Just bought a 2013 XFR and it had 57 miles on the odometer at purchase. I've been driving it around, I'm up to about 140 miles now. I read through the manual and quick start guide and saw no advice on breaking in the engine. I even downloaded the manuals online and searched the PDF's for the word "break" and didn't find any information... except for a brief mention of the breaking-in period (but without the accompanying advice). So the manual acknowledges a breaking-in period but doesn't explain how to break the car in

I'm assuming that the typical engine break-in procedure is probably going to work here as well (vary RPMs for short bursts, vary speeds, etc. then give the engine a push at the end of the break-in). But I was curious if there was anything specific to the XF (XFR in particular) that I should know. And, whether 500 miles is enough.

Thanks!

 

"Break-in" periods are kind of old school these days. Your car and engine have seen run time already on test stands and in the factory, even though it does not read on the odo. Also, engine tolerances are far better than they used to be in the good old days when you had to "seat" the rings. That said, it is probably wise to operate the car at moderate levels until 1,000 miles or so and then have the oil changed (at your expense, of course). Or, if you are like most people (no one on this board ), you could just beat the snot out of it and trade in in a couple of years.

 

The British call this "running in". The former 4.2 V8 required 1,000 miles of running in and also had running in instruction for th rear differential.

It'll be somewhere in the Owner's Handbook but maybe not where you expect it.


Modern engines may no require as careful running in as in older times but they still benefit.

The key is not to baby the engine and not to overload it either.

Piston speed and ring loadings are critical. You want low piston speeds and some high ring loadings. Periodically use up to 3/4 throttle at 2-3k rpm to help seat the rings. Do not use redline except for very brief periods with light throttle opening. Gradually add load and rpm as you approach the required mileage. This will ensure the ings bed in and seal the pistons against oil leakage into the combustion chambers.

One important difference is an early oil change is often not recommended or required. Some engines benefit from continuing to circulate the fine shavings from the bedding in process, anything bigger than powder is taken out by the oil filter. I know Subaru have a running in period but insist you NOT change the oil early, just for example.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty certain there isn't any info in my manual on break-in periods. I'll skip the early oil change and just do the normal break-in routine just to be safe.

 

Congratulations on the XFR and welcome to the forum. What color combo do you have? Post some photos of that baby.

 

I couldn't find any reference either. My 2009 handbook has two specific references to breaking in the engine and the differential. The Owners Handbook is the guide and Jaguars oil change schedule should be observed. I don't recall if my 4.2 had an early oil change or not.

I suspect the new 2013 with the 5.0 and the new 8 spd may dispense with formal breaking in instructions relying instead on the drivetrain and it's stupendous performance to take care of itself. I mean for how long could you stand on the gas pedal without letting up? 5 seconds?

8-)

 

Brett,

I would do what you said for break in avoid driving at any one speed for more then a few seconds, load the engine up at all rpm. Avoid engine breaking so don't touch the padels for the first 1000 miles. I would either change the oil myself (I hear its difficult) or pay the dealer for an oil change. Our cars take a Castrol Syn oil that you can't buy anywhere but Jag/Land Rover dealers and its $8 a quart your car holds 8 quarts. I think Jag charges $150 for an oil change.

The first 1000 miles on any engine the piston rings get set for life. If you break it in like you said your rings are going to be set and you shouldn't use too much oil. If you don't you may use oil. I bought my XFSC with 14k miles on it so I don't know who or how it was broken in. It used a quart in 4 months 6,000 miles. The dealer did not find that to be remarkable.

 

Thanks for the sentiments! It's black with charcoal leather, and I got the jet upper and the piano black veneer (so basically, all black). It was what I requested at the dealer... they just happened to find one coming in to port just like it and added it to their inventory. They got it in on Feb 27, and I bought it on Feb 28... a good day for their monthly sales figures, and a good inventory turnover for them too So I got a pretty good deal on the price even though it's limited edition.

Here's a picture I took before I bought it, just to show my wife what I was getting:

 

I'm pretty sure if you just drive the new XFR with a little restraint it will break in just fine. The maximum performance available is so stupendous it will be hard to find a suitable place to stretch the powerplant after the first 1,000 miles. I advise against trying to do your own oil changes on a warranty covered car. Just not worth the risk for the possible savings or convenience. Jaguar is gonna want to see all those entries in their car's history inputted from dealer computers if you ask them to fix the engine. Somewhere on here some owner is getting a brand new engine under warranty. Very rare but you don't want to be trying to convince Jaguar central that you are Mr Supermechanic when you are asking thrm to replace a blown engine.....

 

Just an update...

Talked to the salesman about it, and he didn't immediately know what to say so he went to the service department to talk to the mechanics. The lead mechanic said that they now break in the engines ahead of time, and to go for it.

Of course what is his motivation? He probably figures he'll get more services if I don't break it in right. But that's just paranoia speaking.

I bought this car as a 40th birthday present to myself and plan to keep it until I'm at least 50, so I'll have plenty of time to "beat the snot" out of it... so to be safe I still might break it in properly... but it's just so tempting... hehehe

 

Congrats again on the birthday present. All black looks great on the XF. Can I ask what kind of a discount did they give from Msrp? If you could us an interior photo? Post your driving impressions once you break it in. What stereo system is in it? What's your impression of that? What other carscdid you consider?

 

Just dont think breaking it in means babying it, that would be a big mistake. It just means don't abuse it.

 

They took about $4500 off the MSRP, which was a pretty good discount. Fair price, not a total steal but fair.

It comes standard with the 825W Meridian sound system. This was actually a selling point vs. the Supercharged, since it would be an expensive option on that model. I think the sound system is probably the second best thing about this car. It's pretty amazing.

For other cars, here's what I had at least briefly considered:
BMW - Looked at some 5 series, but wasn't impressed with the value versus the Jag. You have to spend a lot more for a similar car, and I'm not a big fan of BMW looks anyway. They are so common here.
Mercedes C63 - Too small
Mercedes CLS or E - Also more expensive for the value, and I don't like the hood ornament.
Cadillac CTS-V - Too ugly, interior not as nice either
Dodge Charger SRT8 - Could possibly be the best value in a car today, but couldn't get past how it looked like a police car, even though I do like the looks.
Audi - I really don't like Audi so I didn't consider it at all
Infiniti - These are really nice cars at a reasonable value but when it came to comparing to the Jag, the power and the prestige just weren't even close

I felt that the XFR was probably the best car you could buy at any price in the end... I'd take it over an M5 just for the looks.

 

as i do with all my cars...........do a huge power slide coming out of the dealership parking lot and dont regret it!

break-in periods are more of a thing of the past. a lot of the engines are broken in during the build process.

I think the break in process it more targeted towards drive train, brakes and tires....allowing them to run in. I would take it easy for the first 100-200 miles...no harsh stops, slamming on the brakes to go from 120-0 in 2 seconds kinda thing

 

All good comparos. I would not own another BMW (I don't like sitting around the dealership reading out of date magazines while my car get repaired every other month). The Cadillac is too noisy. You are correct the Charger or 300M are probably the biggest bang for the buck, but... No Audi or Merc for me either. One's too queer and the other too common. Infiniti make really nice cars; however, I just can't warm up to Japanese cars. They all seem like appliances to me.

 

Along these lines something really funny happened to me today.

I happened to have a new M5 park next to my XFR at work.

I caught three people just gawking for a full 5 minutes all over my XFR...

...and they didn't even GLANCE at the M5!!!

 

That's because the Jaguar is stylish and the BMW is budd ugly.( or bangle ugly if you prefer, they still haven't abandoned that truly horrible styling).

 

The F10 5 series is better looking than the previous gen bangle, but not as beautiful as the xf. The one in this photo is not an F10.

 

So happy to see this thread...I just brought home new XF Portfolio on Friday afternoon. I drive 130k per day to my business and I was worried about a break-in period. Now I believe I'll be OK at a steady 120k/hr as long as I take it easy getting there. For a while

This is my 3rd Jag and second SC. I had a 2004 SuperV8 and a 2000 XJ8 VPD before. So far, I'm in love!

 

Congrats on the XF buy. Post some photos!