New Car breaking in service today
Asked by burmaboyus Apr 16, 2016 at 08:37 PM about the Toyota RAV4
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Hi, today is my first break service(1970 mileage) I went to dealer for service.
What the mechanics did:
1. Inspect and adjust all fluid levels.
2. Multi point vehicle inspection.
He did not replace engine oil cuz no need to change oil for today new car,
unlike the old guideline for the new car need to change engine oil.
Is it true please advise. I feel a bit worry it might wear engine.
Tks Andy
5 Answers
Auto_Centric answered 8 years ago
2016 Machining and engine build techniques have advanced so much in the last decade and more. The overall quality is so much better than yrs ago. No need to go old school and change oil at one thousand seventy miles. Really dealers do everything they can to increase revenue... decent guy didn't charge for something unnecessary! Check your owners manual for engine oil "break in" info.
as above, but really, you are right to be suspicious- manufacturers have a sales point and have been pushing it for decades now- "Never needs maintenance!" it started if I remember with the Chevy Vega- the lifetime air filter- couldn't crack the air cleaner housing open to replace the filter element!- you can guess how that worked- so today, we have claims that a car can go 100K miles without a tune-up, go 5000 miles before an oil change- etc.etc.etc.- this works for dealers because people are generally lazy and don't want to spend time or money on maintenance- and you can guess how that works- hey, the dealer doesn't care if you maintain it, just wear it out and buy another one- most people don't keep their cars for a lifetime anymore anyway- but here is the truth: changing engine oil does not HURT a car in any way- so my advice is, change the oil- when you feel like it- for your peace of mind- it doesn't cost much, and your engine LIKES clean oil- is this rocket science?
The manual in my 2016 LE states that oil changes are supposed to be done every 10,000 miles (synthetic oil) but if you reach 1 yr before you have reached the 10,000 miles have the oil changed anyway.
Carrllie23 answered 7 years ago
The manual on LE Rav4 for 2016 states that there is a break-in period. It specifically tells you how to break your car in for the first several hundred miles. It doesn't hurt to follow the instructions and I believe it will extend the life of the vehicle. Also mechanics at Toyota strongly believe that you should have the first oil change way before 10,000 with a new car.
I have owned the RAV since May and have put 2,433 miles on it as I drove to work this am. I definitely plan on getting the oil changed before 10,000 miles but as you can see I don't put a lot of miles on a car to begin with. I am looking at probably 8,000 miles when I will get the oil changed. Traded in an 11 yr old Highlander that I took such good care of that it only lasted on the used lot for 3 weeks before it was sold. I take good care of my car.
