Is there a recommended break in period for the RDX?

 

The Owner's Manual is your friend.

 

People who actually take the time to write that, instead of just moving on and being quietly unhelpful, are pretty big douchebags.

 

By the way, Mr. Unhelpful was also lying to you, since that's not in the manual. It's a point of debate with modern cars. If you do an Internet search, there are various articles from many different sources that say yes or no and give recommendations on how to do it. The bottom line is there's no good answer. I personally would have driven mine relatively easy, but my dealer was far away so I had to drive on a highway from the start. I've owned my car for 2 years and have had no issues with it, but of course that's hardly scientific.

 

LOLz, the same can be said for folks who post responses such as yours.

Here's the thing, asking questions about oil type, oil change intervals, oil filters, air filters, break-in recommendations, driving habits, warm up periods, tire rotations..., you name it; they're all going to get lots of opinions, some accurate, most not. The definitive resource for break-in period (and other questions of this ilk) is the Owner's Manual. By answering the way I did I was attempting to help @dbnm to help him or her self.

 

Listen, instead of being a douch, you should check your information, the only specific break-in requirement for the 2021 RDX is listed on page 411 of the Owner's Manual.

 

Page 411 deals with turning the car on, not a break-in period for a new car. In other words, you didn't know the answer but you tried to sound like you did.

 

Wow. Sorry guys.

 

@DriverOne, are you ready to stop being a douch yet?

 

That's page 403 in my manual, so I don't have to apologize for your error, sonny boy.

Oh, P.S., thanks for admitting that there's no actual recommendation, as I said.

 

The break in period appears to be 600 miles and this info is not in my manual, but is in the PDF version of 2021 RDX manual.

 

That's not an actual break-in period. It's just saying don't tow stuff during that period of time. A true break-in is traditionally how to drive (and not drive) your new car for a certain period. As I said, there's no recommendation in the manual and it's a debated point online. The "official" recommendation is that modern cars no longer have a break-in time, just like how modern cars don't have to be "warmed up." Many people still follow these things out of habit since they owned older cars. But, for example, you're actually just supposed to turn on your car and start driving in the winter, not "warm up" your car for 10 or 15 minutes. Similarly, there's supposedly no longer a break-in period, but many people still adhere to this out of habit.

 

dbnm- Happy New Year

I can only speak from experience but even though our modern engines are a work of art, I've always used the first several hundred miles (as in my RDX) as a way to ease my vehicle into daily harsh use. I don't push it as hard, I try to avoid hard accelerations and braking etc. Stuff does need to fall in place. For me, I drive back and forth between Portland and Seattle so my break-in period consisted of freeway driving.

 

You're likely to get a full spectrum of answers on this, but the general recommendation is to take it easy for the first 500 miles, keep the revs in the low-mid range, and vary the driving conditions (ie don't take a 500 mile drive on the freeway and set the cruise at 65mph).
After the first 500 miles, you can start to be more aggressive and then drive it anyway I want once it hits 1000 miles.

 

Yup, you're a certified douch and a punk ass bitch at the same time.

 

Then you're my bag.

 

For the first 600 miles keep it below like 4500rpm, no high boost, then go all out once you pass that. Lots of cruising with the rpms being the same, like on the highway, is not good for breaking in, you want various RPMs, like city driving. Going up and down.

 

 

Jesus Christ, does no one moderate these forums? The behavior around here is BMW owner level.

 

This is from the 2019 pdf manual.

 

DUDE
for f*ckssake it’s DOUCHE!

 

You were right!

 

That's a good find, I would have never seen that. It's weird how they just put that in the middle of other unrelated information. At the same time, those are pretty vague recommendations, so even if I had seen them I don't know if I would have known what to do with them. It basically says don't overdo it in the first 600 miles, but that's pretty open to interpretation.

 

I thought this forum would be different coming from the TL Forum, with more mature owners and a different crowd. Can't everyone be cool to one another? I just got a used 2019 RDX Gun metal in color, so I don't have to break it in anyway.

 

Well, technically, that guy came from the TL forum, too. (At least, according to his signature line, which indicates he owns a TL.) So maybe that's why.

 

dbnm-

YOU ARE CORRECT. It's also in the 2020 RDX manual.

For all interested: in the PDF search bar - if you type in "Break In Period" you do indeed get sent to page 407 with towing information. However, if you type in "600 miles" in the search bar you will be sent to page 420 with the official break in period information.

Hopefully by now all the popcorn has been eaten, now back to your regularly scheduled programming on AcuraZine. Oh, and tip your waitresses.

 

Sorry, my bad, it was late and I was tired.

 

Yeah, must be French, ... or som'p'n' ...

 

Happy New Year!
Based on personal experience.
break in till 1 oil change. When change engine oil in a half of owner manual time frame and good to go.
But everything depends of the condition where the car usually lives, you usual driving style, Weather and etc.
user manual provide general information but a lot of points left behind the scene.
Good luck!

 

Always good idea to break in new car if you plan to keep it. Its not difficult to do, so even if its not going to make your car last longer , it wont hurt it.

 

Vary RPMs and don't be afraid to accelerate briskly. Don't go stomping around WOT, but it's good to reach higher RPMs too. Pussyfooting around town is just as bad as thrashing on it. Try to avoid short trips that don't get the vehicle up to operating temps. Other than that, really not much.

 

and the Dealer..

 

Well, maybe...

Some of the very worst advice I've ever gotten on cars has come from dealership personnel, and both the Sales and Service departments are guilty.

 

Lol, advice from people that know nothing about cars

 

Worse than knowing nothing, advice from people who know nothing about cars and are in the business of trying to separate you from as much of your bank account as possible.

 

It always baffled me why service advisors job has no pre-requisitive to have some form of automotive training. You would think they would want to hire people that used to be auto mechanics, but no, apparently no training is required

 

As a former BMW owner (several, in fact) I have to agree... BMW drivers are the worst!

 

Merde

 

If I missed this from somewhere else, I apologize.

The only other thing I would add, is it's never a bad idea to do an early oil change. These engines have very tight tolerances. I wouldn't change the oil at 600 miles. But over the course of the first 2500 miles or so, the engines parts are "wearing in" and shedding some metal, no matter how slight that may be. The oil drip pan is magnetized to catch most of it, but since that's the heaviest period of wearing in, I'd change the oil no later than 2500k miles. If you plan to do 5k mile oil changes, I'd do the first at 2500 miles, the 2nd at 5000 and the rest every 5000 miles.

 

That's actually outdated information. Apparently, the oil that automotive manufacturers use these days is specially formulated. You're supposed to change it at their recommended time (which, for the RDX, is just to follow the maintenance minder). Changing it earlier won't hurt it, but is unnecessary.