Running in a turbo diesel... What do I need to know??

[rm1982]

Hi! I just picked up my 2012 LW mk2 Titanium on Thursday, and I've never owned a turbo diesel before... I've heard conflicting opinions on how best to run in the engine, so I'm hoping to find some experts here.... What do I need to know to give it the right kind of love?

[Franco Cozzo]

Don't do what I did and play grandma trying to see how little fuel you can use everywhere, it runs like crap.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Some will say to drive it normally, some will say to go out of your way to drive it in as many different situations as possible, some will say to thrash the crap out of it....

Most say to avoid long, constant drives where the engine sits in the same gear doing the same revs for a ling time.

Remember, a lot of new car drivers have no clue of the concept of running a car in and I doubt it has caused them issue.

Do handbooks in new cars still have a running in section?

[Russ]

My understanding is that the best way to run any engine in is to always wait until they reach operating temperature before giving them a bit of stick. I agree with Damo though on the diesel, don't drive it like a granny or it will most likely perform poorly in the long run.

[T4ME]

Just drive it normally but when you encounter hills have it in the tallest gear possible to climb and this will stimulate good load for the motor.

I have always placed the car in N when stationary at lights etc and if sitting longer than 20-30 seconds will start to give her some small rev fluctuation.

After 2-3k she will be right to drive however.

Dump the oil at 5k max as well on the first change and all ones after that if possible....no more than 5k on first change though if you can help it.
Id drop it at 1k myself.

[rm1982]

Thanks guys, this is helpful. I will however admit up front that I'm a blonde girl... Lol!.... so when you say "dump the oil" is this an oil change? and will they do this at the 3000km service? Putting it in neutral at the lights and stuff is good advice too, I will make sure I do that from now on. And it is a powershift auto transmission, so as far as putting it in the tallest gear on hills, do you mean I should knock it back a gear? Or should it take care of itself?... I'm a bit embarrassed I need to clarify that! Hahaha. I am trying not to be so girly with car maintenance though, there is hope for me I think. ;)

[In Focus]

"Dump the oil" does mean get it changed. The dealer won't do it at the 3000km service unless you ask, and then they may try to talk you out of it (or charge for it to be done).

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by rm1982

Thanks guys, this is helpful. I will however admit up front that I'm a blonde girl... Lol!.... so when you say "dump the oil" is this an oil change? and will they do this at the 3000km service? Putting it in neutral at the lights and stuff is good advice too, I will make sure I do that from now on. And it is a powershift auto transmission, so as far as putting it in the tallest gear on hills, do you mean I should knock it back a gear? Or should it take care of itself?... I'm a bit embarrassed I need to clarify that! Hahaha. I am trying not to be so girly with car maintenance though, there is hope for me I think. ;)

3000km is just put some washer additive in the bottle to make it a nice orange colour, spray the battery terminals with the blue Wurth anti-corrosion spray, chuck her up on the hoist and pretend to do something for 5 minutes and down she comes.

I thrashed the crap out of my Fiesta when I got it, I was going up and down Mt Macedon, shifting at redline and fanging it up and over the mountain pass and she runs perfectly these days 40,000km later.

I drove my LV TDCI Focus like grandma on her way to Bingo and it idles rough in warm weather and drives like a pig.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...esel-1236.html

I was following this on my first TDCI Focus, then I totalled it, the replacement I just tried to drive softly to see how low I could get the usage count to go.

[rm1982]

That article is great, thanks!