Running In & Towing

[DevonshireDave]

I wasn't sure where to post this one!

I'm due to pick up my new Hyundai Santa Fe at the begining of June but have a trip to Cornwall booked just a week and a half later.

I've read up on running in a new engine with mixed advice. Does anyone have experience with this and what are the thoughts on towing a 1350kg+ van on a fresh engine which will at best, only have 500-600 miles on it?

Cheers

Dave

 

[Oldsalt49]

I had the same predicament as you with my Santa Fe. The owners handbook say do not tow until after 1000 miles. I had to put off picking up my caravan from the dealer for a month. I'm not sure if it would have any adverse effect on the warranty? My caravan is 1580kg so big difference to yours. I am totally happy with mine, although a little disappointed with the fuel economy, but I was expecting that anyway,

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Whilst not being an expert, I was told that you should have at least 1,000 miles on a new vehicle, before towing with it.

Best regards,

George

 

[anotherDavid]

some time back I had the good fortune to be able to collect a new merc from the Stuttgart factory. I enquired there about towing as I had towing trips lined up. The answer was no problem. The only thing the handover person was most keen to impress on me was to keep below 2500 RPM for 1000km.

However in spite of this I would have prefered to get some miles on it first but wasnt able. Up to yet 3 years of big towing trips and it does not seem to be a problem.

Dave

 

[otherclive]

For the Kia Sorento it advised keeping to 50mph max for the first 500 miles of towing duty, but never qualified this by stating how this related to the mileage put on when driving solo. So I got the Sorento with 3000 miles solo on the clock and just kept to Kia's advice, but what if it had had 12000 on the clock and never towed before?

 

[xtrailman]

A new engine should not be over revved, but more important, it should not be laboured. The revs should be varied, not constant, so if you do tow with a new engine, take the time to vary the revs, even if you have to change gear to do so.

Many reps thrash there cars from day one, it does more harm to a new engine to labour it by being too sympathetic.

If i recall the xtrail recommened 500 miles before towing, i managed about two hundred, but the towing was only a couple of hours.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi

Different manufacturers give different advice about running in. So it is highly in appropriate to apply Merc's advice to a Hyundai

or any other combination.

Check up with the manufacture of your vehicle.

 

[xtrailman]

I have never had a new car that recommended less than 500 miles ,nor more than 1000 for towing, so i don't really understand your point?

 

[Mikey1]

I would think one of the reasons would be bed in the brakes because of the extra load when towing,i think when towing you drive smoother.

I have towed straight away with 2 new cars,didnt have a chance to get any miles on them one had delivery milage only.

 

[Bazz1]

I've allways been told that diesels run straight out of the box so to speak. Never had any probs with L/Rr or Merc. So what do the commercial fleet owners do? Bazz.

 

[machighlander]

i would go by the post referring to the brakes etc being bedded in, all modern day cars (for the last twenty or so years) have the engines bench tested at the factory, this includes running at a certain revs per minute continuasly over a 24 hour period to check everything is in order.

the days of running in gently are long gone, some will even say that giving the engine some higher revs will give the engine more power for its lifespan, something to do with the new pistons embedding in the cylinders, apparently the higher revs enhance the way they form together.

by the way, i aint no expert, but im sure there will be others in here who could comment on this.

cheers.

 

[ProfJohnL]

i would go by the post referring to the brakes etc being bedded in, all modern day cars (for the last twenty or so years) have the engines bench tested at the factory, this includes running at a certain revs per minute continuasly over a 24 hour period to check everything is in order.

the days of running in gently are long gone, some will even say that giving the engine some higher revs will give the engine more power for its lifespan, something to do with the new pistons embedding in the cylinders, apparently the higher revs enhance the way they form together.

by the way, i aint no expert, but im sure there will be others in here who could comment on this.

cheers.

Are you suggesting that every engine built is run for 24 Hours?

 

[otherclive]

Are you seriously saying that all new engines are run for 24 hours at the factory. Given the production rate of engines and vehicles say from Ford's Bridgend plant ( exports world-wide) how many test beds would that require for 24 hours worth of running and output? Not to mention the setting up and taking down.

It does not seem credible.

 

[Oldsalt49]

Being as I have a Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD, my reply to DevonshireDave is the most relevant. I don't recall him asking advice about a Merc or any other manufacturer. I told posted what is written in my handbook, it says 1000 miles. So DevonshireDave its 1000 miles!

 

[seth1]

I,d probably follow RAYS advice as its good and is methodically seen as the bench mark.I dont see how the advise from different makers can change;a spades a spade and an engine is an engine.But from experiance and certainly no engine in the commercial,plant,construction or other etc that we.ve overhauled to as new as ever been "run in".There is simply no provision for this,they are expected to run as required from day one and i.d expect this from all engines including my own.

 

[Chrisbee]

If you've ever seen new cars being unloaded from the transporter ferries and driven to the storage compound at the docks you'd know it's too late to by the time the car gets to you to worry about "over reving".

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Seth,

If you ignore the manufactures instructions, then that will invalidate the manufacturers guarantee.

As I pointed out above, the only advice that is safe to use is the manufacturers. It is inappropriate to apply other manufacturers advice to products not made by them.

 

[Dustydog]

Dave

The only instruction relevant to you are those contained in the Hyundai Santa Fe Owners Handbook.

The Sorento Handbook from 2005 clearly stated no towing until 1000 miles had been covered.

We all know the BMW X5 needs modifications to the cooling system before towing.

Surely those who build their vehicles are the only ones whose advice should be followed??

As John L says you can invalidate your warranty if you do otherwise.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[Mikey1]

Would they ever be able to tell if a failure occurred because you didnt run in for x amount of miles before towing?

I know some cars store the data now but i dont think its that clever to tell if a van was being towed or not?

 

[JTQ]

The makers advice not to tow initially with a new vehicle is not limited to bedding in the engine; the transmission also definitely benefits.

Whilst Ray stated that the engine should not be "laboured", if it is a diesel its just as important that it is made to "work" and not allowed to accumulate much light load initial use. Such light use is very detrimental to the engine's bores, developing a surface glaze that will dam it to a life of high oil consumption.

Unless your purchasing in the very highest of quality cars the engine will not be factory bench run.

Automatic transmissions if left to their own make all the right "running-in" decisions as a matter of course provided you don't accelerate stupidly and keep to the UK's speed limits.

Towing after 500 miles solo use is likely to cause no problem with a vehicle with a sensible power margin. With the proviso that you are sympathetic on climbing hills [3000 rpm would be my diesel rev limit], and limit yourself to 55 mph for 500 miles, particularly into any head wind.

Its really just a matter of being sensible or is that sensitive using the guides, don't rev too high, don't load too highly and if diesel don't load too lightly. Fluctuate the driving speed, so an initial long Auto-route/motorway trip is not the brightest of ideas.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Mikey,

Why ignore the manufacture instructions and temp fate?

Dave,

Quite simply follow the guidance the car manufacture gives you, then if something does go wrong they cannot wriggle out of a claim.

It matters not one jot what other manufactures tell their customers to do, or what other drivers claim or suggest you do the only instructions that matter are the ones from your manufacture for your model of vehicle - nothing else.

 

[Mikey1]

Im not saying ignore then but in some senarios you cannot avoid not following manufactures advice, but my point is how could they tell? are they saying for example drive 500 miles solo before towing what happnes if you only manage 450 and something breaks would be very difficult to prove its because you didnt drive solo that extra 50 miles?

 

[Dustydog]

I reckon it's a bit like anti biotics. The doc says you must finish the entire course. If you don't we all know what happems.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[DevonshireDave]

I spoke to the salesman re this topic of running in. His reply was that the Santa Fe comes with a 5 year, unlimited mileage warranty so don't worry. Drive it as you would drive normally. Mmm, ok, not so sure.

I've researched quite a bit more since posting this thread and have found quite a bit on the subject.

I will ofcourse, as has been suggested here, look to the handbook for guidance and I believe it does say that towing should only be done once a 1000 mile period has passed.

I read that "babying" the engine will do as much harm as "hoofing" it from day one. As JTQ stated, the oil can glaze on the bore walls if the rings aren't given enough "work" to do to get them to actaully hone the bore walls on running in, just as it can when worked too hard without the oil at working temperature.

One interesting site talked of getting the oil nicely warmed up before using higher revs (2500-3500 RPM)which will help create enough pressure to expand the rings into the bore walls to help seat them properly.

It seems that changing the oil too soon also has a detrimental effect on the engine's life. Apparently the manufacturers put in a standard mineral oil to allow a certain amount of wear for this very purpose. The semi and fully synthetic oils put in at first service are much better at avoiding engine wear and so will not allow proper bedding in if changed too early.

Anyways, after all this great advice, I've arranged to try and pick the car up earlier to get some miles under my belt before our trip to Cornwall. I won't drive it like I stole it, but I will give it some work to do without labouring it. Once the 1000 miles or so are up, we'll be able to tow down to Cornwall without too much worry.

I'll let you know how we get on and what sort of performance and economy we end with.

Best wishes

Dave

 

[DevonshireDave]

Being as I have a Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD, my reply to DevonshireDave is the most relevant. I don't recall him asking advice about a Merc or any other manufacturer. I told posted what is written in my handbook, it says 1000 miles. So DevonshireDave its 1000 miles!

Fair play Dave. This is what I read on a Hyundai forum aswell. I hope it helps with economy and performance. Never did my Octavia any harm. That's now done 186000 miles and still not using a drop of oil and giving 54.5MPG average. Nice.