I am picking up my new Citroen C5 2.0HDi Estate on the 16th June
6 days later i am setting off to mid spain a journey of some 1500 miles and all motorway driving. Can anybody tell me if I will have to do any specific running in of the engine before I set off or are new cars run in suffiently these days to be able to undertake journeys of this nature straight away.
Many thanks in advance for your help
Mark
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Mark, my motoring has spanned forty years and, in those early days cars HAD to be treated carefully so that everything "bedded down" before the stresses of high speed and general use. However, modern vehicle design, with the great advances in close tolerance machining of engine components etc, mean that the old "running in" requirement is not so important but, in your brand new vehicle, all those components in the engine and transmission, still have not been worked together yet, for any length of time, under the harsh conditions which prevail on the roads. If I were to advise, I would say, still treat the vehicle carefully, don't let it labour in any gear, don't thrash it from the word go and, when you have covered that 1500 miles, you will have a vehicle well prepared to cover the next 156,000 hopefully, without great problems. A new and complicated device like a motorcar, still benefits from that extra care over the first few thousands miles of it's life.
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Exactly as John says....
The car is completely capable of this journey from day one. Avoid high revs for a while and equally avoid lugging along in too high a gear. Better to change down an spin the engine just a little.
I wish you luck with the car and journey. There have been some questions on this forum as to the C5s ability. Despite being one of those unhappy with aspects of the car I would like to think those who do own them enjoy them!
David W
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I think HJ's recommndations in the FAQ are about right.
I've been looking for the technical stuff which supports this and I've filed it somewhere, but where? Essentially its all about getting the rings hot enough to bed in and operate properly, thus preventing bore glazing, but not getting them so hot that it flashes the oil and you get other problems.
Also I think a lot of engine manufacturers give some sort of bench test which starts the running in process.
I'm sure Dizzy can give us chapter and verse on this, but the key is as I recall, to vary the revs which might be forgotten about on a long run such as yours when basically mind is focussed on covering the distance.
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Mark
Running in your car like this is probably better than running it in on a diet of short runs. As for immediate motorway use, as David W has said, it's better to keep the engine spinning at higher revs and light throttle than lugging it at low revs and heavy throttle. Having bought my car via the internet I was pleased to collect it 150 miles from home and be able to drive it back on the motorway.
The only thing I'd add to the advice so far is to try to avoid runnning it for long periods on the motorway at absolutely constant revs - might be better to vary the speed a bit if you can.
Regards
John S
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John,
You answered before I'd finished typing, must learn to touch type!
The key as you say is not too light a load, not too heavy a load on the engine, and I reckon HJ's advice sort of quantifies it.
regds,
S
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FiF, I can't give "chapter and verse" on running-in by motor vehicle engine manufacturers because Perkins is an engine supplier to makers of industrial, agricultural, marine and defence equipment. The last Perkins production motor car engines were for the Montego and Maestro, and things have moved on since then. Perkins also moved away from truck engines some time ago.
Before I retired, every engine coming off the production line at Perkins was given either a short, medium or long test. I think it was 10% that were given a long and intensively monitored test. Statistical Predictive Analysis was also carried out so that any potential quality problem could be identified before it arose and the appropriate action taken.
Every engine received a further test in which all openings were blanked off and each fluid circuit (air, oil, fuel, coolant) subjected to a pressure test to ensure that the engine was totally leak-free. This system was much more innovative than it sounds and was deemed newsworthy enough to be featured in the industrial press. All compliments to our Production Engineers.
To get to the point, I don't think we expected a specific running-in process to be carried out and we designed the engines so as not to rely on this. For example, the cylinder bores are honed in a special way so as to retain a specific amount of oil during the early life of the engine whilst still assuring a low wear-rate during the rest of its very long life. This is a high-tech process that simply wouldn't have been possible a few years ago.
I agree with John's suggestion that current motor car engines are made in such a way that running-in is desirable rather than essential. I also agree with the way that John, David W and FiF say this should be done. In my view, running-in can give short-term as well as long-term benefits so it is not wasted even if the car will sold on before it has attained a high mileage. And it costs nothing!
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Mark
I agree with both the above comments. Precise guidance as to what running-in you do should be in the car's manual.
Terry
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The hand book will say that you should not rev past 3k/3.5k revs for the first thousand or so miles which should be good enough for cruising at 85/90 mph.
With all my previous deisels the engine never really loosens up unitl about 40-50k miles.
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I just looked at my Ford manual (I'm one of those who never reads manuals) and it just says 2 sentences under "Breaking-In" -- quote: there are no specific rules for breaking in your new vehicle. You should vary speeds frequently during the first 1000 miles unquote.
Of course all this careful break-in may not mean too much beside numerous stop-starts: on and off the transporter, in and out the showroom on to the forecourt etc.
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I wonder how many vehicles are thrashed from brand new by "couldn't-care" drivers...
Think of that next time you buy used!
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Couple of my mates used to work for a hire car company [1], delivering & collecting them. Every car that they got to drive had it's rev limiter tested through most of the gears. This was from brand new I might ad.
Rumour has it though that a car thrashed from new goes like poo off a shovel later on in its life.
[1] I won't mention which one for libel reasons.
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DD
I was invited to a Vauxhall test day at a race circuit a few years back. We were given track driving lessons in a selection of brand new cars, many starting the day with single digit mileages. They received regular sorties to serious revs from the start, including some ill-advised downshifts before getting the speed off with the brakes (not from me I hasten to addd!). Actually best to change at max power, and not to hit the limiter as it loses time.
Only calamity of the day was the Calibra turbo which blew its clutch at 150 miles.
I often wondered what happened to the cars after that!
As for hire cars I recall a conversation I had at work with a colleague about certain hire cars and whether they had 'hard' or 'soft' rev limiters. I can still see another chaps jaw dropping, as he was of the 'I always change up at 3000 rev/min whatever the circumstances' school of motoring. Used to make us wince sometimes.
Regards
John S
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>>Rumour has it though that a car thrashed from new goes like poo off a shovel later on in its life.
A couple of centuries ago, me and my mates all had two-stroke japanese bikes of one description or another. There was always a surprising difference in the performance of two similar machines.
And it always seemed that the ones that had been run-in agressively were always faster than the ones that had been molly-coddled.
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I'd endorse what is being said here...this is especially true of a diesel motor.
Some new cars can feel very very lethargic - after 3-4K they are completely different.
I used (and still do) get complaints from owners of new cars saying "it doesn't go very well"
I go out with them to 'sample' the car and find nothing wrong - they are simply not revving the engine enough, and not getting the full benefit of a modern multivalve engine
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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Hi All
Many thanks to all of you who have answered my messege I feel a little easier now.
David, i have read quite a lot of bad reviews of the C5 by their owners but there are some good ones out there. After I get back from my Hols I will write a report on my C5 good or bad to let people know if the bad stories are really that bad
Here's hoping
Mark
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Hi,
Keep an eye on your Guarantee conditions.
Certainly my Hdi had to have a dealer inspection at 1500 miles.
the dealer I used made it clear that if the car was submitted to a dealer after 1,500 miles could affect the guarantee.
Enjoy the trip
Vercin
PS David W, I enjoy the C5 but the ability to "nip out" at junctions does not exist
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Now I ca understand why people do take care over there new car ( I would probably do the same ) but its new and so under warentny for three whole years (thats probably why u bought it) so why be so carful with it do as my friend did 8 months ago and hit the top revs as u almost leave the showroom and he is still running fine after 15000 care free miles with a chip and modified injectors ( which would be removed if it complains to the garrage) better thing to do i reckon is to start the car and drive it without hard acceleration until the engine gets warm
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