Break-in for new car?

Hi,

I purchased a new 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i and took ownership of it in Sep tember. We bought it to supplement our 250,000 mile 2002 Forester. Welcome!

There was still the recommendation to vary speeds for the first miles of dr iving, which did not prove to be much of a hardship for me, for with the CV T in my Subaru, even with Cruise Control set, the engine RPMs vary a great deal on the freeway (we have lots of hills where I live).

I had the dealer change oil at 3750 miles, even though there had been some recommendations that with synthetic oil I should not have to change it befo re 7500 miles. It was my money, and I felt more at ease knowing that if there was anything that came off the engine and into the oil in those first couple of thousan d miles, I was now rid of it.

Hope you enjoy your purchase.

Duane

That's great! I bet you'll love the Forester.

Your guidance for the first 1,000 miles is just what the dealer told me when I got my new Outback a few months ago. No mention of the oil. AFAIK you just change the oil at the specified interval.

I don't know whether 100 miles would matter as long as you vary things for the subsequent 900 miles, but how about doing a combination of freeways and surface streets on your way home? Take a scenic detour, get some lunch....:-)

:-) I've actually driven a stick shift while eating an ice-cream cone, but it is a bit dicey. :-) Also, it's nice to have a car that you can drive in stop-and-go traffic without your left leg getting sore.

I just sold my 1992 Legacy wagon (precursor to the Outback, as you probably know). It was still in fine shape, too.

I was lucky that after my mom's experiences with the used cars she bought for my brother, she decided to start me off with a new car. :-) I subsequently bought one new car and a couple of slightly used ones, so this Outback is the first brand-new car I've had in 40 years. I figured I deserved one by now. :-) But that's no slam on my Porsche, which I bought at three years of age and is still doing fine 24 years later. Like you, I hold onto cars for a long time.

Patty

The best breakin for a new car is a rush-hour drive of about 60-100 miles. accellerate and decellerate at medium load, keep it under 3500 RPM for the first 100 miles, then drive it like you stole it. First oil change around 3000 km 2000 miles. The surface finishes on todays engines and driveline parts are MUCH better than they were in years past, making breakin much simpler than in the past.

The first hundred is more critical than the next 900 -

That's where a big enough engine comes in handy. I can drive my '96 4 liter Ranger (3.55 gears) for miles without shifting, as long as I don't need to stop.. Basically I only use 3 gears.

It's a perfect opportunity for a good early break-in. I think the earliest miles are the most important.

Why not do the first 50 miles on regular streets than jump on the highway for the rest. I once bought a new car in Phoenix AZ, and had to bring it back to Las Vegas where I lived. By the time I got out of the Phoenix Metro area the car was partially broken in.

The stop-and-go pattern of city driving is nearly ideal for break-in. I know that little crappy four cylinder 1.5L Mitsubishi engine, from the late 80's, turned out to be indestructible. Sold the car with nearly 130k miles, almost all city driving, almost all in great heat, traffic and very short distances. Never, never gave me a problem, and remained peppy until something like 60k miles. All on regular dino engine oil, too. Not bad. Even at

130k it was still smooth, though leaked oil past seals like crazy. All Mitsus of that time did.

The Subaru factory oil fill contains a lot of molybdenum which is good for break-in. So don't change it right away, let it stay in for awhile. If you change very early say less than first 1000 miles, like I do, you might consider adding half a bottle or more of this stuff to replenish the molybdenum (Liqui Moly MoS2).

Good Luck, Forester is a great car. Basia

There's always the Top Gear version of "breaking-in" a new car ... take it to a race track / airport runway, deserted / closed road and boy-racer it to near-destruction ... it'll soon "break and back "in" the repair centre. ;-)

taught by 2014 Subaru designers?

If not, read the owners manual.

GW

As Geoff noted, read the owner's manual as it should give you the information you need for the break-in period. I have always driven my new cars in the same fashion as you did your Honda for the break-in period. One thing to point out is that there are reports of what some consider excessive oil consumption in the 2.2.5L engine in the Forester. You might find yourself down a quart every 1,000 miles. Right now I have a VW Routan, which is the same as a Chrysler T&C, with the 3.6L engine and a VW Eos with the 2.0 L Turbo engine. Both of those engines use a lot of oil, about a quart every 1,000 miles or so. Hearing the reports of the Subaru 2.5L engine using a lot of oil is not "news" to me - I have the same situation now and neither VW or Subaru consider that kind of usage as "excessive".

My younger son bought his first new car - a 2014 Forester a few weeks ago. I've always liked the Forester and after going through the process with him, my wife and I decided on one two. We expect delivery of our 2014 Forester Touring in about six weeks. Inventory is low in our area (Long Island) and we had to order one with the options and, more importantly, the color in order to get what we want.

Been following thread and this is what I found:

Base url:

Interesting for me to read that advice should also be filed if engine is overhauled or you get new brakes.

Been following thread and this is what I found:

Base url:

Interesting for me to read that advice should also be filed if engine is overhauled or you get new brakes. Good tip, I found the complete owner's manual on-line.

Now a follow-up question...How many of you new 2014 Forrester owners are using 0W-20 synthetic oil? Anybody using regular 5W-30

I am using 0W-20 synthetic oil in mine.

Duane

An article in the local newspaper on Wednesday had VW saying that the failures with their DSG gearboxes can be "fixed" by *NOT* using synthetic oil ...

The gearbox-lubricant fault particularly affects vehicles driving in hot and humid weather with a lot of stop-and-go traffic, Volkswagen said. The problem can be fixed by using mineral oil in place of synthetic oil.