Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advce on breaking in a new TL. I'm planning to do an early oil change but I want to know any TL specific advice.

Cheers

 

Manual recommends 600 mile break-in period. You know what to do here. Take it easy, not full-throttle runs, NO hard-on-the-brakes for the first 300 miles (very important).

Personally, I took mine out to 1000 miles. Then common sense should rule.

 

Thanks,

I'm picking mine up today from the dealership so just need to be careful for a while cos I want this vehicle to last me a long time

 

It will, I'm sure.

 

Don't change your oil to early. Acura uses a special factory fill oil. Change it when the MID tells you to. Look at some of the oil threads for some good information on oil, filters and mileage for changes

 

Most of the more knowledgeable people (those who have sent in their factory fil oil for analysis) have been recently recommending changing your oil before the MID says to do so on the first change. While it is true that the factory fill has specific additive packages to aid the engine during break-in, it appears that this oil does break down sooner. So consider a change in the 3000 - 4000 mile range depending upon your driving environment.

 

The bset way to break in a car is to drive it for 4-5k preferrably in non city conditions(frequent red lights and at less than 20 miles an hr) or at least as less as possible, take it for a long drives outside city, don't use cruise control until 5k, drive ideally between 55-65 miles/hr, 1st oil change at recommended miles, thats it. good luck.

 

My dealer gave me a card for a complimentary Oil & Filter change at 3750 miles. The explaination I received from the Salesman was that they want to replace the special factory oil and any break-in material in the oil.

 

Thats good, I am gonna ask for that. Will resetting the MID soon confuse it?

 

You are going to read many different views on when is the "best" time to change your oil. I am going with the one on page 174 ( Break-in Period ) of your owners manual which states "Do not change the oil until the multi-information display indicates it is needed". I do not think Acura would print this sentance in my owners manual if they thought this would have any negative effect on my engine in anyway shape or form.

 

I agree. Follow the manual, I'm sure it's specifically mentioned just for this reason.

With no intention to hijack the thread, I have a question regarding the break-in period wrt acceleration and speed. I just crossed 600 miles on my '05 TL today and I've definitely stepped on the gas many times during the break-in period (haven't really crossed 4-5k rpm AFAIR). How does this really affect the engine and the car? It's hard to resist the temptation of stepping on it on a brand new 6MT with 270 horses

 

you cant brake hard for the first 300 miles? what would happen and how would it affect break in? i've never heard of this before, i only know not to gun the engine or to shift too high under a thousand miles......

 

It's about getting the brake pads to settle in correctly so that you won't have squeaking or vibrations. In reality, it should probably be more like 100 miles, but because Acura doesn't know what conditions everyone is driving in, they put 300 miles to be safe.

If you happen to brake hard early, it most likely won't affect anything. But worst case scenario, you will get brake squeaking or squealing. If you replace your brake pads, this process starts all over again.

I replace the brake pads with racing/track pads on my other car every month before taking it to the track. Then, when I get back, I put the street pads back in. It's really no big deal to have to fix your brakes, so don't panic if you happened to disobey that part of the break-in directions.

 

I thought I read here that havoline 5w20 closely matched the original factory fill oil, it has lots of molly in it which COULD be in the original oil from design or from
engine assembly lube used when building the engine.

If the havoline 5w20 is similar to the original oil, I see no reason not to
change it early.

If in doubt, I guess it would not hurt to change the oil filter and top up
with the havoline, to get some of the wear metal out.....

Brett

 

Sound advice from all. I read the manual yesterday and I dont see any need to change oil early if they use but I 100% understand why hard braking is a no no. even when you change your pads you shouldn't brake hard until the pads have worn to fit flush with your discs, can cause damage to the discs and possible not brake efficiently.

 

oh, now i get it, no wonder my brakes were squealing in the first fwe months, but hq replaced the pads no problem and now is problem free

 

To TLCHROMETIDE;

The normal break-in period for new pads and rotors (especially new pads) is 200 miles. The manual transmission'd TLs come with Brembo brakes (rotors.. Brembo doesn't make pads I am told).

The reason for this is to "bed" the pads to the rotors and a process called gasout. But more importantly, if you are hard on your pads when brand new, you can adversely affect the metallic composition and cause the pads to begin to break apart (source: MotorWeek). So take it real easy for the first 300 miles on your brakes. Avoid any hard stops. If this means taking back roads for a week or two to stay away from traffic, do it.

 

Do not repeat my mistake , with free oil change . When I checked oil level after it was done for free, level was way too hi. Do it your self , and it will be done right , it's your car. Take care.