Hi!

Just got my new 2010 Mazda 3 last week. Question, I was looking through the owners manual and saw about the break in period it said something along the lines of: "do not operate the vehicle at a constant speed for a long period of time". I did put on 425KMs on a highway without cruise control, so the speed was varying, but more or less constant. Is that a problem?

 

hey Gamma. Welcome to the club and congrats on the new 3!

I'd say you've got nothing to worry about. If you would have taken your car to the track and redlined it all day long with 100 miles on the clock, then MAYBE there would be a problem. Hopping on the freeway and going home is nothing to worry about, though.

When I put a new engine in my Protege5 (the 1st one went because of "oil starvation due to cornering" and Mazda replaced it for free), I took the car straight to Laguna Seca and red lined the crap out of it all weekend. It burns about a quart of oil per month ever since.

 

Driving at speed isn't an issue. Driving at high rpm's isn't an issue. It's doing either of them constantly for extended periods of time that's bad for the engine.

You're fine to drive on the highway, just be sure to vary your speed, and if possible rpm's occasionally. I had a two hour drive home from the dealer where I got mine that was mostly highway, and the day after I got home I made a 3 hour drive to visit family..... I had most of my break in done in three days. lol

 

I have had my 2010 since August. When I picked mine up, I drove it on the highway to a Brave's game, then drove 80 miles back home, using cruise control the whole time and it is fine. It now has 10,000 miles on it and it still feels brand new. Nothing to worry about.