Santa Fe Break-in period?

jaydee77ca

Hi,

We just purchased a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited last week and received conflicting information regarding the break-in period. The dealer said there was no specific break-in period and we should just drive normally. After getting home and perusing the manual I found a section that explains the break-in period and it says not to exceed 88 km/h and vary the speed often among other things.

We have a camping trip coming up in a couple of days and would like to take the Santa Fe on the highway so I asked the dealer about it. The dealer said that we didn't need to follow what's in the manual for break-in. Specifically they said "as long as you don't set your cruise control to 120 km/h and drive all the way to Calgary you'll be fine". (We live in Winnipeg, Canada) That doesn't really tell me much though since the camping journey is about 170 km (about 2 hours) and the highway speed limit is 100 km/h. We've put about 250 kms on it already driving around the city at different speeds etc.

Can anyone provide some clarification about the break-in period? Is the dealer correct in saying that we don't have to follow the break-in instructions from the manual and taking the Santa Fe on our camping trip is no problem?

Thanks!

jcwsbltd

Hi - the reason they say there is no specified engine break-in, is because the modern engine and piston designs don't make it as necessary for the piston rings and valves to "seat" themselves, as in the old days.

However, pulling large loads, or a lot of up-hill driving should be avoided, for any new car IMHO. I also change the oil after the first 1000 miles to make sure no gunk from the new engine can cause any damage, but then, that's just me.

The reason the Manual seems to conflict is because the statement about variable speeds relates to the Adaptive Transmission, which learns your style of driving so the computer can set it's parameters on the non-cable, electronic accelerator control and gear-shift control.

I know when I first read it, it was confusing too. BTW, if you have just bought the vehicle,I would also check the tire pressure....they ship them with 44 psi. to prevent damage to the tires when standing for a long time, so if you have the 18" wheels, and the Bridgestone Duellers OEM's, check they are 30 psi.cold.

You'll also find that until the first 7500-10,000 miles, the MPG will come nowhere near the stated mpg, even if you go by the trip odometer mpg reading, which is often higher than the actual mpg using the tank fill-up method.

Hope you enjoy your Santa Fe.

denvertrakker

Simple answer:

Follow the manual, not what "the dealer" (I presume you mean your salesperson) says. Your warranty depends on following instructions as set out by the manufacturer, not what some possibly ill-informed salesperson tells you.

That said, you don't need to go overboard. Modern vehicles don't really need as defined a break-in period as in years past. Try not to accelerate (or decelerate) suddenly, don't exceed the speed limit, and try to vary your speed as much as possible. I really tried to follow all this for at least the first 1000 miles, even to the extent of not using the cruise control. (A real annoyance since I live on the eastern plains of Colorado, almost as deserted as the Winnipeg-to-Calgary run)

I did try to keep it to 55 mph for a while, even tho the limit was 75. (Sorry, can't give you the kph/mph conversion out of my head). So you'll get there ten minutes later - no biggie.

tidester

Sorry, can't give you the kph/mph conversion out of my head

Google will do that for you! Just type in "55 mph in kph" (without the quotes) to find 55 mph = 88.51392 kph. Or better yet, WoframAlpha does numbers really well tossing in some interesting stuff with the result.

tidester, host
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