Hi all,

I'm awaiting delivery of a Yeti 1.2TSI DSG (Elegance, Muscavado).

Not only is this the first Skoda I'll ever have owned, but the first time I've ever bought a brand new car. So, I have a very newbie 2-part question to ask; is it true that brand new cars require a running in period, and if so, why?

I have Googled this topic and opinions seem to be divided, so I thought I'd ask you folks for your thoughts too.

There's another recent thread on this, but in brief, not as such; just exercise some restaint in how high you rev for the first few thousand miles.

I'd recommend abiding by Honest John's advice - has worked well for me - and now he's a poster at Briskoda Yeti, one is obliged to abide!

http://www.honestjoh...k/faq/index.htm

For petrol engines:

http://www.honestjoh...q/faq.htm?id=44

He says, and I hope he doesn't mind me posting it here:

15. RUNNING-IN A PETROL ENGINE: What's the best way to run-in a petrol engine? Put the car on a rental fleet so it is driven by a lot of different drivers with different driving styles. Seriously, modern petrol engines are built extremely 'tight' so they need a bit of wear during the first 10,000 miles for the piston rings to bed properly into the bores. Leave factory fill of oil for the first year or 10,000 miles. An early oil change to fully synthetic can prevent this happening, as can driving at low engine revs and driving at steady speeds. So, depending on the engine, self-impose yourself yourself a rev limit of between 4,000 and 5,000 for the first 1,000 miles, and be sure you vary your revs and occasionally reach that limit. After 1,000 miles, common sense dictates that you won't rev the nuts off the thing straight away, but you needn't be too worried about hitting 6,000 rpm occasionally as long as you vary the engine speed. Try never to rev to the rev limiter as the misfire this causes can damage the catalytic converter matrix. Don't change the oil and filter until the first manufacturer recommended change point, or the end of the first year. After that, if you intend keeping the car for a long time I still recommend more frequent oil and filter changes than the manufacturers or their on-board service indicators suggest. It's also a good idea to have the transmission oil changed after the first year to get rid of any swarf which could later be ground up into tiny particles which eventually get into the bearings and accelerate wear.

And for diesels:

http://www.honestjoh...q/faq.htm?id=32

14. RUNNING IN A DIESEL: What's the best way to run-in a diesel engine? Leave factory fill of oil for the first year or 10,000 miles. For the first 1,000 miles do not exceed 3,000rpm, but make sure you reach 3,000rpm regularly. For the next 1,000 miles (to 2,000 miles) do not exceed 3,500rpm, but make sure you reach 3,500rpm regularly. For the next 1,000 miles (to 3,000 miles) do not exceed 4,000rpm, but make sure you reach 4,000rpm regularly. For the next 1,000 miles (to 4,000 miles) do not exceed 4,500rpm, but make sure you reach 4,500rpm at least a couple of times a week. After that, no limit, but make sure you continue to hit 4,500rpm through the gears several times a week. The benefit of this is it helps to self clean the injectors, it blows any accumulated soot out of the exhaust system and it helps to free off the piston rings, making the engine more efficient and less likely to use engine oil. The latest bain of a diesel driver's life is the Diesel Particulate Filter. On passive cycle the DPF will require the car to regularly be driven significant distances at 2,000rpm plus for the DPF to get hot enough to regenerate and burn off the particulates in itDPFs also have an 'active' cycle where additinal fuel is injected into the combustion chambers to creater hotter than normal exhaust gases to burn off particulates in the DPF. However, this does not always work and the extra fuel can instead find its way into the engine sump, contaminating the lube oil and sometimes leading to such a rise in sump oil level that the engine can start to run uncontrollably on its sump oil and will self-destruct. Peugeot/Citroen/Ford diesel engines don't need to get quite as hot as diesels in other makes because they use an additive to help regenerate the DPF. This used to be added to a tank under the back seat, but is now contained in a bladder that needs to be repalce around every 100,000 miles.

Edited 22 January, 201016 yr by aerofurb

On a new engine I try to ignore all mechanical sympathy. Be it petrol or diesel. After the engine is up to operating temp (30 minutes), give it some!! Vary the load from throttle to engine braking, and vary the revs.

Result is minimal oil consumption and a healthy engine that produces the power it is supposed to produce.

One important thing to remember on all VTG turbo engines (most "modern" turbodiesel engines) is to load them and let them rev high now and then to make sure the VTG mechanism doesn't stick. Babying them makes them more expensive to run.. You would not want to replace the turbo because of sticking vanes in the turbo because of babying the engine thinking you took good care of it.

I agree with JonA,

I have always driven new engines freely. That is not to let the engine labour or become too loaded at low revolutions. Nor to red line it for too long, though occasionally should not hurt. I would just drive keeping up with the traffic, overtaking every now and then but not make a big thing of the running in period if such a ting exists today. Where did the Honest John running in schedule come from? has it been written by a metallurgist or materials scientist or from the auto manufacturing industry? Years ago great play was made of running in but machining and materials have improved, lubrication is far from where it was. Don't they run them at the factory for testing and rev them up anyway?

Edited 23 January, 201016 yr by Anthony 1

Well, I've come to the conclusion that as long as I don't drive live an octogenarian towing a trailer full of fat pigs to market, or a 14 year old South London hoodie car thief on crack, then I shouldn't worry too much about just driving it like I'd drive any other (second hand) car I've ever owned

RobDog63,

I would have thought that would be about right. I would be interested to know what the individual car manufacturers consider might be best practice.

From my days at VW, the advice for PD TDI engines was to vary the revs whilst running in without using more than 2/3 revs in the first 500 - 1000 miles. Those who went on gentle runs at a constant speed usually ended up with engines that developed an oil drink problem.

I took a look at the Yeti Manual ... it states:

Driving and the Environment

The first 1 500 kilometres and then afterwards - A new engine

The engine has to be run in during the first 1 500 kilometres.

Up to 1 000 kilometres

– Do not drive faster than 3/4 of the maximum speed of the gear in use, that is 3/4 of

the maximum permissible engine speed.

– Do not use full throttle.

– Avoid high engine revolutions.

– Do not tow a trailer.

From 1 000 up to 1 500 kilometres

– Increase the power output of the engine gradually up to the full speed of the gear

engaged, that is up to the maximum permissible engine revolutions.

During the first operating hours the engine has higher internal friction than later until

all of the moving parts have harmonized. The driving style which you adopt during the

first approx.1 500 kilometres plays a decisive part in the success of running in your

vehicle.

You should not drive at unnecessarily high engine revolutions even after the

running-in period is complete. The maximum permissible engine speed is marked by

the beginning of the red zone on the scale of the revolutions counter. Shift up into the

next higher gear on a vehicle fitted with manual gearbox before the red zone is

reached. Extremely high engine revolutions are automatically governed, by the way.

For a vehicle fitted with a manual gearbox the converse situation also applies: Do not

drive at engine revolutions which are too low. Shift down as soon as the engine is no

longer running smoothly.

Caution

All the speed and engine revolution figures apply only when the engine is at its normal

operating temperature. Never rev up an engine which is cold, neither when the vehicle

is stationary nor when driving in individual gears.

For the sake of the environment

Not driving at unnecessarily high engine revolutions and shifting to a higher gear as

early as possible are ways to minimise fuel consumption and operating noise levels

and protects the environment.

Edited 23 January, 201016 yr by grahamar

shrub & grahama thank you for your additions to aerofurb's running in advice.

If you have the Maxidot display ignore the change down indicator and change down as soon as it starts to labour.

Don't be afraid to occasionally let it rev a little bit, say in second gear coming off a roundabout, but don't thrash it and don't go anywhere near the redline.

Then as the miles pile up you can let it rev a little bit more.

tom