GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

New vibe and new to this forum. I Just bought the vibe end of April 06 and my goal is to get 200K miles out of this engine. I bought my other cars used with under 20,000 miles on them so I never had to break in a vehicle. Any suggestions out there on how to properly break in an engine?

welcome to the site first and foremost.im not a mechanic or anything of the sort... but my guess is for the first 500-100 miles, drive normal. no flooring it or and hard accelerating for a while.other than that change the oil at around 1-2k miles... never know how long the oil sits in new cars

I would suggest driving the first 1000miles at no more then highway speeds, don't use the cruise control (if equiped) and do not let the engine rev past 3000RPM. I would also suggest getting the first oil change done at about 1000miles as well. It would clean out that oil and any metal filings from the new engine breaking in. If you plan on using synthetic oil... don't use that until about the third oil change.

I changed my oil at about 335 miles (I bought it with 327 miles on it). Realistically, most of the metal filings you will see will be from the first few miles of driving. The owner's manual has prescribed break-in and driving directions.I'm guessing you have probably heard as most of us have - some say to baby the car at first, others say to run it hard to really glaze and smooth the cylinders. I'm a fan of babying the car because the engine isn't the only thing you are breaking in - you have hundreds of parts that are starting their break-in. Just baby it and vary the speed every 5 mins or so as possible for the first 1000 miles.

Quote, originally posted by engineertwin2 »baby it and vary the speed every 5 mins or so as possible for the first 1000 miles.This is the reason for not using Cruise - it's best not to drive at a contant speed.Baby the engine, but give the brakes hell. Hard stops help break-in the brakes.

The 1ZZFE/2ZZFE engines create hardly any foreign "break-in" materials due to their tightly machined tolerances (which applies to most modern 4cyl. Japanese engines made in the last twenty years). The days of cutting open your dirty oil filter and clearly seeing metal shavings is long gone... Also, there is no reason to wait on going from dino to synthetic. The way that surfaces are milled and cast, not to mention the superiority of modern gaskets, means that dino oil is not needed to season the gaskets. In other words, there is no special additive or property of dino oil that makes it more desirable than synthetic when it comes to "sealing" an engine. Most new engines don't need it and the differences between dino and hydrocracked synth or PAO synth are nil as it relates to this. It's an old myth from the old days that continues to be spread as the gospel.Dump the factory fill when you feel comfortable...whether it's 50 miles or 5,000...and go to synthentic at anytime without fear. Having cut open all my dirty oil filters, having never seen anything of consequence in the filter media, and having never had a leak or consumption issue with going from dino to synth at 800 miles, I can attest to the fact that you just don't have to worry with this engine. Run $.59 Chevron and a $2.07 Wallyworld ST filter or spend $9/quart for Amsoil and use a $12 Mobil1 filter...it really doesn't matter. If you change the oil regularly and do not abuse the car, the engine will go 200K. In fact, you'll probably find yourself shelling out for struts, muffler/cat, rotors, etc. long before you have to worry about the engine. Just my $.02.

Cougar Vibe... that sounded more like a $1.99 to me!!! Good info to know. and i figured since i got a toyota engine, that they will last a lot longer then american engines.

Thanks for all of the info. I think what I will do is be on the safe side and change the oil at 500 miles to get that original oil out of there. I'll use and good quality dino oil and a decent filter for the first oil change. Then switch to synthetic Mobil 1 at 5K. After that I will change my oil every 5000 miles or when I get bored. Which ever comes first. Drive it easy for the first 1000 miles while trying to vary my speed when possible. I will break and corner normal (unless I hit a twisting road then I have to push it a little). I bought this car for the wife and thought I would not want to drive it. But it grows on you now I'm looking for a reason to jump in it. I wish it had a little more power though. Thanks again