No, i dont mean going for a sprint in the car ;)

Ill be recieveing my 1.0 ecoboost zetec next week. Its brand new and never had a new car before. A lot of people say it takes ages for a new car to run in and settle down. Some even saying you shouldnt thrash it or rev it too high from new.

When i went for a test drive, the ecoboost has an arrow that apears on the dash when it thinks is the best time to change gears but it seems high revved.

Should i be driving it like its fragile for a while when i recieve it? or just drive it as a normally would?

Sorry, im a newbie to new so just unsure and dont want to do any internal damage

Just drive it like you normally would, modern engine so don't need gentle running in, don't trash it or let the engine labour, use all the gears.

The brakes, tyres and clutch need a few hundred miles to bed in.

Have a read of the manual which basically says the above.

as Mark said up above modern day cars don't really need run-in (its done in the factory) but clutch and etc need about 500miles roughly but whats 500mile for me thats 15days lol

ah i see, thanks guys :)

A friend painted an image in my head of the car practically blowing up if i revved it too high haha

Im looking forward to this experience :)

As others have said, and the main thing is don't labour it, I've heard that's one of the worst things you can do to a new car. I tried to follow the advice on AA which basically says start off by not revving it above 3k, but regularly reach that limit. So basically just rev it up to 3k every time before changing gear. Although that probably isn't necessary on a modern engine, you might as well just drive it normally :)

Red line it out the dealership it's the only way :)

Red line it out the dealership it's the only way :)

My dealer told me to drive it like I stole it lol.

Red line it out the dealership it's the only way :)

hahaha when i test drove it the man said what happens in the car stays in the car.... at first i thought he was going to rape me but then he just floored it out the dealership to a car park haha!

As others have said just drive it normally you'll probably find its a little bit different at first , it seems to be happier in 3rd at 30 ie driving around town but you will soon get used to it, also with a turbo you may have to let the engine run for a little while after a long motorway run to protect the turbo but I have found that the stop start doesn't switch the engine off straight away it runs for a bit then switches off , economy will improve as the mileage increases ( after about 1000 miles ) but I was getting mid 40s from day one (depending on how you drive) enjoy

It's a good idea to get the oil and filter changed at 1,000 miles to get rid of the swarf from the new engine which contaminates the oil and wears the engine. After that just stick to annual oil and filter changes.

It's a good idea to get the oil and filter changed at 1,000 miles to get rid of the swarf from the new engine which contaminates the oil and wears the engine. After that just stick to annual oil and filter changes.

It won't hurt changing the oil early but isn't really needed on modern engines the tolerances are a lot better than years ago.

I changed mine at 4k when it was mountuned, it didn't need changing i just didn't like the sound of 12500 mile service interval, my first car was every 6k how things have moved on. My transit is every 20k, seems a long time but never had an issue with it.

Dont think thats much of a problem nowadays with modern engineering techniques

Thanks for your help guys :) ill probably just drive sensibly for the first 1000 miles, taking it easy getting used to it etc just in case :)

Red line it out the dealership it's the only way :)

Solves the issue of bedding the tyres and clutch in too ;)

It has nothing to do with tolerances Mark. All new engines bed down leaving minute particles of metal which get into the oil causing wear and this is especially important with turbo engines. It's up to you-I am just suggesting something that's known about in the trade. If it was my car and I intended on keeping it for a while I would get it done.

"Oil

I customarily change the oil in a new engine after about 20 miles, and again at 1000 or so. That 20-mile oil, you would think, would look pretty much like fresh oil right out of the bottle. Wrong. It usually looks more like metal-flake paint, iridescent with tiny particles of metal worn off rubbing surfaces inside the new engines. After a few hours of operation, this completely normal phenomenon slows down as the rings, camshaft, lifters and bearings burnish their respective mating surfaces."

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/saturday-mechanic-blog/how-to-break-in-a-new-car

I think I might do an early oil change after reading this, I was going to originally but then changed my mind after a Ford mechanic told me it wasn't necessary, and the manual not mentioning it either. I do intend to keep the car for a long time so maybe it's worth it.

I might joinn you there phil, ill probs just give it a change at 100 miles and that should be ok.

I'm doing mine at the 1500 courtesy check

It has nothing to do with tolerances Mark. All new engines bed down leaving minute particles of metal which get into the oil causing wear and this is especially important with turbo engines. It's up to you-I am just suggesting something that's known about in the trade. If it was my car and I intended on keeping it for a while I would get it done.

"Oil

I customarily change the oil in a new engine after about 20 miles, and again at 1000 or so. That 20-mile oil, you would think, would look pretty much like fresh oil right out of the bottle. Wrong. It usually looks more like metal-flake paint, iridescent with tiny particles of metal worn off rubbing surfaces inside the new engines. After a few hours of operation, this completely normal phenomenon slows down as the rings, camshaft, lifters and bearings burnish their respective mating surfaces."

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/saturday-mechanic-blog/how-to-break-in-a-new-car

Known about in the trade but you will struggle to find a manufacturer of any modern car that says this is needed, it's just a hangover from older cars, the tolerances in the engine would mean wear was needed to bed parts in. Like I said earlier it's not going to hurt it's just not vital to have done.

I think I might do an early oil change after reading this, I was going to originally but then changed my mind after a Ford mechanic told me it wasn't necessary, and the manual not mentioning it either. I do intend to keep the car for a long time so maybe it's worth it.

Ford mechanic and ford literature says it's not necessary but you follow the advice on the internet?

It's your car and for piece of mind it won't hurt.

I have new vans every couple of years, usually do 200k in that time and they only get the oil changed at the 15/20k services and have had no engine problems in 10 years.

Well I guess we will just have to differ on our opinions then :)

There's one thing I don't understand though, if early oil changes are known about in the trade, wouldn't dealers be all over it, recommending that you come back for an oil change and making loads of money from doing this on every new car? I mean they even try to make money by recommending totally unnecessary things. Whereas it seems they recommend that you just don't bother and follow Ford's recommendations. Also considering they have some kind of partnership with BP / Castrol, they would be pushing for early oil changes too.

Of course this is just my opinion, I might go ahead and do it anyway, it certainly can't hurt and isn't that expensive.

Well I guess we will just have to differ on our opinions then :)

Would be boring if everyone agreed all the time.lol.

In the end everyone has opinions some based on facts some not.

Phil no sadly not. This is because they want to appeal to the fleet buyers. The fleets buy in huge numbers and cost is everything. If they were told to change the oil at 1000 then every 6 months or whatever it would put them off buying that car. So now you see this ridiculous trend of manufacturers suggesting services at every 15000 or even 20000 miles simply to appeal to the fleet buyer.

But the private owner needs to try and ignore this. Stick to annual oil changes regardless of low mileage and more often for very high milers. With turbo cars in particular it is important to keep the oil clean because the tiny cooling oil feeds can become blocked.

Obviously you are going to get people who buy cars with the intention of selling them after a couple of years. They are not going to care about long life but for someone who does intend keeping the car long term look after it from the start and it will reduce the chances of premature wear.

Stick to annual oil changes regardless of low mileage and more often for very high milers. With turbo cars in particular it is important to keep the oil clean because the tiny cooling oil feeds can become blocked.

This is exactly what I plan to do, and I don't do many miles so it will be every year. And what you say about the tiny oil feeds makes perfect sense, I can just imagine the turbo dying after 4 years or something, outside the warranty.