New 2012 WRX owner needs your help. Please.

[jester33]

Hello all I bought. A 5-door pearl white WRX on Sunday, the salesman did not explain the break in procedure on the vehicle. I've followed these cars since their release in 02. I was so over joyed driving a turbo again that when the vehicle had only 7 miles on it I redlined the vehicle several times to get a feel for it. I have been losing sleep ever since reading don't shift above 4k for the first 1,00 miles. Did I possibly damage my vehicle in any way? Please explain and elaborate as the more information the better and maybe I can sleep again. Thank you for your help everyone.


Matt

[KronosPerformance]

You're fine. Just drive it like a human being for a bit. I think honestly people have different ideologies when it comes to break ins...don't stress it.

If you have an issue, you have a warranty. Chances of you having an issue are extremely slim. You're fine.

[jester33]

Thank you for the prompt response, and I appreciate the input, anybody else?

[ruthie]

Bought a WRX STI hatch a week ago with 20 miles on it...have not red lined it but have gave it a few good runs....also took it on a good 50 mile road/highway run....not worried at all, and kinda hard not to give it!!!!

[90crxfreak]

drive it as you would regularly but subdued a bit. don't beat the crap out of it, but don't baby it either. Just think. those first few miles on the car are from the factory dyno and they have to see if the motor is in the realm of the projected HP....

[seeuarndjimmy]

i just picked up my car too and been keeping the revs in the 3000 range. i've noticed the car shifts a lot cleaner around 3200rpm.

[Ying]

You're supposed to drive in varying speeds and RPMs, so let's just say you have varied to redline enough for now You really shouldn't be worried about it though. The two general schools of thought are 1) follow the Subaru recommended break in and 2) beat the pants off of your new car and deal with warranty if it comes down to it. I've not really seen any proven evidence one way or the other that suggests a preferred method because any motor could have potential flaws regardless of break in. As said above though, I would just drive it like your mother would until it hits 1,000 miles.

[jester33]

ok, I'm starting to feel a little better about the whole situation. any other inputs and thanks to everyone who has commented thus far.


Matt

[wrxdrvr]

drive it as you would regularly but subdued a bit. don't beat the crap out of it, but don't baby it either. Just think. those first few miles on the car are from the factory dyno and they have to see if the motor is in the realm of the projected HP....

REALLY? The factory dyno... I would think the first few miles are from the assembly line to the boat, and from the boat to the trucks to get it to the dealerships and from test drives others may have made if more than 3 or 4 miles are on it before you bought it... But I agree with the driving it normally but subdued a bit bit...

[etnpnys]

You're supposed to drive in varying speeds and RPMs, so let's just say you have varied to redline enough for now You really shouldn't be worried about it though. The two general schools of thought are 1) follow the Subaru recommended break in and 2) beat the pants off of your new car and deal with warranty if it comes down to it. I've not really seen any proven evidence one way or the other that suggests a preferred method because any motor could have potential flaws regardless of break in. As said above though, I would just drive it like your mother would until it hits 1,000 miles.

+1

Don't worry about it, dude. Just don't WOT before the car warms up. That's the one thing I would say you must adhere to. For everything else, everybody is polarized on the issue. Personally, I drove mine like I stole it on the way home from the dealership.

As far as evidence, you're going to be pretty hard-pressed to find any on either side of the fence...

[Soobvirgin]

REALLY? The factory dyno... I would think the first few miles are from the assembly line to the boat, and from the boat to the trucks to get it to the dealerships and from test drives others may have made if more than 3 or 4 miles are on it before you bought it... But I agree with the driving it normally but subdued a bit bit...

I used to sell MINIs and when the convertible was launched, we all had a tour of the factory. The final(?) process is to put the car on a rolling road/dyno and take it through the rev range. The drivers take every car up to 100mph on the spot. I would assume this to be similar for most manufacturers. How this fits with their running-in recommendations, I don't know.

[jester33]

Thanks to everyone who helped me out with info on this topic, special thanks to "etnpnys" for that article. Any other thoughts on this? I possibly redlined a few times before it was warmed up all the way maybe 5 times max. I guess there is not much I can do at this point but was just wondering.


Matt

[jester33]

oh WOW I just finished reading the article that "etnpnys" embeded above, When should I change the initial oil in the vehicle? The dealership told me to change it at 3,750 miles for 1st oil change and 7,500 after that, any thoughts?

[etnpnys]

oh WOW I just finished reading the article that "etnpnys" embeded above, When should I change the initial oil in the vehicle? The dealership told me to change it at 3,750 miles for 1st oil change and 7,500 after that, any thoughts?

For the record, I'm not recommending that process for everybody. I'm just saying that there are very polarized views on the topic...

And jester: my dealership gave me several free oil changes at their place, so I went in at 1,000 to get the first stuff outta there. I haven't gone back yet, but I will cross 5,000 today on my way home. I'll schedule another one soon, but you also need to know that there is a very long thread somewhere on here where everybody was discussing oil change intervals (OCIs). I don't have time to find it right now, but it shouldn't be difficult...

[90crxfreak]

REALLY? The factory dyno...

\oh you dont watch how it's made do you?

I used to sell MINIs and when the convertible was launched, we all had a tour of the factory. The final(?) process is to put the car on a rolling road/dyno and take it through the rev range. The drivers take every car up to 100mph on the spot. I would assume this to be similar for most manufacturers. How this fits with their running-in recommendations, I don't know.

point. set. match.