New Prime engine break in?

congrats, road trip!
i don't think that is toyota's recommendation. keep it under the speed limit in the right lane and vary your speed a bit every so often.
stay well back of the vehicle in front of you and try not to slam the brakes on.

all the best!

 

The whole break in thing seems to be a thing of the past and now no break in oil either. I would follow bisco's advice.

Break-in (mechanical run-in) - Wikipedia

 

We just bought a 2017 Lexus RX450h last July and the recommendation was to vary speeds for the first 1000 miles. So no cruise control.

Only items after that that I’ve done was a short change on the oil (5k miles) and drained and filled the trans axle fluid at 6800 miles.

Enjoy your trip and new Prime .

 

Just drive it.

 

Here's break-in advice from Owner's Manual:



The first item is for brakes, and is something to do whenever you have new pads. It's maybe overkill, and if you have to stop just do what you have to do. But as mentioned above, take it easy on the brakes, keep a good following distance. Good policy anytime, by the way.

The second item is for engine, and the aim is to provide a variety of load condtions, and avoid extreme loads. Not that hard to accomplish, again, as mentioned above, stay right and play by the rules.

 

The definition of what “extremely high speeds” are leaves something to be desired.

 

Yeah not not only high speeds I think. How about a sustained hill climb? I'd avoid those during break-in. I try to avoid those period, lol.

 

If you can't avoid them, just stay right and take it easy, it'll be fine.

 

You’ll be taking 95 back?

I’ve driven it from Pa to Fort Lauderdale before and there were no significant elevation changes.

Enjoy the drive.

 

Considering that my first tank of gas lasted 1700 miles, it means that I was mostly on EV and my ICE really didn't run much at all. The amount of time that the engine runs during the first 600 miles is bound to be drastically dependent on how often you charge. In the Prime, I just don't see how a blanket statement to avoid hard driving the first however many miles is really that meaningful.

 

I appreciate this is heresy, but it might be good to not charge the car for the first 1000 miles.

 

You heretic.

Yeah the Prime folks try to eek as much out on electricity as possible.

One of the guys that works for me has a Prime and has a 50 mile one way commute in Bay Area traffic.

He gets 70 mpg so he’s satisfied.

 

I wouldn't over think it. What do you suppose happens to new rental cars?

 

Drive the car around town the first night and learn the controls. Dynamic cruise control takes some confidence building but the navigation unit is 'funky.' Practice with getting your cell phone plugged in and selecting favorite tunes. Get a good night's sleep, a nice breakfast, and start towards Florida.

Consider going via the Outer Banks and taking the ferry. You'll add an extra day or two but it is a lot prettier than the Interstate and the food is better. Take lots of pictures.

Find semi-trailer trucks loafing along at 65 mph and practice with dynamic cruise control. Use maximum following distance until you feel comfortable. You'll want the cruise control, set speed to be +10 mph so it can handle the variations.

Bob Wilson

 

I did a similar 1700 mile trip. Here are my tips:
1. Ask them to charge it ahead of time. You can use electric mode while test driving and in the city on your way back.
2. Learn how to switch between HV, EV, and Charge Mode. Charge Mode is helpful when I saw there was an hour delay ahead and I charged up about 10 miles before I got there.
3. Bring a phone mount and use your own GPS app. I didn't like the built in GPS. Takes some time to get used to it. Don't forget the car charger.
4. Make sure everything works and tires are inflated.
5. Learn how to use the DCC in traffic. It works great. You can turn it on at less than 28 mph and it will be set at 28 mph. Set it to 1 bar following distance in traffic.