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Break-in guidance in Owner's Manual

Riko

New member
Hi folks,

New to the forum and soon to be a 2012 GTI owner. I'm in limbo waiting for delivery until the end of the month. Makes for a very long month.

I was just curious if somebody would be willing to post a summary of what guidance appears in the actual Owner's Manual WRT break-in?

I don't have access to the manual yet as I await delivery and have not been able to find this info online (although I did find a wide range of personal opinion and RTFM's - I would if I could).

Thought this might be of interest to others in the same boat as me.

Cheers
 

tmiw

Go Kart Champion
"Take it easy for the first 1k miles, and then you should be good to go." -owner's manual

For me, I followed the owner's manual for the most part, but for the first 200 miles or so I drove mostly in M mode and braked with the engine as much as possible (in case the seals did need seating). But really, owner's manual is fine. :thumbup:
 

grambles423

Automotive Engineer
Refer to this thread and remember, GTIs are purpose built.:
http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31220

I will say this again, much like what I say in all of these break-in threads:

Once your car leaves the final assembly line and enters functional road testing, it is subjected to BRUTAL standards for redline revving and seal setting. The first 3-10 miles of a cars life is probably some of the toughest it will ever see. EVER! If people knew what we did to their Odyssey/Pilots/Ridgelines, they probably wouldnt buy them. Same as when I worked for Mercedes, $60K+ vehicles being tossed around as if they were toys.

We've had V6 engines here that blow bad seals, head gaskets, etc. etc. right off the line, but thats just an effort to prevent it from happening in the market to you guys. Most of the issue with break in periods now, is just a standard protocol that OEMs are REQUIRED to put in the owner's manual to prevent any feedback from such events. Even if you didnt follow this protocol it would still be covered under warranty. Also consider, most of these issues arose from much ealier model vehicles. Engine Technology is so far advanced now and days that its not an issue anymore.

Its bad enough that our engine group has to create these testing procedures during new model activity, but to place redundant procedures on the hands of customers is quite irrelevant. Actually......to put ANY testing procedure in the hands of the customers is a failure of good OEM preventive engineering.

For the record as well: Futurell placed a APR Stage 3 Kit/LSD/BBK/Clutch on a GTI with 88Miles. Still running strong.

I don't believe this is true for all cars, I'm sure the manufactures test every engine before dropping them in to the cars but track testing every single unit Not likely, way to much work and to much time. They test a hand full of them to make sure the components work as they should. Once the consumer gets their hands on it other problems may arise and those problems are handled as "Recalls".

My golf was brand spanking new, my trip odometer says 114 miles so does my engine odometer. No one drove my car, it had all the plastic still on it. They just cleaned and prepped it.

:facepalm:

Yes......bud, EVERY single car.

I have literally watch these cars drive off the line (At Mercedes US INTL AND Honda Mfg.) and onto the rolls test and bump test. 100% Broham. You're confusing track testing for the 2 mile test track scenarios that are only used up at R&D for new model testing. (FYI those tests are ALWAYS fun to do, might have a buddy lucky enough to do it for the NSX).

We do have quality checks that are windnoise, NVH, driver experience, etc. etc. about 10 times a day but thats a different story. That data is collected and measured and analyzed every day.

FYI your ABS is fully broken in as well before it leaves the factory. The ear piercing screech you hear around the rolls test is a very very good indicator of that. Each wheel is tested individually as well as a full reverse up to 15MPH and a HARD stop. 4WD Drive models get an even harder test.

Bump test is done 100% on a roll in 4post shaker after the roll test.

Waterleak testing is done after the roll test to indicate if anything was installed wrong or fell loose during the 4post shaking.

100%. 680 Vehicles a day. All are broken in from the factory. Shipping tape is NOT applied until after all of that happens and the vehicles are handed off to a third party for transport and placed onto trucks and trains.

EDIT: I'm also responsible for many miles on certain customer's vehicle due to various quality and engineering testing. We had some issues that we had to attend to. I probably stayed on that track for about 4-5 hours going back and forth. Shit happens man, and what better way to test whats actually coming off line than to pick one up off the line and do your testing?
 
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