After two weeks, I'm almost 900 miles.
Been driving carefully and (trying) to keep adjusting my speed.

The owner's manual says to keep it below 55mph and the tachometer between 2000 and 4000.
When I am at 55, the tach is below 2000.

What' more important, speed or tach?
What did y'all do?

Thanks,
Suzanna

The most important thing is to vary your speed and NEVER use cruise during the break-in period. Short bursts above 55 are OK; you shouldn't sustain speeds of 65-70 over more than a minute, and anything above 70 would be bad. I wouldn't take the revs much more than 3000-3500 if at all during the first 1000 miles at least, even though it says 2K-4K.

I know that the manual says that 1200 miles is the break-in period of the car, but depending on how you look at it, it could take either less or more miles to get it fully broken in. What I mean by that is, yeah I'm sure everything's probably sealed properly in about 600 miles (which, oddly enough, is the recommended break-in period on the 2006.5 Optima that my buddy drives), but you won't really have your car optimized for your driving habits for much longer than that.

With the CVVT, the car "learns" your driving style. I've found that my mileage has been steadily improving even now, and I'm nearing 30,000 miles (in 2-3 weeks; I'm at 27,000 now). Yeah, my car's probably broken in and all, but I still drive it 55 mph because it saves $ at the pump. :grin:

I've been staying off the expressway to stay below 55.
No cruise control, except once for a few seconds to make sure it worked.
I've got to 70 a few times, before I realized it and brought it back down.

I tried to get over 2000 rmp but I had to get to 75 to do it.
So being below 2000 rmp most of the time is alright?
The only time I go over is when accelerating to get to cruising speed and don't think I've ever got to 4000.

What is CVVT?
And I don't understand the learning style thing.
My regular driving is usually fast, just what I am not doing right now.

Suzanna

CVVT = Continuously Variable Valve Timing
VIS = Variable Intake System

The Sonata has both, which is good. It means that the car can adapt to your driving style and vary its response accordingly.

Don't worry about driving slowly during break-in but then driving faster after that. It will adapt to it and handle it nicely.

As for engine rpm, I doubt you're at only 2000 rpm at 75 mph. I have the same engine as you, and I'm at 2000 rpm at a much lower speed than that. I would say keep it near 2000 rpm, which should be around 60ish, maybe 61, but vary it +/- a couple hundred rpm, which would equate to +/- 5-8 mph. So basically have your operating range be 52-68 mph in 5th gear, and don't race it to get up to speed. That should take care of things.
:)

This post has been edited by mc229: Apr 15 2006, 10:53 PM

I'd rather put it this way:

Be soft on your gas pedal, and on your brakes too.

Accelerating to 4,000 rpm is a no no at this stage.

Speeding over 80 mph? -- not at this point.

Slamming the brakes (unless you really have to) is not a good idea.

Jackrabbit starts to get the car to 60 mph in 7 seconds? Wait for another few months....

In general, mechanics always reccomend not to keep driving for a long time at a steady speed during the break-in period.

Otherwise, live your life, enjoy your new car.

And don't worry too much about it.

i had a pretty bad breakin....i'm finnally passed it today, but for the first couple of days of buying the car, i forgot about the breakin period and was doing 80mph as usual on the highway....then of course i remembered i was suppose to break it in first and tried to stayed as much as possible at 55mph to 60mph - using cruise control of course, until i read that it was a big no no.....but even after that, trying to drive at 55-65 mph is tough cause realistically.....nobody in the DC area...let alone Maryland...drives any slower than 70mph on the highway....and I constantly found myself going with the flow......

But oddly enough...my gas mileage has been increasing each time at the pump. I'm at 26.8mpg (my calculation...trip meter thinks i'm at 7.5) and i drive 40/60 city/highway.

--- Sure, that's because you need to RESET it before you go for a test.... Actually, if you really want to know your highway mpg, you get on the highway and while at a cruising speed you reset it. Drive for an hour and then check it. That way you get pure highway calculation. Which many here (me included) have found it to be pretty accurate.

wow, did you start near zero miles? :w00t:

Let's see, I believe the car had about 30 miles when they let me take it home overnight.
It's about a 50 mile round trip from my house to the dealer.
So it had 80 miles when I purchased it.

I usually put about 340 miles a week, but a new car needs to be driven more!
You know, show Mom who lives 80 miles away, drive to all the stores... :P

Suzanna

I've been averaging between 55-65 mph and my RPM's are in the very low 2000's. It's impossible to do 55 when the speed limit on the 2 highways I take to work are 65 mph. The average driving speed is 80mph. People are passing me, flashing me, giving me the finger and looking at me like I'm a retard (gotta love NY!). When going 55, the tach is actually in the 1800-1900 range. RPM is much more important than MPH when breaking in a car. Don't rev the engine over 3000 rpm and stay above 1500. I'm averaging 31.5 MPG in 20/80 city highway driving (i hit really bad traffic the other day which I couldn't avoid and that hurt my average).

Isn't going to hurt it a bit. The break in strategy spelled out is ideal, and can vary a lot without any harm whatsoever.

As long as you don't drive off the lot and set the cruise at 75 for an hour straight, you're fine.

-- Will you PLEASE stop it?!?!?! What are you trying to do GIVE SONATA A TERRIBLE REPUTATION!?!? Those drivers are thinking to themselves "Wow, this piece of crappy car is not capable of driving above 55?...Wow, that's why they're so cheap..."

There is REALLY no reason to drive 55 during your break in period, just because your manual says so.... Yes, keep your RPM under 4,000 at any time, etc, etc, as spelled out above.

After all, you purchase a car to ENJOY it, not suffer -- and/or make other drivers around you suffer...

LoL...i guess I should of mentioned, yes I reset the mpg trip meter EVERYTIME i go to fill up my gas tank. I haven't did the cruising thing yet though....not sure if i really want to. But i'm very content with mpgs I'm getting.....considering my last vehicle (tuscon) was getting 18mpgs no matter what i did.

Dude, I said I'm averaging between 55 and 65. I've gone up to 70, but not often. The reason people are passing me and stuff is because they are going at least 80, which I also mentioned in my post. The morning commute on the NYS Thruway is the equivalent of busch series nascar. There have been 5 fatal accidents on a 3 mile stretch of road in the last 3 months. I'm not going to drive that fast anymore, even after I break my car in fully. I already have 4 points on my license and I don't need another ticket. Also, gas costs too much. 70 MPH is fine enough for me...

I don't think that anyone would actually believe that a new car couldn't go faster than 55 anymore. If so, then I'm sure they're also the ones lining up to buy beachfront property in the Everglades.

There's a reason that highways have passing lanes. If you want to go 55, that's your prerogative - just stay out of the passing lane. I have actually been going 55 myself lately to get better mileage, and I stay out of the left-hand lane so that people can pass me if they wish. I don't notice if anyone gives me hand signals to indicate that I'm number 1, because I'm too busy focusing on the road, cars, and driving conditions around me, instead of trying to share "love signs" with neighboring drivers. Maybe I'm strange that way. :whistling:

The fastest limit on the roads I drive is 60, and that's for limited stretches. Most is 55. I still notice many people driving my speed or slower. If you're so worried about what people think about the Sonata because of my slow driving and that of others, then queue up to the pump when I stop for gas and swipe your card instead of mine, and I'll gladly rip off dazzling 0-60 times and race it around like Parnelli Jones. :w00t:

This post has been edited by mc229: Apr 16 2006, 04:56 PM

That's not gonna give anything that's even CLOSE to an accurate reading. I suggested you reset when you test your mpg on the highway. That way your computer is checking pure highway mileage.

I am saying get your car to a cruising speed and THEN reset it.