


At least that's what I was taught. Maybe someone has other thoughts.

 

the concerns are: basically bed in your pads. you want them to seat evenly on the rotors so hot spots and deposits don't form.

don't stress anything out i.e., don't spin anything too fast or too hard or too hot. this means the engine and driveline.8th gear isn't bad. but 8th gear at 130mph probably is. all rotating assemblies need to seat and mesh properly. anything that spins.

basically be gentle, but not overly gentle.

same principle for any car of any brand pretty much.

also i did a break in oil change at 800 miles on my car. peace of mind.

 

Also, do not drive at constant speeds. So, driving while breaking-in at 70-80mph for hours is also a big no no, mainly because they want those speed regimes to vary while the break-in period is happening. This allows for a better more complete break-in process