Do New Cars Have A Run-In Period?
Sunday, 14. August 2011
Virtually every car I provide is new so I’m often asked what is the ‘run in period?’ This won’t mean much to my younger readers and enthusiastic followers of my musings but this was a practice that car manufacturers insisted upon to ensure that your car lasted beyond its one year warranty and you didn’t end up driving a car with an engine that sounded as though a mechanic had left a bag of spanners rattling around inside the rocker cover at the time of manufacturer.
This meant that for the first 200 miles you drove your new piece of tuned equipment at a speed no greater than 50 miles per annum and accelerated at a speed away from traffic lights that meant mums with their prams ‘saw you off.’
Beyond the first 200 miles and up to 1,000 miles you could still not thrash away from the lights but you could at least respectably take on a cyclist unless his bike was fitted with gears and drop handlebars, in which case you should hide your face.
But you could now slowly accelerate up to 70! At 1,000 miles you now had to have the oil and filter changed. All the swarf (bits of the engine that fall off in the first 1,000 miles) would drop to the bottom of the engine and collect on the magnetic sump plug.
This could then be removed along with the oil and much to the annoyance of your mum or wife, emptied down the toilet. Ah the good old days! Which brings me up to date and back to the question.
What is the run in period on a new car? There ain’t one! But check the manual just in case. Nuff said! By Graham Hill
