Who is breaking in their truck according to the manual?

Grumpy Bear · August 5, 2021

42 minutes ago, GN2018 said:

That helps. Of course I’m way past any ability to change how I drove the truck for the first 500 miles (I’m at 5400 miles). It would be interesting to know how much difference that could make - driving 70mph versus 55mph given that the rpms only changed by a small amount (thinking it is about 200rpm but I’ll check the next time I’m on the e-way). I’m assuming from your tone that it must be a logarithmic increase.

FWIW, I am a believer that the engineers who design the product are most likely the ones to know best. I just wonder how much from best could that have been. Im thinking not much.

Interesting points you make. OEM's forEVER have wished their buyers to by the very next product cycle each and every time. We've been 'groomed' to behave in a predictable fashion and for the most part the consumer obeys his lord. Like an abuser grooms their prey.

Early on it was difficult for the OEM to find that point that gets it built well enough to make it to the next cycle without leaving anything on the table but...seems they have that in the bag now. Go back far enough and ignoring the break in would have you broke down before you got your baby home. Now...if the next cycle is the only goal you have....and if the next guy, a moral issue, you do not care about then beat it like ya stole it and let the warranty do it's job.

HOWEVER...there is and will forEVER remain a faction of buyers who have no intention of giving ANY OEM 70 grand every three years. In fact...if we can buy just one for a lifetime that would be grand. No need for me to earn a MILLION over a lifetime and give it to__________________ (You fill in the blank). For us the break in is critical. We are not looking at making it last 100K or even 300 K but for as long as we have breath. The grail is a million. MINIMUM.

Go back to the 1920's and there were actually OEM's that built cars to last forEVER. Duesenberg ring a bell? Over 375 of the original 400 something cars built are STILL with us!! Harley and Indian built motors in a way that made them INFINITLY rebuildable and in YOUR garage.

The buyers are still here. Yes, far fewer. Kids :idiot: The OEM's are now long gone no matter how much you pay. Bugatti, Rolls Royce, Bentley ........

And I don't want to hear the, "IF they made a perfect hammer they would never sell a hammer" story. First one was pretty darn good and hasn't changed much. They are still selling them....

Point is these discussions often lack "Context and Points of Reference" Break in matters IF

One day you wake up to find out you can no longer go to the gett' n place and just get more....money....time....life.....purpose.....ability....kids..... :idiot:

GN2018 · August 5, 2021

I guess our expectations are very different. Even if I was driving enough to drive a million miles, I would not want to have the same vehicle. I’m good with 200K to 300K. Frankly, at that point the rest of the vehicle is pretty used up. There’s not much you can do to extend the life of a seat. Of course you can basically repair/rebuild things indefinitely, but that’s not something I’d like to do.

As for getting to the next product cycle, that has a lot to do with improvements and new features that people want. I drove a lot of cars while working. Leased for two years and 50K miles. Usually had to turn them in early because I used up the miles. From rear cameras, to blind spot indicators, phone connectivity, air bags, you name it, I wouldn’t want the first LaCrosse I drove even if it was in perfect mechanical condition. I can’t see wanting my truck that long either. Hell, I’m 60. If I keep each car/truck for 6 years, I’ll be lucky to to have 5 more vehicles in my driving lifetime. More likely it will be 2 to 3 cars left in my life given the very low amount of miles I’m now driving.

I use 6 years because my current plan is to keep my truck until just before my extended warranty runs out which is 6yr/100K miles. I may keep it longer, but my logic is that I’ll likely get rid of it because I have a problem (rear window leak), or the technology will change (electric vehicles) or my needs will change (I hardly can justify a truck now beyond driving it because it’s so frickin’ cool to drive a big, bad ass, good looking vehicle that my 2021 Denali is).

Appreciate your prospective, but if my skirting the break in rules changed my engine life from say 500K down to say 200K, I guess I’m good with that.

Dunn · August 5, 2021

I have 1 more truck after this one and that will be all she wrote.....my next one will be exact truck I want, bought at right time for good price.....will order exactly as I want it......thats the plan anyway, lol

And will order it....

KARNUT · August 5, 2021

8 hours ago, GN2018 said:

I guess our expectations are very different. Even if I was driving enough to drive a million miles, I would not want to have the same vehicle. I’m good with 200K to 300K. Frankly, at that point the rest of the vehicle is pretty used up. There’s not much you can do to extend the life of a seat. Of course you can basically repair/rebuild things indefinitely, but that’s not something I’d like to do.

As for getting to the next product cycle, that has a lot to do with improvements and new features that people want. I drove a lot of cars while working. Leased for two years and 50K miles. Usually had to turn them in early because I used up the miles. From rear cameras, to blind spot indicators, phone connectivity, air bags, you name it, I wouldn’t want the first LaCrosse I drove even if it was in perfect mechanical condition. I can’t see wanting my truck that long either. Hell, I’m 60. If I keep each car/truck for 6 years, I’ll be lucky to to have 5 more vehicles in my driving lifetime. More likely it will be 2 to 3 cars left in my life given the very low amount of miles I’m now driving.

I use 6 years because my current plan is to keep my truck until just before my extended warranty runs out which is 6yr/100K miles. I may keep it longer, but my logic is that I’ll likely get rid of it because I have a problem (rear window leak), or the technology will change (electric vehicles) or my needs will change (I hardly can justify a truck now beyond driving it because it’s so frickin’ cool to drive a big, bad ass, good looking vehicle that my 2021 Denali is).

Appreciate your prospective, but if my skirting the break in rules changed my engine life from say 500K down to say 200K, I guess I’m good with that.

I’m retired and don’t by new every two years. I’ll probably always have a truck around and use it locally. My wife struggles to get in gas mileage and bulk are the reasons. I looked back and reimagined my all around favorite truck of the past and was lucky to find a cream puff. I detest the latest technology. The 02 was perfect. I went retro and found a transmitter that allowed Bluetooth through my radio. My mother in law quit driving and gave her a CRV with 6K miles on it. I turned off everything I could. I can’t believe people put up with all the intrusion. Probably why she quit driving. All the beeping and buzzing. The first time it hit the brakes when someone was moving it the turn lane rattled my nerves and I was warned. My wife wouldn’t drive it. So it’s our trip car. The next big thing is self driving. Geez take a train.

Edited August 5, 2021 by KARNUT

Grumpy Bear · August 5, 2021

9 hours ago, GN2018 said:

Appreciate your prospective, but if my skirting the break in rules changed my engine life from say 500K down to say 200K, I guess I’m good with that.

And there you have it.

The OEM's will live right down to your expectations every time.

The lower you set the bar the more money they make from you.

I LOVE to drive as long as I don't have to do it for a living. My retirement is touring (some play golf, some fish) and my choice to do this in was Pepper. A standard cab, standard box WT1. I don't even know what all she has for bells and whistles as they matter not to me. The newest personal convenience technology that matters to me is cruise control and good headlamps. Product cycles that enhance the 'office' experience or deliver the 'theater experience" are wasted on me. I don't care how many cup holders it has of if the AC is even functional. (wife and dog do ) I prefer roll up windows rolled down.

Technology is replaced faster than a street walkers date and just as unreliable.

What I don't have doesn't break. Doesn't leave the truck in the shop. Doesn't disappoint me or inconvenience me. Tossing my hard earned never to be replaced retirement resources at bling, the next man made fashion or tech cycle is unproductive, wasteful and would eventually ground me from what I like to do....drive. Safety features are nice as long as they stay in the background...which they don't. I love the one that pops up on the screen from time to time while I'm driving to remind me to keep my eyes on the road. :wtf: The forward braking assistant in the wife's Terrain that stomps the dead pedal when a shadow crosses the road. The lane departure in the Verano that cheeps like a magpie in work zone stripping. Torque management that kills the acceleration as you attempt to merge............

I broke her in for the long haul. Doing so keeps her out of the shop or my driveway. It also gave me an efficient, frugal driveline. A responsive driveline. A joyful driving experience. One I will enjoy a good long while.

I also take some pleasure knowing that the next guy who owns her (when I'm dead) isn't going to get a truck on deaths door itself. I hope someone like me will get her....not some deer or drunk or IDK person but hey.....who knows, right?