Running in a new Mk7 GTI

[agreen7]

Hello one and all,

Due to collect my GTI end of June/early July and was wondering how long it took other’s cars to loosen up? I haven’t run in a new petrol car car before (previous new cars have always been diesel) so would greatly appreciate your views. I am planning a trip to North Wales mid to late August by which time it should have about 3,000 miles under it’s belt. Is this enough or will it still be a bit tight?

Thanks

[KyleB]

Depends. Some people will tell you to not take it past a certain RPM in the first X amount of miles. I'm firmly in the camp of when the oil and water are up to temperature use the full extent of the gears.

I'm fairly certain everyone will agree that within the first 500 miles it's handy to vary the RPM, try not to run it in on a motorway.

[mrzen]

My dealer said it didn't need running in as such - ie I didn't need to keep the revs below a certain point.

After about 3000 miles it does seem a little looser, and certainly the fuel economy has improved since the day I picked it up.

It's really economical at the moment as it's been at the garage for nearly 3 weeks with a broken gearbox.

[2014GTi]

It tells you how to run in a new car/engine in the manual.
Its 1000kms, varied throlled but not full. So around 850 miles.

[corgi]

There has been plenty of discussion of this topic on here before.

As stated above, let the car warm up properly don't thrash it and (as importantly) don't let it labour, avoid full throttle...

[mrzen]

Interesting then that my dealer specifically told me not to worry about it... Especially since it says that in the manual.

I haven't thrashed it BTW!

[JBirchy]

My dealer also said to me that it didn't need running in, but the way I think of it if you look after it in the early days, it will look after you in later life (possibly use less oil etc...)

I used varied throttle but didn't exceed 4000rpm for the first 500 miles, then increased my virtual rpm limit by 1000rpm every 100 miles after that.

I've done 3000 miles now and it feels much looser and revs out very sweetly.

It may not make a difference but it just helps with my piece of mind.

[agreen7]

Thanks very much for the advice - looks like I will be taking the b-roads to work for awhile to avoid the motorway- what a shame that will be :-)

[monkeyhanger]

With 3k miles on the clock, the initial run-in miles will be long gone. No chance of ruining your car's performance/mpg with motorway miles at that point. I wouldn't advise a long motorway run in the first 500 miles, but 3k will not be an issue.

[JBirchy]

Another thing worth bearing in mind (not just for the first 500 miles but forever!) is to keep an eye on the oil temperature before giving it beans. I have my MFD display set to the oil temperature reading in driving data whilst the car is warming up which is a brilliant feature.

Wait until the oil reaches over 65-70degC before giving it beans (I've found it takes a good 10-15mins) just to make sure the fluids are nicely up to temperature.

You'll have probably noticed that the water comes up to temp very quickly, but oil temperature is the important bit!