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"joe" <nospam@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:nqfn725on2sqsm7nq043jml0248vmn5kd4@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> As part of the 'glad-handing' tour at the dealership I was introduced
> to the 'service manager' and I took the opportunity to ask his opinion
> on breaking-in the new Sienna CE that I was just purchasing.
> He stated NONE was needed! I then asked if it was OK to load up the
> wagon and tear across the desert, like a bat out of hell, to Las Vegas
> and the East Coast at 80+ miles an hour.
> "No problem - it is a Toyota" was his reply. I mentioned something
> about differing expert opinions ...
> There was no need to ask him anything further. Should I trust this
> person for anything including the time of the day?
>
>[/color]

I've "broken in" around 100 new Toyotas. My jobs required extensive travel
so we picked up the cars at the port of entry and hit the road at not quite
80 MPH for 5 or 6 hours. Many friends and relatives bought my company cars
and had not problems.

Don't worry about full throttle acceleration because it is done as a QC
check before the car leaves the assembly line. The car is fueled, put on a
dynamometer, put into gear, and accelerated at wide open throttle to redline
for 2 minutes, slowed to idle, and driven off the line.

[color=blue]
>
> Page 376 of the Owner's Manual states:
> Avoid full throttle acceleration ..
> Avoid racing engine.
> Try to avoid hard stops during the first 200miles?????????????Why?
> Do not drive for a long time at any single speed, either fast or slow.
> Do not tow a trailer during the first 500 miles.
>
>
> Most of these make some sense except the HARD STOPS.
> Stopping does what to engine assuming one is using the brakes and not
> low gears?
>
> Joe[/color]

The "break in" period listed in the owner's manual is conventional wisdom
from the times when vehicles actually needed break in. It remains because
customers expect to see it in the owner's manual.

The advice about avoiding hard stops is to allow the brake linings to wear
enough to match the friction surfaces.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)