Question for the techs and engineers here

[srellim234]

Is it possible to "baby" an engine so much that it doesn't get broken in for a very long time?

I've been nursing my Versa with CVT, driving it like I was when I was driving Prius rentals and getting over 63 mpg. With the Prius I was accellerating so easily that it was in electric mode most of the time. I drive the Versa CVT the same way, so RPMs have rarely been over 2,600.

Gas mileage just jumped since the car turned 30,000 miles. I've attributed a lot of the increase to driving conditions but that doesn't account for all of it.

Is it possible that I babied it so much that the break-in period really stretched out to 30,000 miles?

[led hed]

yes, if u 'baby' your engine for too long, it might not 'perform' to it's potential. u need to give her heck now and then to seat the rings and clear the carbon out.under high rpm, compression gets behind the rings, pushing them outword toward the cylinder wall, 'seating' the rings into their grooves.

i take mine to redline at least once a day. cuz if she blows, let her blow now, while i have warranty still.

many people have ideas of proper break-in. if in doubt, follow the owner's manual instructions, if they exist, i haven't read my manual.

[Promise Land]

I am no expert, but generally speaking, the engine needs heat cycles to help seat the rings (wear them in) so they seal the compression gasses in the cylinders. If you never really ran the engine up and down allowing the heat to cycle up and down, yes it is possible that it now just finally wore in properly.

[Shad0wXCalibur]

The internals are more likely to gunk up if you baby it all the time. Driving it a little hard every now and then is actually good for it. Just NEVER drive it hard while the engine is still cold and you'll be fine.

[Luminar]

and though its not the case now, dont ever try to break an engine in with synthetic oil from the first fill. Synthetic leaves behind too much film and is actually bad for fresh engines.