Took delivery of my new F-Type R-Dynamic about a month ago and have put approx. 800 miles on it.

Years ago I was told to break in a new engine by not exceeding 50 mph for the first 500 miles but all I can find in the owner’s manual about “breaking in” is not to exceed 4,500 RPM the first 2,000 miles, and several other mileage limits.

I’m OK staying within these limits, my question is should I do a first oil change after the first thousand or several thousand miles? Waiting for the Jaguar recommended 16,000 miles seems like a long time! I thought that the break in produced a lot of small metal particles.

Thanks

P.S.
LOVE THE CAR!!

 

The owners manual has this information regarding engine break in procedures:The vehicle is built using high-precision manufacturing methods, but the moving parts of the engine must still bed-in relative to one another. The process occurs mainly in the first 2 000 miles (3 000 km) of operation.

During this breaking-in period of 2 000 miles (3 000 km):

• Avoid frequent cold starts followed by short-distance driving.
  
• Preferably take longer journeys.
  
• Do not fully press the accelerator pedal during starts and normal driving.
  
• Avoid continuous operation at high engine speeds and avoid abrupt stops.
  
• Do not participate in track days, sports driving schools, or similar.
  

In addition, specifically up to 3 000 miles (2 000 km):

• Drive at varying engine and road speeds. Do not exceed an engine speed of 4 500 rpm (revolutions per minute) and a road speed of 105 mph (170 km/h).
  

From 1 250 miles to 2 000 miles (2 000 km to 3 000 km):

• Engine and road speeds can be increased gradually.
  
• Engine speeds in excess of 5 000 rpm should only be used briefly, e.g., when overtaking.
  

At all times, not just during the breaking-in period:

• Do not exceed 4 000 rpm until the engine has reached its full operating temperature.
  
• Avoid laboring the engine by operating the engine in too high a gear at low speeds.
  

It would be difficult to stay under 50 MPH in this day and age but following the above recommendations is pretty easy. Something that is good for the engine, especially in the first few hundred miles is using "engine braking". See if you can find a good long downhill stretch, put the transmission in the manual mode and bring the RPM's up to about 4000 and then let off the throttle and let the car slow down. Repeat a few times.

Also the manual doesn't say anything about breaking in the brakes. Warm them up by doing a few easy to moderate stops and again find a long downhill stretch and do a few stops under fairly hard pressure but not like panic stops.

Regarding the first oil & filter change: I did mine at around 2750 miles. No way was I going to wait until the first free change at 1 year or 5000 miles. I'm assuming that your new car warranty includes free scheduled maintenance for the first 5 years. Once the warranty expires, it is a wise policy to change the oil & filter every 5000 miles. Not 16,000.
Lots of good threads here about using a Mityvac for DIY oil & filter changes if you do a search. If you are the least bit mechanically inclined and have a Mityvac and a good torque wrench that is designed to read lower ranges like up to 50 ft lbs (don't use one that is designed for high ranges like torquing lug nuts, etc.) you will find doing an oil & filter change an absolute breeze. Enjoy your new Jag and feel free to ask questions. Lots of experienced and helpful people here.

 

Thanks Dwight,

After reading your response and talking to my “Jag” friend I’m going to do the first oil change at 2,000 miles.

Yes, the warranty (5 yrs) covers scheduled maintenance.

I can’t find in the owners manuals any recommended mileage between oil changes, just to do it when an alert comes on the instrument panel. So I’ll have it done as you recommend every 5,000 (just like my other cars).

 

You may choose to not follow this bit JLR specifies oil changes every 16K miles or annually, which comes first.
Since most (all?) F-Type owners never drive 16K miles/year, that typically means an annual oil/filter change.
Personally, I drive about 7K on average and get oil changes FOC with the annual JLR service.

 

Yep, certainly take advantage of the free scheduled maintenance. You'll have to pay if you change out the factory fill at 2000 miles, but if you DIY it will only cost about $130 or so for the oil and filter. Plus a Mityvac and torque wrench if you don't already own one or have a friend that will loan them to you. Make sure you use the correct oil, several threads here regarding the specialized 0W-20 JLR approved oil.

My dealer not only did the oil & filter change on my last service but they do a complete inspection and top off other fluids if needed and even changed the cabin air filter and keyfob battery. All at no charge.
Make sure the dealer doesn't overfill the oil too ! That seems to be a common issue. My dealer did it twice ! Last time, I demanded that the service department manager have a little closed door conversation with the service technician to ensure that he knew the proper procedure and method to meter the correct amount of oil from their bulk oil supply. Which by the way is 6.9 quarts ( I think that equates to 6 qts, 27 oz.) with a filter change. When you do your own it is best to add 6 1/2 quarts, drive it a few miles and then check the electronic readout for oil level. If the gauge is more that a couple of graduations below MAX, add another 8 oz and call it good.

 

I've been having oil samples analyzed since new and based on them would I be doing this again I'd change at 3000 miles. I didn't get mine until 6500 but had analyses at 500 and 4200 also. It I hadn't been pretty bust I'd have done it sooner but the analysis did not show any problems, and subsequent testing shows excellent results.

 

Thanks for all the info guys.

Definitely going to get the first change at 2,000 miles, and probably every 5,000 subsequently.