Hey guys its great to join this forum and the club of RDX owners. I'll be picking up a White RDX Base Trim tomorrow afternoon... can't wait. I had a quick question though about the break-in period. During break-in should i prevent the car from hitting boost at all times or is it ok to hit partial boost once a day or so till its broken in. What did you guys do during your break-in period?

 

Just drive normally. Some boost will be fine, probably necessary.

 

You are fine to hit partial boost...just don't floor it. There is really no way to avoid hitting the turbo unless you drive like a total grandpa.

The dealer should go over break in procedure with you - mine did at least. For the RDX, they recommended babying the vehicle for the first 600 miles, although I tend to do so for the first 1000 to be safe. I'd be curious as to what they tell you.

 

Why does the dealer encourage you to "floor it" during a test drive? I know they want us to see the power, but aren't they afraid of damaging the brand new engine?

Not as afraid as losing the sale.


That being said, I have just under 400 miles on mine and have only "floored it" a couple of times. My boost goes high on normal acceleration.

I hope my mileage improves a little!!!

 

I was good to mine for the first 600 miles like the manual said, but the salesperson didn't mention it at all. I think the occasional flooring is ok.

Joe

 

Another breakin consideration that I've seen on other vehicles, but isn't listed in the Acura manual, is to avoid constant revs. I think of it like a mandate to take the back roads instead of the freeways when breaking in a new engine.

The consideration there is that the rings are still wearing tiny amounts off of the cylinder walls during breakin in order to get a good seal so if you have constant revs then the pistons always stop and reverse direction at exactly the same spot on the cylinder and you can get a small ridge there. If the revs (and engine loads) vary a bit then momentum will cause the pistons to vary the heights slightly (apparently there is some play in the piston?).

OK, it's probably voodoo science (at least the explanation as to why, but the recommendation does appear in some vehicle's manuals), but I can always use a good reason to take back roads...

 

I was actually told not to use cruise control during the first 1,000 miles because of what flar described. The dealer said that I could take a long trip but do not stay at a constant speed for very long.

 

Given that the engine is filled with Mobil 1, I think there should be little concern with hurting the engine much... just don't drag race it for the first 1,000 miles...

Hey really curious, what colour is your interior?

 

I got it in taupe... loving it so far best drive home from dealer

 

I have had a hard time holding back on the throttle. I was reading the manual and noticed that they want you to hold off on hard braking as well during the break-in period. I got a kick out of that statement. I love accelerating through a corner with the SH-AWD. Too much fun.

 

yeah me too not even stepping on it this car moves... had a question though does anybody else hear a sound when you step out of the car while its still on? I can't really describe the sound other than its a steady consistent low pitch sound. Im guessing its normal and I'm just making too big a deal out of it but I just wanted to make sure.

 

It is real important to go easy on the brakes when a car is new, or whenever you have new pads installed.

 

the boost its a part of the Rdx Engine..So u cant do anything..

 

hmm, my sales person said that there is no break-in on new Acura's.... I guess i better refer to the manual...

 

Maybe your dealer is looking for future repair business. They should have explained the break in period at least.

 

One thing i noticed was that i got like 10 miles to the gallon on the first tank of gas. I was a little freaked out because i babied it everywhere. I didnt get on it a single time but it got 17.5 or so on the next tank.

 

I have over an hour commute to my office so there was no way I was taking back roads when I got my RDX. So I had to drive on the freeways. I kept the speed as close to 65 as I could and sped up slowly rather than 'punching it'.


But it worked out fine for me. The car ran like a dream and the engine is purring along.

 

Because the test drive vehicles typically are sold "new" as discounted demos. They may only have 1200 miles but they're hard miles.

Keep that in mind when you're considering buying a demo.

 

I agree completely that every precaution should be taken during the first 1000 miles. It's simply prudent to avoid steady RPM and high revs during break-in to ensure engine longevity.

However, it should be noted that the RDX has Fiber Reinforced Matrix (ceramic) cylinder liners like the S2000. It may be that the greatest initial wear occurs on the metal piston rings rather than the ceramic cylinder walls.

Any thoughts?

 

I agree with being prudent with the engine in the first 1000 miles, altering the revs and no VTEC'ing for that time...

Also, the first factory fill typically contains extra molydenum (not sure with the factory fill in the RDX Mobil 1) to facilitate the break-in. Cars with factory fill oil, in a number of Honda engines, have Moly in them and factory recommends not switching out the factory fill oil until the designated time (~ 8,000 km).

 

There are many theories of break-in period.. I have heard that you should: smash on the car so that everything in the engine can seal up correctly... you should take it lightly on the gas and brake to avoid any damage to the brake system/engine... there were all kind of assumptions... but there is one fact that everyone should take into consideration.. the engines were tested at the factory before being place into the rdx.. so if your choice if you want to baby the car or have fun with it. either or you should have warranty to back up anything that can happen..

 

There may be many old wives tales about car brake-in, but the owners manual has specific recommendations. I'm sure Acura has some engineering basis for these recommendations.

 

Probably true.

Or, they don't like lawsuits when people have accidents due to engine failures in the occasional mechanical problem that slips through Quality Assurance testing. If they tell everyone to go 'light', then it something were to go wrong, its lessens the possibility it being catastrophic.

We'll never know the reason.

But I think its best to be cautious because humans made the car and humans make mistakes sometimes...

 

I find there are two break in period. Yes, the first 800-1000 miles you need to be conservative in your driving. But I'm finding as I hit 2500+ miles performance in acceleration and turbo are really kicking ass big time. Yeah baby!!

 

The pistons start and stop at exactly the same point no matter what the revs.

You avoid high RPMs to minimize the piston velocity.

I think the low early milage may be due to the ECU having a rather rich initial setting for fueling. The ECU should lean things out, up boost, and add timing as time goes on. All of these things improve milage because you get more bang out of a given amount of fuel. It also meand you are makign more torque and therefore power.

 

Thanks for this thread all. I pick up our new RDX this Friday (grey/black '08 w/ Tech and a bunch of goodies)!

 

From page 272 of the 2008 Acura RDX Owners' Manual

Help assure your vehicle’s future
reliability and performance by paying
extra attention to how you drive
during the first 600 miles (1,000 km).
During this period:
Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid
acceleration.
Avoid hard braking for the first
200 miles (300 km).
Do not change the oil until the
scheduled maintenance time.
Do not tow a trailer.
Break-in Period

 

If you want to be ultimate safe - wait the first 1000 miles for breaking in
and instead of 200m on the brakes, wait till 400-500m.
That's being ultrasafe, semi-ultra anal, but then again, it's being super conservative(super,ultra..what is up with my wording today?)