[nicmo]

I pretty much always drive very easy anyway, but is there any official or highly suggested info on a break-in period or practices for the RAV4 hybrid, such as speed limits, etc.?

 

[Quickdtoo]

Break-in restrictions are listed on page 159 and 184 in the manual.


Breaking in your new Toyota

To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recommended:


●For the first 200 miles (300 km):

Avoid sudden stops.


●For the first 500 miles (800 km):


Do not tow a trailer.


●For the first 600 miles (1000 km):





• Do not drive at extremely high speed.


• Avoid sudden acceleration.


• Do not drive continuously in low gears.


• Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.






■Break-in schedule
If your vehicle is new or equipped with any new power train components
(such as an engine, transmission, differential or wheel bearing), Toyota recommends
that you do not tow a trailer until the vehicle has been driven for
over 500 miles (800 km).
After the vehicle has been driven for over 500 miles (800 km), you can start
towing. However, for the next 500 miles (800 km), drive the vehicle at a speed
of less than 45 mph (72 km/h) when towing a trailer, and avoid full throttle
acceleration.

 

[fishexpo101]

I've been of the persuasion of breaking in the car like how it will be driven, ie. if the car will be driven hard, break-it in hard. Only thing that I try to do is not maintain a constant cruise for very long - try to vary the RPMs as much as possible, do a couple of strong pulls to redline, once the engine is fully up to temperature. My 2002 Corolla, 2003 Matrix, and 2009 Matrix - I drove the nuts off the cars the first 500 miles, then did a quick oil and filter change at 1000 miles. Corolla has 205K miles, 2003 Matrix had 120K miles before it was rear-ended, 2009 Matrix has 90K miles on the clock. Not one of them had any engine or powertrain issues - none have burned any significant amount of oil between oil changes (the 1ZZ-FE in the 2002 Corolla and the 2AZ-FE in the 2009 Matrix are known heavy oil consumers). The 2009 RAV4 - drove that one gently, as it was my first "new" AWD vehicle - didn't know what to expect. So far - seems OK - but doesn't seem to run as nicely as the others. For some reasons, seems to be "looser" than the others, doesn't seem to make all the power it should. The new 2016 RAV4 - going to run the nuts off of this one - compare it to the 2009 RAV4. One thing I noticed right away - steady increases to fuel economy as the miles are rolling on, even after I dropped tire pressures (originally at 51PSI!!!). Not sure if this is because I'm getting used to driving it (rides much smoother than the other RAV4 - less truckish). Or due to winding the engine through the RPM range during the break in process. Got almost 2K miles in the 4 weeks I've had it - ready to hand off to my wife as her new daily soon.

 

[Oli77]

IOne thing I noticed right away - steady increases to fuel economy as the miles are rolling on, even after I dropped tire pressures (originally at 51PSI!!!).

Going to garage to check...

 

[Oli77]

35 PSI all around. Door sill says should be 32 PSI.
Slight increase may help with MPG.

 

[Douglas007]

Break-in restrictions are listed on page 159 and 184 in the manual.


Breaking in your new Toyota

To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recommended:


●For the first 200 miles (300 km):

Avoid sudden stops.


●For the first 500 miles (800 km):


Do not tow a trailer.


●For the first 600 miles (1000 km):





• Do not drive at extremely high speed.


• Avoid sudden acceleration.


• Do not drive continuously in low gears.


• Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.






■Break-in schedule
If your vehicle is new or equipped with any new power train components
(such as an engine, transmission, differential or wheel bearing), Toyota recommends
that you do not tow a trailer until the vehicle has been driven for
over 500 miles (800 km).
After the vehicle has been driven for over 500 miles (800 km), you can start
towing. However, for the next 500 miles (800 km), drive the vehicle at a speed
of less than 45 mph (72 km/h) when towing a trailer, and avoid full throttle
acceleration.

We added a 2016 Corolla S to our garage and wanted to take her on a road trip this weekend. What is considered "extended periods"?

 

[Quickdtoo]

Dunno, but it's easy to just vary the speed between 50-65mph no matter what the distance during break-in.

 

[Win262]

For what it's worth, our salesman said not to use the cruise control for the first 1000 miles. That's no problem because personally I don't care to ever use it.