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Breaking In Ecoboost?


MattB911
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Hello I have a Ford Fiesta Zetec S 125 ecoboost. I am wondering what the break in procedure is? First new car I've had and admittedly I have put the pedal to the metal several times and redlined by accident twice, will this have any effect on performance? Just as a pointer though it is a lease car so I'm not as concerned as I would be if it was my own car but I don't want to 'damage' it either.

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I have a TX rather than a ZS, and I have driven mine normally from day one. I've never let the revs get that high as to redline though - certainly not something I'd recommend :rolleyes:

Sent from my iPad using Ford OC

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I know :( wasn't on purpose, just got carried away lol

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It'll be fine mate, new cars don't generally need running in like they used to. Mines a lease too, just enjoy driving it!

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Thanks for putting my mind at ease lol basically I still want it to drive just as good ie. Power and torque but I'm not as bothered as I would be if it was my own car.

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Accidental redlines are probably nothing to worry about tbh, if you do it once or twice i dont see it being that much of a big deal, as long as you dont keep it redlined for too long

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As the manual say, don't labour the engine, or drive just above the idle limit. This will cause you more problems. Engines are run at full RPM while there tested so that's not so bad.

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As in Willy's post above, you're breaking in the whole car not just the engine. Brakes and tyres need some time to bed in before working at their best, plus the transmission and drivetrain.

Cars also only go through very limited testing during manufacture, if something does go wrong early on then potential damage/injury is reduced if you've been taking it easy during this initial period.

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Mine gets red lined on a regular basis. Dont see a problem with it, the revs are there to be used.

Maybe take it easy for the first few hundred miles just for piece of mind, but after that don't bother.

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Enjoy your new car. I'd just follow the advice in the manual to avoid any issues should a fault be detected - I have heard of other manufacturers trying wriggling out of warranty claims if the engine management unit data shows sign of the car being "mistreated". I have the 100 ecoboost and I treated as prescribed then once it was out of it's baby phase and become a toddler it was moved into doing longer treks at sensible and legal speeds:-) Just take it out on the motorway etc and do some steady, progressive driving you'll also get a chance to warm it though also to see if you can get anywhere near the famed MPG! Doing that also means you keep the revs lower although at the expense of some driving fun.

So far I've had no problems with the car and I regularly run it at the legal speed limits here which are 120/130kmh in Belgium/Luxembourg if I want some fun the German autobahn without the limits... :) That said my friends Merc is certainly more of an autobahn beast than my Fiesta :(

I am/was a relatively low milage driver and until a few months ago I was still under 3000 miles, so still in the breaking in period. That said I am now taking it on more frequent mini-European tours and it's quite a fun little beast.

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  • 4 years later...

25000 miles and mine went pop. Ford just fitted a new engine. Is this something thats happening to other owners. 

report said the engine was toast. No tr didn't over heat it just lost power and started smoking.

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38 minutes ago, mzerokwr said:

25000 miles and mine went pop. Ford just fitted a new engine. Is this something thats happening to other owners. 

report said the engine was toast. No tr didn't over heat it just lost power and started smoking.

Just curious about this: Was yours the newest version of 1.0 Ecoboost ? (Fiesta mk8) 

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 it was was the 2013 version which ever that is. To self destruct after 25000 miles was a bit of a surprise. Now bedding in a brand new engine. Ford wouldn't entertain a claim for a faulty engine so my dealer TCH Peterborough paid for the replacement with a £500 contribution from me. 

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35 minutes ago, mzerokwr said:

 it was was the 2013 version which ever that is. To self destruct after 25000 miles was a bit of a surprise. Now bedding in a brand new engine. Ford wouldn't entertain a claim for a faulty engine so my dealer TCH Peterborough paid for the replacement with a £500 contribution from me. 

That would be a Mk 7 facelift or Mk 7.5 as it is usually known on here.

It can be difficult finding things on here, but there are several quite long running threads regarding ecoboost failures.

Very briefly, they fall into 2 main categories - coolant issues and oil pressure issues. Coolant problems have mainly affected the Focus and involve hoses which were modified later in production and by recall. oil pressure issues have arisen in some cars - the theory being that if oil changes have been missed or wrong grade of oil used, the camshaft drive belt which runs in the oil can degrade and particles can block the oil pump, causing loss of oil pressure and ultimate failure.

It would be interesting to know the history of the car, service record etc. Without knowing the full story (presuming you have not had the car from new?) it sounds as if you may have done quite well to get a new engine for £500.

 

 

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The car was one previous owner with full Ford up to date service history,  thats why we chose it. We owned the car for 6 months and it was and still is a very nice car. As you said we indeed did well to get a new engine for £500. The dealership gave us A1 service and it was all sorted out and back on the road in exactly 1 month. A credit to the customer service at TCH Peterborough. Would this engine be the latest or the same old stock? Just a thought.

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2 minutes ago, mzerokwr said:

Would this engine be the latest or the same old stock? 

I would think they would replace it like for like. That said, afaik the engine was basically the same until mid 2018 when a gasoline particulate filter was added to the otherwise unchanged engine, but it seems that from early this year Fiestas are now coming through with the revised 1.0 ecoboost as fitted to the Mk 4 Focus, which has chain cam drive, not belt.

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So my 1ltr ecoboost 140, is currently at a Evans Halshaw Preston, there was an issue with the water pump and soon enough my headgasket blew when I was driving, ford have offered to pay 100% of the labour and parts, which I’ve obviously taken, some people have told me that the breaking in period is 1000miles and not to drive the car “fast” at least until then, I was wondering how true this is or if it is how I should drive my car up until that point as I’m unsure and obviously don’t want to damage my engine

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Just drive it normally, don’t Labour the engine and don’t thrash the nuts off it.

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The advice given in the online handbook is basically sound: 

"Engine
Avoid driving too fast during the first 1000 miles (1,500 km). Vary your speed frequently and change up through the gears early. Do not labour the engine."
 
I used to say just drive normally but everyone's idea of " normal" is different. As long as you avoid max revs, wide open throttle and just as important, don't let the engine labour in too high a gear, as above, you'll be fine.
 
 
 
 
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Okay Thankyou both! 

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I've always followed the break-in procedures on the New cars I've owned. What's to lose apart from the slight tedium of doing it for a month or so.

Whereas not doing it could maybe shorten the life of your engine and also invalidate your warranty, who knows what the computers record these days.

As for running in my Fiesta I just kept the Revs under 3000 rpm for the 1st 500 miles (not a problem as 3000 rpm in 6th is about 80mph anyway)  varied the engine speed on longer motorway journeys and didn't lug the engine by trying to pull from low revs. After 500 miles or so I occasionally took it to 4,500 rpm in the odd short burst (joining the motorway) and carried that on until about 1500 miles . After which I just drive it normally

Also for the first 500 miles I tried to avoid any quick off the line starts, heavy use of the brakes and fast cornering.

 

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In 1990 I bought a brand new Granada Scorpio 4x4.   I ran it in very carefully.   I scrapped it at 177,000 miles as I couldn't get a steering rack but in all that time, apart from standard oil changes, it never used a drop of oil.

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