Running in...please pass.

[Briton]

Does any one remember those signs on new cars? I assume is it not necessary these days to run an engine in to the degree that used to happen (only brand new car I've had has been a company car)...was it discovered that it just wasn't necessary or was there some kind of advance in engine manufacture?

 

[Briton]

Most engines are now run-in when they are built. This way the customer gets a car that is ready to drive.

Really? That must be quite an operation for the engine manufacturers.

 

[Briton]

Anyone else getting deja vu?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17661230


Whether or not the ECU logs such things (wouldn't surprise me), they'd stand no chance of voiding the warranty as a result unless the dealer had expressly warned you about obeying the running in procedure when the vehicle was handed over. Putting a note in the handbook about it and then trying to void the warranty when you say you didn't read it just isn't going to stand up in a court I'm afraid.

If you had to be 'expressly warned' then surely none of us has to worry about small print ever again? I doubt that somehow.

 

[Briton]

The point is that any warning which is so important that flouting it would result in the loss of your warranty should not be consigned to "small print" in the manual but instead should be explained by the dealer as part of the handover process.

'should'...mmm maybe but I think more likely it would be in the small print of your warranty. Actually you could equally say it's blindingly obvious that 'to rags the nuts off it' is likely to cause the seller to refuse to meet the warranty.

It would have to be tested in a court of course, but if a dealer tried to wriggle out of the warranty in this manner, my money would be on the customer tbh.

So you would be quite happy to sell a product and guarantee it regardless of whether the customer used it within specs or not?

Besides, if it's so damn important not to rev the engine too high in the first thousand miles or so, why doesn't the manufacturer program the ECU to prevent it? Such an argument could also be used by anyone falling foul of this "warning".

That's a fair point for cars that have that capability I suppose. What if you overclocked the CPU though?

 

[Briton]

No, but I wouldn't expect to be able to void the warranty because the customer didn't follow some advice buried somewhere in a 200-page manual.

You're making the assumption that "taking it easy" to start with is common sense and something everyone would know. This couldn't be further from the truth.

Couldn't be further from the truth? I think that's rubbish TBO...I think the vast majority of people would consider that 'taking it easy' with a new motor is common sense and frankly I don't believe those who say they'd 'rag the nuts of it'.

As this thread and others have demonstrated, even amongst some enthusiasts there is an attitude that such measures are no longer required with modern vehicles (not debating whether this is the case or not mind), and amongst the motoring public as a whole I'd imagine this attitude is just as prevalent, if not more so.
In the absence of any guidelines to the contrary therefore, such customers will drive the car as they please. If they are subsequently told by the dealer that their warranty is void because they didn't read the aforementioned warning buried in the manual then I think they'd have a very strong case in court.

Again I think you're wrong. If that were the case then there would never be any 'small print' problems. I suspect the vast majority of people, making what is probably the second biggest investment they'll ever make, will be careful and do their research as to what good practice is. Wouldn't you?

Consigning important warnings about non-obvious things to the "small print" is not an acceptable practice, nor is "should have read the manual mate" an acceptable defence on the part of the vendor.

I think you'll find it is acceptable legally but would agree it's not acceptable practice and no decent vendor would do that. That would be stupid and to their disadvantage. BTW...you say non-obvious but I would say nearly everybody on the planet would consider taking out any brand new machine and 'ragging the nuts off it' as an obviously stupid thing to do.

 

[Briton]

Just in case that was aimed at me - the last Impreza I had I took out one night with about 180 miles on the clock and pasted it for a good two or three hours.

And a member of this forum was sat in my passenger seat as witness.

Fair enough. Was there any manufacturers advice regarding this?

 

[Briton]

Yes, the manufacturers advice was don't go over 4,000rpm or labour the engine whilst using the running in oil, which I completely disregarded with all four Subaru Impreza's.

So why do you disregard this advice?

 

[Briton]

Two reasons.

Firstly - I didn't care, as they were all company cars.

Secondly - I couldn't wait till 1,000 miles had passed before being able to boot them and enjoy them (especially the two turbo'd ones).

Can I ask, is this company yours?

 

[Briton]

Yes you can ask, no it isn't.

Right so you are not the customer. I do not find it hard to believe that you would be happy to 'rag the nuts off' someone else's property.

 

[Briton]

Right o.

The point here is not what I did to those poor helpless defenceless cars, it's actually that three of them I see regularly around the town and they're all still going nicely.

One of them is owned by an employee of the Subaru dealer hence I know the mileage is around 150k because I'm in the dealers every 3 months or so as they are clients of mine. The other two are still serviced there and I always ask jokingly whether any of my old cars have blown up yet.

That's the point - of 4 I had and thrashed from new I know that three have not suffered any problems at all, the other one is out of town.

So you would 'rag the nuts off it' and ignore the advice of the manufacturer if you bought one with your own hard earned?

 

[Briton]

Damn right I would, and have. I bought a Honda Integra with 11,500 km's on the clock and ragged that right from the word go. I'd have done it from 1 mile on the clock if it hadn't have been in Japan for 11,500km.

There's a lot of people on Honda forums who firmly believe ragging Honda's from new helps to reduce oil consumption.

So why do you think the manufacturers make these recommendations?

 

[Briton]

General public don't even know a car needs warming up though. Once an engine is up to temp some normal driving will be fine. Normal depends on the driver of course but ragging a new engine is not too much of a problem.

I would take it easy on the brakes and clutch though

So maybe you could tell us why that particular manufacturer recommends limiting the revs for a period?