Quote:
Originally Posted by danlgen
Im all for following the instructions in the manual, but can anyone really say if this is written by the engineers or was it written by the legal department trying to limit liability?
|
A valid question but, liability for what? In this case, I don't see the legal beagles or bean counters making this up. You're still well within warranty after 1200 miles, so mechanical liability isn't going away at that point. Likewise, liability for "too much power" or whatever else some lawyer would fantasize wouldn't change after 1200 miles. I'm not sure what a break-in period would serve beyond breaking in various mechanical components.
BMW's incentive from the perspective of warranty and reputation has got to be to maximize the lifespan of their engines. If break-in didn't impact that, why on earth would they even discuss it?
This is not to say there isn't a better, but less practical way to break-in an engine. A mechanical engineer friend commented that they break-in their large diesels with a 48 hour full power run, and see oil consumption and blow by stabilize after about 15 hours. That process may not translate to gas engines, but as an example, that also would not be practical for a consumer.
Until someone comes up with an ulterior motive, I have to presume BMW's engineers are communicating the best, practical way to do this, in addition to asserting the value of the break-in process.