[wbassnp007]

Is anybody actually following the GM recommended break-in procedure listed in Section 9-28 (Driving and Operating) of the 2011 Terrain Owners's Manual? The "New Vehicle Break-In" procedure is quite limiting for the first 3,000 miles(5000 km).

 

[RIT333]

I, sort of, tried. It is almost impossible to follow to a T. If you follow it exactly, then they ought to give you your next car for free. IMHO

 

[wbassnp007]

You would probably need another car to drive while the prescribed break-in procedure is followed. I don't see how you can properly do a GM break-in without driving another car for work or going away. I don't recall seeing similar break-in procedures for other manufacturers. So between 600 - 3000 miles you can only go over 68 mph for 5 minutes per use. And I guess there is no cruise below 500 miles. Keep it under 68 for the first 600 miles.

Can we pull it in and out of the garage, or is this too much idling?

 

[RIT333]

They probably record your break-in infractions in the ECU, and then, down the road, if you have an engine problem they tell you that 147 times you didn't follow the correct break-in procedure and your warranty is null and void. LOL

 

[RSchleder]

We bought ours, got in it and drove 1000 miles home on the interstate and drove it like we'd owned it for years. The torque and power sure seem to be much greater now at 7,000 miles than it did when we first drove it. We certainly didn't abuse it but we sure didn't baby it either.

 

[wbassnp007]

They probably record your break-in infractions in the ECU, and then, down the road, if you have an engine problem they tell you that 147 times you didn't follow the correct break-in procedure and your warranty is null and void. LOL

The break-in police is watching and may give out tickets soon!

 

[wbassnp007]

We bought ours, got in it and drove 1000 miles home on the interstate and drove it like we'd owned it for years. The torque and power sure seem to be much greater now at 7,000 miles than it did when we first drove it. We certainly didn't abuse it but we sure didn't baby it either.

Just a guess - I assume you drove at a constant speed and above 68 mph most of the time.

 

[bballr4567]

We followed it pretty much to a T with our Malibu and it gave us piss poor MPGs, poor performance and a lackluster vehicle overall.

The Terrain we didnt. We have FAR better MPGs than the Malibu, vehicle is also faster and the engine is quieter. What we did with the Terrain this time was to let it get warm (actually wait after it says its warm on the gauge as that is kind of a dummy gauge) and then just give it 3/4 up to around 4500 RPMs once or twice a drive. The metal HAS to go through temp ranges (its why you dont want to drive the same speed over a long distance with a new vehicle) to get it fatigued properly.

Of course, just my opinion on the matter but look at how many companies dyno their vehicles as soon as they get off the production floor. Makes you wonder doesnt it?

 

[wbassnp007]

Does anybody know where the 68 mph figure comes from? And why does the manual say not to drive at a constant speed for only the first 500 miles? Why not 5000 miles? Why is 68 mph so magic?

 

[RSchleder]

We did drive at speeds above 68 mph quite a bit but probably didn't keep the same speed for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. This was because we were convoying ( long story), I was in the C5 Corvette and my wife driving the terrain. Because the cruise controls are different from car to car, the Terrain which was following needed to change speed periodically to keep our interval where we wanted. And, not being "kids" anymore, we never met a rest stop we didn't like!! ;D

 

[wbassnp007]

We did drive at speeds above 68 mph quite a bit but probably didn't keep the same speed for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. This was because we were convoying ( long story), I was in the C5 Corvette and my wife driving the terrain. Because the cruise controls are different from car to car, the Terrain which was following needed to change speed periodically to keep our interval where we wanted. And, not be "kids" anymore, we never met a rest stop we didn't like!! ;D

Does anybody know why 68 mph is the magic number? Why keep it under 68 mph until 600 miles. Why only 5 min. duration over 68 mph between 600 and 3000 miles?

From the threads in the forum, the exact opposite break-in procedure is recommended and followed with no untoward effects reported!

 

[wbassnp007]

I, sort of, tried. It is almost impossible to follow to a T. If you follow it exactly, then they ought to give you your next car for free. IMHO

I agree that it is almost impossible to follow to a T unless you have another car to drive to work everyday. They should at least give a loaner until break in is completed.

 

[DavidPJ]

We're normally light on the pedal so we're just driving the Terrain as normal during the break-in period. Haven't had it over 65mph.

 

[kevman]

We got ours 3 months ago and we are alrealy at 6000 miles. My wife pretty much followed it to a T. She was getting blown by in the right lane on her way to work. I will say that it seems out gas mileage is not what we thought it would be. I am hoping that will get better as time goes on.

Kevin

 

[mmarges]

With todays engines and tolerences there really isn't any real break in proceedure that's going to make a whole lot of difference long turm. Just simply drive it. Although, I wouldn't doubt that the computer on board does record the drivers habits from day one and has a special permanent memory section saved just for your first 100km of driving ;D

If it makes anyone feel any better what I do is:

0-50km drive it around town, light city traffic, hitting lights frequently, run it through the gears, light to light-moderate accellerations, having the tranny switch gears at about 2500-3000rpm
50-500km, mix of city and highway, moderate accellerations such that gears switch between 3000-3500rpms, highway cruising at 100-120km/hr
500-1000km, same only rev it out to about 4000rpm.
1000-2000km, same, only the odd time, maybe once every couple of days or so rev it to about 5000rpm.
2000km - Change oil & filter. put new conventional 5W-30...do not put in "Fully Synthetic" yet, your engine is not fully broken in until about 5000km.
2000-5000km drive it however you want, lay in to it every now and then...but don't beat it continuously.
5000km - Change oil & filter again. Use fully synthetic high quality oil.

5000 - ? Drive the Sh!t out of it and do what you want.

I've had 5 new vehicles in the past 12 years and broke them all in like this. Never any engine issues and they all purred and ran like new right up to the 150,000km mark that I usually flip in to a new car. My last vehicle (Honda Pilot) my wife took and is still driving at 180,000km. Again, runs like new, quite, same fuel efficiencey, no power loss ect...

 

[mnussbaum]

Does anybody know where the 68 mph figure comes from? And why does the manual say not to drive at a constant speed for only the first 500 miles? Why not 5000 miles? Why is 68 mph so magic?

Roughly speaking 68 mph=110 kph, which is a nice round number. The car is designed using metric units. That's also where the 600 miles period comes from, it's about 1000 km.

With todays engines and tolerences there really isn't any real break in proceedure that's going to make a whole lot of difference long turm. Just simply drive it.

Not true. Piston rings and cylinders still need to wear into each other, no matter how "perfect" they may seem off the line. It will take less time and fewer miles than in the past certainly but you still don't want to overdo it until things have seated themselves properly. Personally I'm nervous about not doing an oil change on a brand new engine until the car tells you to at 10,000 miles. You're leaving all the metal bits in there. Even a new filter won't catch it all, and there are microscopic particles floating in the oil. I'm going to change mine by 2,000 miles, maybe again 3,000 later, then let it extend per the monitoring system.

Although, I wouldn't doubt that the computer on board does record the drivers habits from day one and has a special permanent memory section saved just for your first 100km of driving ;D

Seriously now! :

 

[wbassnp007]

Roughly speaking 68 mph=110 kph, which is a nice round number. The car is designed using metric units. That's also where the 600 miles period comes from, it's about 1000 km.
Not true. Piston rings and cylinders still need to wear into each other, no matter how "perfect" they may seem off the line. It will take less time and fewer miles than in the past certainly but you still don't want to overdo it until things have seated themselves properly. Personally I'm nervous about not doing an oil change on a brand new engine until the car tells you to at 10,000 miles. You're leaving all the metal bits in there. Even a new filter won't catch it all, and there are microscopic particles floating in the oil. I'm going to change mine by 2,000 miles, maybe again 3,000 later, then let it extend per the monitoring system.
Seriously now! :

What I meant was: How was the 68 mph value reached. What research determined that 68 mph was the magic number for a proper break in. Why not 65 mph or 70 mph. My point really did not refer to the conversion of metric to english. My question relates to what is best for the engine! Again: Why only keep her under 68 mph for the first 600 miles? What research determined the 600 miles is the proper distance to be driven before we can exceed this number? (Albeit only for 5 minutes until we reach 3000 miles) Why not stay under 68 mph for 700 miles or 450 miles before exceeding this number. My point did not really involve metric conversions. It has to do with the correct value of speed and distance for break in.

 

[mnussbaum]

I mentioned metric because I'd think the max speed during break-in was designed in kph, then converted to mph, hence the non-round number. GM must have gone to a lot of trouble to determine the best break-in sequence for this engine. Perhaps engine rpm at 68 mph is what limits you, or oil pressure, or some other set of values. Whatever it was, it's probably better in the long term to follow it (I'm not directing this to you or anyone in particular but just making a general statement). Will you "ruin" your engine or void the warranty? Highly doubtful. But it could influence how long the engine lasts before requiring a rebuild.

Here's one article on engine break-in presented in basic terms, but there are tons of others with more detail. And people will always disagree on what is best! ;D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_break-in

 

[TheCrow1994]

What I meant was: How was the 68 mph value reached. What research determined that 68 mph was the magic number for a proper break in. Why not 65 mph or 70 mph. My point really did not refer to the conversion of metric to english. My question relates to what is best for the engine! Again: Why only keep her under 68 mph for the first 600 miles? What research determined the 600 miles is the proper distance to be driven before we can exceed this number? (Albeit only for 5 minutes until we reach 3000 miles) Why not stay under 68 mph for 700 miles or 450 miles before exceeding this number. My point did not really involve metric conversions. It has to do with the correct value of speed and distance for break in.

I have a question regarding that, too. If we are supposed to limit speed above 68 mph for 5 minute intervals, how long are you supposed to drop down below 68 before you can go back to driving above 68 mph again?

 

[wbassnp007]

I have a question regarding that, too. If we are supposed to limit speed above 68 mph for 5 minute intervals, how long are you supposed to drop down below 68 before you can go back to driving above 68 mph again?

Good question. Since there is no literature that I know of to answer your question, we are only guessing. The key point is not to stay above 68 mph for more than 5 minutes. So, conceivably, one could ride at 70 mph for 4 minutes and 59 seconds, then reduce speed to 68 mph for a while, then increase speed to 70 mph again. Of course, everything changes at 3000 miles. I could see setting the cruise to 68 and then accelerating to pass a slower moving vehicle. After passing, resume cruise at 68. Without knowing for sure, we are only guessing at the correct answer to your question.