That's my opinion.<br><br>Consider this:<br>1) You can't over-rev the Prius. The computer controls all.<br>2) In post 4942 Burns questions why the car wouldn't be PROGRAMMED to be coddled. Yeah, why not?<br>3) In post 4947 Robert suggests that the break-in period is boilerplate: it's in every other car manual, and it got carried over.<br><br>So, why not? The car was engineered to behave as much like a "regular" car as possible. Drivers "expect" a required break-in period, why not just give it to them?<br><br>I'm a bit overly dramatic here, because I'm in a feisty mood. The point has been made many times that break-in guidelines are just that, guidelines, and the best way to treat a new engine is simply to vary the rpm's a lot, to avoid piston rings becoming "conditioned" to one rpm range. Anything other than constant speed (only possible on the highway) for 600 miles will accomplish this.<br><br>Sam<br><br> <br>Sam

So you wouldn't want to drive constantly at 60 MPH for 600 miles during the break in period either.<br><br>In eGroups there has been quite a bit of discussion of how clean the oil is at 3000 miles, and even at the 7500 change, which raises the issue of whether 600 miles really breaks in the Prius ICE anyway.

The answer for a Prius is often more "interesting" than the answer for other cars. It's perfectly ok to drive constantly at 60 MPH for 600 miles as long as the gradiant varies! The Prius engine RPM mostly depends on power needs, not speed! Since most people tend to do round-trips, this means you just have to avoid perfectly flat highways. So you should be fine unless you live in Florida or Kansas :-)<br><br>Robert Snyder<br>NJ-PIKACHU

Ah, Prius engineering finesse:<br><br>16 ECU's to mimmick a lawn mower "governor".<br><br>2 inclinometers & a 4-layer bladder coextrusion to simulate fuel gauge error.<br><br><br>I'd guess the break-in would be 'cause of the low-tension cast-iron rings, and super-close tolerances involved in the VVTi system.<br><br><br>Doesn't matter. That first night, everytime I looked "down" at the speedo it said 85.<br><br>Darned Luv-Bug ECU!<br><br>Jeff (pleasantly being "bugged" for 22k miles)

Re: 2 inclinometers & a 4-layer bladder coextrusion to simulate fuel gauge error.<br><br>ROFL!!!! Jeff, you are sooooo bad!<br><br>Robert Snyder<br>NJ-PIKACHU

Bogus at your own risk. Toyota has spent countless millions of dollars in research to produce this fine car. The manual states that a proper break-in period will enable the Prius to perform better and not doing so would be detrimental.<br><br>Those who were discomforted at "breaking" this rule were honestly worried about what would happen if they transgressed. Not everyone is as "enlightened" about these matters. Toyota isn't trying to dictate anything. They're just trying to help us get the most out of our cars.<br><br>Lighten up, Sam. :)<br><br>