How long before taking a road trip.

[Gangly]

3 hours ago, TNTSilverado said:

Every vehicle I have owned on first test drive. I drove it like a stole it. Told salesman to hang on and I have floored every single vehicle. On way home after buying them I always check out the governor limit in them too. The new Acadia ****** down at 132. Man it’s fun!  Good luck and have a great time in your trip. No worries, just fun!!  

Despite people's immediate opposition when they hear of this, there is some scientific validity to increased engine power as a result of rings seating properly and early due to the heat build up in the cylinders from aggressive driving.  However, that is over short bursts and I'm not sure how topping out a vehicle (prolonged heat buildup) would correlate to those findings, but I assume not well  .  Either way, with modern engines, I doubt it will be considerably worse, but who knows?

[1454]

Despite people's immediate opposition when they hear of this, there is some scientific validity to increased engine power as a result of rings seating properly and early due to the heat build up in the cylinders from aggressive driving.  However, that is over short bursts and I'm not sure how topping out a vehicle (prolonged heat buildup) would correlate to those findings, but I assume not well [emoji4] .  Either way, with modern engines, I doubt it will be considerably worse, but who knows?

I would say given 99% of people don't read the manual anyway, nothing bad will come from it. Just my 0.02. If it did, I'm sure we would see far more failures than we do from people not adhering to the breakin schedule.

[calgator73]

I think your plan to drive in moderation for the first couple hundred is okay.  Like in my case I think you'll uncover any engine issues within  200 miles.  My 2014 silverado a/c hose cracked with 1200 miles on it.  Vast majority of people have no issues.  If you're planning on keeping it forever...just drive in moderation.

[Transient]

Gangly in post #8 has a valid point. Every GM vehicle I've ever bought in the last 15 years brand new has had an electrical gremlin pop up within the first few hundred miles, and all were somehow associated with the brakes. I snag a code via OnStar immediately and get it into the dealership asap. By the time I get it into service the code has cleared, the tech can't find out repeat the problem, and they send me on my way. My 2020 Trail Boss was no different. It happened between 100-200 miles on the odometer. It was never test driven by another potential customer because I bought it while it was en route to the dealer. The electrical gremlin made an appearance while I was driving down the hoary with the cruise control set. I want using the brakes at all. I waited several weeks for the truck to arrive.

Now, to answer the original question, I waited 3 weeks before going on a trip. By that point I had over 900 miles of driving around town, etc doing the best I could to get some mileage on it. I knew at the end of the 3 weeks I was driving from Virginia Beach, VA to San Diego, CA. This trip took me about a month because I stopped to visit family in various locations throughout the country. The next electrical gremlin didn't appear until I was only a few hours away from San Diego. Iirc, I had about 5,000 miles on the odometer by that point, and I had only owed the truck about 6-7 weeks. Pulled into the closest gas station, turned off the truck, then started it back up, and everything was good again. Again, when it happened the cruise control was set. Since that incident, nothing else has happened. Just completed a drive from San Diego to Salt Lake City over the weekend. I'm now over 12,000 miles, and has zero problems.

Imo, following the break in procedure will allow electrical gremlins to reveal themselves and you'll be able to get them out before you head onto your 700 mile trip. For what it's worth, San Diego to Salt Lake City is about 750 miles.

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[OnTheReel]

I don’t buy new vehicles long distance because I feel I get better service from the selling dealer when issues come up.
 

But that said, I wouldn’t buy anything I didn’t feel confident in driving across country the same day. Being a 2021, not a first year truck, etc., I really wouldn’t expect any major gremlins. Especially one that would render the truck totally unusable. My 2019 has kinda been a POS at times. But even it hasn’t ever stranded me.

[mudcat81]

I bought a 2020 Elevation 10 days prior to a hunting trip. I was able to put 300ish miles on before I left. I followed the 500 mile break in recommendation found in the manual. 10 days later I rolled into my garage at 2,580 miles. Truck ran great and it was really nice not having to worry about having truck problems on my long trip.