break-in period / maintenance for the CVT transmission

[ahitchcox]

I'm sure everyone has different opinions on this, but I always thought with a brand new car that you had to break the engine in before driving in normally. I'm sure each make/model is different. My 2009 Civic specified in the owner's manual how to break the engine in. It was something like for the first 500 miles to not go above 65, don't stay at a constant speed (don't use cruise control), avoid sudden stops, don't accelerate too quickly, etc.

I looked through the owner's manual for the '16 Civic with CVT and it doesn't say anything about the engine having to be broken in. Did they just not put anything in there or does the CVT not need to be broken in?

Just to be on the safe side I am avoiding going above 70, accelerating quickly, and not using cruise control until I reach about 500 miles.

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[t3hub3rk1tten]

This is all the owner's manual has to say:

During the first 600 miles (1,000 km) of operation,
avoid sudden acceleration or full throttle operation so
as not to damage the engine or powertrain.
Avoid hard braking for the first 200 miles (300 km).
You should also follow this when the brake pads are
replaced.

The 600 miles caution is likely just to allow the factory oil time to do its thing. Because the factory oil adds lubrication in the engine, you don't want to stress it too much (acceleration or full throttle) before it gets lubricated in the right spots.
The CVT should be fine, it's self-contained.
Braking advice just has to do with new brake pads.

 

[takemorepills]

meanwhile, back at the dealership the lot attendants and prospective buyers are hooning the piss outta your next car

 

[Viva la vida]

Never heard of transmission needing to be broken in, including CVT.

And if the owners manual doesn't say it, then it definitely doesn't need it.

 

[jks]

The main objective for engine break-in is not to overheat the rings and close off the ring gap. The ring gap is tight until the rings seat in the cylinders. If you overheat the rings by hard acceleration or extended full throttle operation, ring gap closes and then the rings start gouging the cylinders and doing damage. In extreme cases you can break the rings. Ideally, varying loads and lots of heat cycles (start, heat up, shut-off cool down) is the best way to break-in the engine.

 

[Ultrafrozen]

Can't speak about CVT in cars that use the metal link belts but all snowmobiles and ATVs that use rubber belts have a short "no max load/rpm" break-in period. Might be required for the Honda CVT?

 

[civvie]

Can't speak about CVT in cars that use the metal link belts but all snowmobiles and ATVs that use rubber belts have a short "no max load/rpm" break-in period. Might be required for the Honda CVT?

If required, there'd probably be something in the owners manual about taking it easy on the transmission during the first few hundred miles.

Then again the 600 miles caution from the owners manual mentioned above might be for the sake of breaking in the CVT also, just without explicitly saying it.

 

[anckentucky]

Looked through the owners manual last night, didn't see anything on a break-in period for the CVT. The only thing I found is that if you drive in a mountainous area, you should look to replace the transmission fluid every 25,000 miles. But there was nothing about how often you should replace it otherwise, seems the Maintenance Minder will alert you when it's necessary to be checked/changed.

 

[back2back]

It is clearly stated that "During the first 600 miles (1,000 km) of operation, avoid sudden acceleration or full throttle operation so as not to damage the engine or powertrain." Also stated "avoid hard breaking for the first 200 miles (300 km). You should also follow this when the break pads are replaced.

This info is in the 2016 owners guide under BEFORE DRIVING. Page 91 in my owners guide if that helps.

 

[haztorks]

I feel it is more likely for the transmission, than engine, but I know almost nothing about CVTs. Mine is being broken in as properly as I can, since it had 12 miles when I drove it off the lot. Might as well. If it had been test driven a bunch, I wouldn't bother, really.

 

[takemorepills]

" Also stated "avoid hard breaking for the first 200 miles (300 km). You should also follow this when the break pads are replaced.

Seriously? The manual calls the brakes "breaks"? Holy crap

 

[haztorks]

Seriously? The manual calls the brakes "breaks"? Holy crap

/end thread

 

[takemorepills]

/end thread

"Breaks" dude, not brakes. /end thread oh snaps co marked yo shiz

 

[Aetheric Continua]

For whatever it may be worth, I asked the service dude who worked on my car yesterday about break in periods. He said they were pretty much wives' tales and not really relevant to modern cars. "First day I got my Si I kept VTEC on."

But when in doubt, still RTFM

 

[CivicTouring]

When you have moving parts they will require a period of miles for wear in, even in todays world of CNC machining. The best way to break in an engine is to do light acceleration followed by periods of deceleration, that will allow the piston rings to properly seat in the cylinder bores. The transmission or if you have a rear wheel drive the rear end as well will also have a wear in process, that is why trucks will state in the owners manual not to tow for the first 500 miles to allow the rear end to wear in properly before you place a heavy load on the vehicle.

Aetheric Continua, who ever the "service dude" was that you talked to does not know his rear end from a hole in the ground and you would be well advised to steer clear of him.

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