When Should The Timing Belt Get Replaced?

[shanghai_stin]

I went to the dealer did my 70K miles services, and asked them to check if the timing belt needs to be replaced, They replied to me the timing belt don't need to be replaced before 100K miles. WOW~! I know most cars need to replace the timing belt around 60K miles.

Anyone have a suggustion? should I just replace it anyway or trust the quality of Lexus and do it at 100K?

Thanks,

DD

[dazz32]

I went to the dealer did my 70K miles services, and asked them to check if the timing belt needs to be replaced, They replied to me the timing belt don't need to be replaced before 100K miles. WOW~! I know most cars need to replace the timing belt around 60K miles.

Anyone have a suggustion? should I just replace it anyway or trust the quality of Lexus and do it at 100K?

Thanks,

DD

well i believe it says 100k in your hand book but Lexus themselves say it has been revised and changed to 60k ...

[Flex030]

I went to the dealer did my 70K miles services, and asked them to check if the timing belt needs to be replaced, They replied to me the timing belt don't need to be replaced before 100K miles. WOW~! I know most cars need to replace the timing belt around 60K miles.

Anyone have a suggustion? should I just replace it anyway or trust the quality of Lexus and do it at 100K?

Thanks,

DD

My friend it needs to be change every 60,000 miles or 100,000 km same thing. :)

[Guest inicol63]

DD

Take a

Look at the thread in car maintance section your see people feed back and comments.

Ian

[MacRS200]

My friend it needs to be change every 60,000 miles or 100,000 km same thing. :)

Yup I agree with that, think the 100k miles slipped into the book by mistake.

[DJ Wozza]

100,000 miles/6 years was the original recommendation, but 60,000/6 years is a better safety margin (& peace of mind)

and some dealers now recommend this.

I would suggest getting the Timing Belt, Tensioner, Idler pulley all changed together, and having the water pump

checked for any signs of leakage, as to replace the water pump later means the Timing Belt has to come off again.

[shanghai_stin]

Thanks guys

Will get them all done then.

[Steviewevie]

On the same subject, I've done some investigation and my (newly acquired) 1999 IS 200 with 48K miles hasn't had a cam belt change.

I understand that the recommended threshold is 60,000 miles or 6 years. Given that my car hasn't done the mileage yet, is the belt really likely to have become degraded through age (nearly 9 years old now) ? Is this something that a dealer can inspect or not really without virtually changing it anyway ?

[DJ Wozza]

.....is the belt really likely to have become degraded through age (nearly 9 years old now) ?

yes, that is why the year factor is brought in to the recommendations, not just mileage

.....Is this something that a dealer can inspect or not really without virtually changing it anyway ?

after a while the edge(s) of the belt can wear so there is a visable factor, but the rubber and steel goes through a lot of stress & strain in 6 years,

but after 9 years (i'm not trying to scaremonger) I would have it done this week asap !!! :o

[Parthiban]

Yep Lexus say 100,000 miles or 6 years, whichever comes first, so I'd have it looked at if not changed - I just changed mine at 6 years and 42k miles, although it may have been in decent condition, it's one of those things you really don't want to fail so better to just have it done :)

[Steviewevie]

the rubber and steel goes through a lot of stress & strain in 6 years

That's the thing though, does it ?

I can imagine the stresses and strains of 60,000 miles, but 6 years sounds like a relatively short interval for that sort of component, hence my question.

I'll probably get it done pretty soon anyway though, just to be on the safe side.

[Jack300]

Not sure if the 300 belt is the same as the 200 belt, but I've just had it changed on my 300 at 6 years and 58k miles (whilst converting the car to LPG) and the old belt came off looking like it'll make it to 100k without any problem.

The garage even gave it back to me saying I could always use it to get me out of trouble - mind you he didn't say what kind of trouble.

Wether it's 60 or 100k, it's not worth taking the risk - as after 60k, you'll be driving always wondering when the belt is going to snap...

Good luck

jack

[Steviewevie]

I just had quite a lengthy conversation with a very helpful guy at Lexus Guildford on the cambelt.

He confirmed that the original interval was 100,000 miles/10 years, but Lexus saw that some belts weren't lasting that long so they changed it to 60,000 miles/6 years.

I discussed my car with him (48,000 miles, 9 years old). He suggested that I bring it in and they check it. He agreed that the belt could conceivably perish with age, but they would report what they saw on inspecting it. If they saw any signs of damage and/or perishing then they would recommend replacing it. However, if it looked ok then they would say so (e.g. ok to leave it until at least the next service), and then if it failed in between times then they would be liable for any damage caused.

So I think I'll get it inspected and get their recommendation in writing. They quoted me a special price they're doing at the moment for older cars or £347.15 including VAT (parts and labour for cambelt change, not including service etc).

[iane230856]

I was in my local Lexus dealership (Lexus Woodford) at the weekend making enquiries about a cambelt change and service for my IS 300 which is 6 years old and done 50,000 miles. They told me it was 100,000 miles or 6 years whichever comes first so it seems that different dealerships have different opinions. Anyway, they originally quoted me a price for a major service and cambelt change of £ 995 including the VAT but then went on to tell me that they are running a special deal at the moment (funny that !) and they can do it all in for £695.

Do you guys think this is a good price or would i be better to shop around the different dealerships

Thanks

Ian

[Parthiban]

I just had my cambelt service done on my IS200 (6 years, 42k miles) at Lexus Woodford - paid the same £695 all in :)

I'm sure it's not the cheapest price you can have it done for, but it's pretty reasonable, and for me the customer service at Woodford is so good that I don't mind paying a little extra :winky:

It wasn't £995 originally though, I was told it was originally £820, reduced to £695...........they didn't make it up though, a lot of dealers are doing discounted maintenance on older cars to pull customers back in partly as revenue is reduced due to poor sales of new cars, and partly to get you back in to tempt you into a new car!

[Jack300]

...blinking-heck!

Labour on my belt change last week was £58, plus the belt kit - £135 - all plus VAT.

Needless to say, non Lex garage.

Cambelt changes must be one of the most common things garages do - there's nothing in there that warrants big money... in my opinion.

Good luck

jack