[sandman]

Here's what pg 123 of the Acadia owners manual says about break in:

New Vehicle Break-In

Notice: Your vehicle does not need an elaborate break-in. But it will perform better in the long run if you follow these guidelines:
• If you have all-wheel drive, keep your speed at 55 mph (88 km/h) or less for the first 500 miles (805 km).[/color]
• Do not drive at any one constant speed, fast or slow, for the first 500 miles (805 km). Do not make full-throttle starts. Avoid downshifting to brake, or slow, the vehicle.

My question is, why the difference for AWD?[/color]
Second question is, has anybody that bought a AWD had their dealer point this out to them? I got the first one off the lot and I can understand why the dealer didn't know.

 

[002]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

The difference between the FWD and AWD is the rear differential, drive shaft and rear wheel shafts. I believe they want you drive "nice" so that the facings on the differential gear teeth start a smooth wear pattern and stay quiet. I know on the C6 Corvettes, the differentials start making a whining noise if not broken in with smooth driving. Friends that have started full throttle starts with under 500 miles have gotten noisy rear ends and those who drove as their manual said have quiet rear ends. So my guess is that a similar noise problem can occur on the Acadia AWD differential for the same reason reason. I think most Acadia owners will likely drive their car "nicer" that a new Corvette owner who just can't wait to see how powerful it is. The 4936 lbs AWD Acadia owner is not likely to be tempted to race the car like a new Corvette owner.

my 2 cents.

 

[kjf]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

The 4936 lbs AWD Acadia owner is not likely to be tempted to race the car like a new Corvette owner.

I may be a bit overweight, but I don't weight anywhere near that much!



Kelly

 

[Pelle31]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

The difference between the FWD and AWD is the rear differential, drive shaft and rear wheel shafts. I believe they want you drive "nice" so that the facings on the differential gear teeth start a smooth wear pattern and stay quiet. I know on the C6 Corvettes, the differentials start making a whining noise if not broken in with smooth driving. Friends that have started full throttle starts with under 500 miles have gotten noisy rear ends and those who drove as their manual said have quiet rear ends. So my guess is that a similar noise problem can occur on the Acadia AWD differential for the same reason reason. I think most Acadia owners will likely drive their car "nicer" that a new Corvette owner who just can't wait to see how powerful it is. The 4936 lbs AWD Acadia owner is not likely to be tempted to race the car like a new Corvette owner.

my 2 cents.

I agree with this completely.

I think it's GM's way of warning people that have no common sense ;D

 

[sandman]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

Very good answer from 002, it makes sense. Tis probably a good thing the Acadia didn't come with the hemi type engine, cause I might have been a lot more tempted to do some rapid starts. Does make me wonder how many other awd owners were properly warned by their dealers, or finally stumbled across page 123 and went oooooops.

 

[Jasper]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

Dealers don't tell you anything about driving 55. From owning previous cars, I knew the rule and checked the manual. While getting passed non-stop can be highly annoying, knowing that you are doing the right thing for your vehicle's drive train makes you feel like you are making a long-term investment in the quality and performance of the vehicle. Also, with the Acadia's rather large stance, I didn't get too many bumper riders as they knew they wouldn't be able to intimidate me.

 

[johnway]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

My dealer did mention about breaking the vehicle in but it sounded more like it was on a script they say to every car owner and not just for the Acadia, I would not think that they would know this was in the owners manual under AWD. He also went on to say the break in period was up to me and was only a recommendation.

 

[Nu2GMC]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

Just for the hell of it I called GMC this morning to ask them about the 55 speed limit for the first 500 miles in a AWD Acadia. After talking to 3 different "customer service reps." I found out exactly nothing. They only advised me to follow the owners manual...so I guess I will. Maybe it's the transaxle/transfer case that needs some TLC for the first 500 miles. There is an engineer out there somewhere that can answer this.

 

[bill in pa]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

I turned over 500 miles tonight on my way home from work. Time to open it up tomorrow! Who knows, maybe if I get it up to 70 or 80mph the parking light bulb may fly back up into its socket! ;D ;D

 

[katherinet]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

Anyone have any thoughts on synthetic oil? Both of our previous vehicles came with synthetic oil from the factory. We would like to run Mobil 1 synthetic in this vehicle as well, but wondering if we should do it at first oil change, or wait longer for a breakin period.

 

[intrigueme]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

Anyone have any thoughts on synthetic oil? Both of our previous vehicles came with synthetic oil from the factory. We would like to run Mobil 1 synthetic in this vehicle as well, but wondering if we should do it at first oil change, or wait longer for a breakin period.

:ditto: Great question! My husband uses synthetic in our cars. I would also like to know other's opinion on this.

 

[nxs138]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

There is a school of thought out there (well, from Audi people) that believes keeping the original OEM oil until the first recommended oil change...something about maybe there's something special in the original oil that helps seal piston valves, etc.

In any case, that's what I did with my Audi: kept the original oil for 5k miles, then changed to synthetic. Never had a problem. Engine seems to run cooler with synthetic.

I change out my synthetic after every 5 k miles, but some owners have had theirs analyzed aftger 8k and 10k miles, and have had very good results in terms of wear. So you could wait longer between changes with a synthetic oil.

 

[imgntht]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

My dealer did not mention this, but being the older wiser person I am I read the manual the first weekend I had the car. Since I am transitioning from smaller sporty cars, this was a monster to me. So I just naturally took caution in driving it for the first week or so. Unfortunately due to my short commute, getting to 500 miles is like torture. I just turned 300 odd miles today and I have had the car for 3 weeks! So I guess 2-3 more weeks and I'll be all set. :blob: Good thing too...we have a road trip planned for mid May that will be its inaugural highway run about 2 hours away from Chicago. Can't imagine trying to stay under 55 the whole way. ;D

 

[sandman]

Re: Keep your AWD under 55 for first 500 miles

I

Unfortunately due to my short commute, getting to 500 miles is like torture. I just turned 300 odd miles today and I have had the car for 3 weeks! So I guess 2-3 more weeks and I'll be all set. ;D

I felt your pain. My commute was 26 miles round trip ( and then I retired). I finally just started taking the car out for 30 min drives, put on the XM and relaxed. The 500 came faster that way.

 

[acadiarunner]

Breaking in new acadia

I'm picking up the new acadia tomorrow but have to drive it home about 3 hours...
Any advice on breaking it in (lower speed for 500 miles or??)
Thanks!

 

[dura_cell]

Re: Breaking in new acadia

I hate to say it, but I would try and follow the recommendations. It will be slow going, but I think the long term benefit is worth it. I am anxious to hear what the techs say.

 

[jcflorida]

Re: Breaking in new acadia

Lower speeds during breakin is for AWD. Not driving at the same speed for long periods applies for both AWD and FWD, so leave the cruise control off.

 

[kram]

Re: Breaking in new acadia

below 55 for AWD.
I drove my FWD between 50 and 65 during my first 200-mile trip.

 

[kram]

Re: Breaking in new acadia

i just realized this thread is not the appropriate section :-\

 

[teetertotter]

Re: Breaking in new acadia

I am still of the old school when breaking in an engine. I stay off the interstate hwy for the first 1000 miles. My break-in is driving the back county roads that are anywhere from 35 to 60mph at various stretches coupled with a few 4 ways stops and traveling through 2 small towns. This is 2 hours per day 115 miles total. Then I turn the vehicle over to my wife after 2 weeks. I am fortunate as have 3 different routes during the week which I can take that all take the same time, including 75% freeway if so desire. Wherever we have lived over the years, I find routes that will very the speed from 25 to 60mph for the first 1000 miles. This is still my mode for breaking in new engine today.