Running in.

[pcr]

According to the manual, between 1000km and 1500km the engine speed should be progressively increased towards maximum. Does this mean driving around in a low gear to get the revs up ?

[maisbitt]

Could be interpreted a number of ways. I have always taken it to mean keep the revs quite low initially i.e. try not to take it over 3000rpm for the first few hundred miles and then between 500 and 1000 miles you can steadily increase. Don't get too hung up on this, a few incursions into 3500rpm early on isn't going to ruin the engine. The most important thing is not that you got to 3500-4000rpm, but how you got there - try not to use more than 2/3 throttle during running in.

After running in 6 TDIs from new (TSIs same principle I would guess), the most important thing is to run it in with variety, the worst thing for the car is to run it in with motorway miles, sitting at 70mph/2000rpm for the first 500 miles of it's life. I did that once with a 2.0TDI 140 MK5 Golf and it was sluggish with poor economy and very high oil consumption (a litre every 1000 miles). I'd bought it via a broker from Burnley Lookers and drove it down to Southampton to see relatives, and then drove it up to Newcastle a few days later. All my other cars were run in "around the doors" with varying engine speeds on short journeys and they've had much better power and economy, they haven't used a drop of oil between services either.