Getting My First Soon, Break-in Question

Receiving my TRD Off-Road in a few weeks. Been reading up on the break-in period. I'll probably have it week or 2 driving locally before I was hoping to take it on a 1800 mile round trip from SC to northwest Indiana. It kind of looks like it might be a bad idea especially not using CC. Would appreciate any thoughts on that!

We've made the trip in my wife's Rav4 but it's a long trip and not that comfortable for me but I wouldn't want to jeopardize my new baby, lol.

Thanks

 

Should be fine if you vary the speed and don’t use cruise control. If you hit a long stretch of highway with the same speed limit I would recommend sometimes running 5 over, sometimes 5 under, and sometimes in the middle. Maybe run some occasionally for short periods in S5 instead o “D”.

 

Absolutely nothing to worry about, there is no break in anymore. Just drive it like you normally would.

1800 miles is a long time to worry about the truck the whole time.

It has 5 year warranty, no break in. Just drive it. Cruise control and all.

 

You'll be fine.

Just don't goose it (too much) for the first little while. Don't tow. Use common sense.

Modern engines work pretty well out of the box. The large majority of people don't even know there is a break in period and their vehicles are fine.

Do what you feel comfortable doing. You'll get answers both way here.

 

Thanks for the quick replies. Now I'm getting excited! My Sierra is 14 years old so I don't buy a new truck too often obviously - didn't want to do her wrong.

 

I should be getting my new Tacoma soon also. This is the first time I’ve ever heard about babying a truck in the break in period…in the past I’ve been told to run it real hard, tow heavy, etc to seat the rings. Not sure what changed or what is different in Toyota land.

 

My wife pointed out what it said with her Rav4. Did a search and saw some screen shots out of the owners manual in a couple of threads, raised my concerns...

 

2018 or newer.

 

You might be mindful of your new brakes. Depending on how much local driving you do before your trip and the down hill braking on your trip.

https://www.autozone.com/diy/brakes/bedding-brakes

Have a safe trip and enjoy the new truck.

 

Nice opinion, but it doesn’t jive with the actual manual…

-Breaking in your new Toyota
To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recom-
mended:
•For the first 200 miles (300 km):
Avoid sudden stops.
•For the first 500 miles (800 km):
Do not tow a trailer.
•For the first 1000 miles (1600 km):
Do not drive at extremely high speeds.
Avoid sudden acceleration.
Do not drive continuously in low gears.
Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.

 

... and there in lies my concerns...

 

Just follow the manual recommendations. During your trip just vary your speeds here and there and don't red line it. Look at this way... break in will be over during your trip.

 

Vary speeds, keep it 1-2k below redline, change fluids at 1000 miles. It’s pretty good ez.

 

NW Indiana?! thats my neck o' the woods!

 

Whatever you do, don’t take it out of the cat port if it’s raining, the sun is shining, there might be pollen in the air, or you are having a bad hair day.

 

This. I mean the first 1,000 just go easy on it, then after that drive it normally. The first 1,000 miles flies by anyways.

 

Just drive it and use the truck like would any other day, and it'll be fine. I didn't follow much of anything toyota recommends for break-in, and its been flawless so far.

 

Youre right its an opinion. I'm a factory tech. Bearings and aluminum blocks don't need break in. The first two notes are actually in regards to the brakes and driveline, not the engine.

We have replaced 2 tacoma 3.5's since they came out in 2016, strongly doubt that every single good unit broke in properly.

My point is, this guy shouldn't worry. Even if there was a real break in, there is warranty and nothing to stress about.

 

OP you should just exactly follow the break-in procedures to the letters and follows what others have commented above.

Sure, you'll need to pay attention and sweat a little the first 1000 miles, but then you can be 100% sure you did everything you could correctly, and you wouldn't ever need to second guess if you had messed something up sometime down the road.

I always believe that one should do everything well the first time and never half ass the process because one's either going to be worrying about if something goes wrong or something's actually going to fail and bite them in the ass.

 

Grew up near Hammond. Going to wedding in Michigan City...