Timing belt question, is every 60k/3 years accurate?

[RossMAN]

What if you average 6,000 miles per year?

Our '02 Accord is 4.5 years old (25,500 miles) and the timing belt hasn't gone out yet.

Should we get it replaced? When?

 

[Shawn]

nah. i'm sure the timing belt is fine. 4 years is nothing. i thought it was 10 years or 60k miles.

 

[apex32]

I replaced mine @ 80k miles on my 2001 Accord. 4 years/25k miles is Nothing. You are good for many years to come

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: apex32
I replaced mine @ 80k miles on my 2001 Accord. 4 years/25k miles is Nothing. You are good for many years to come

When we get our next oil change at the Honda dealership is it reasonable to ask them to inspect the timing belts condition?

 

[phoenix79]

I had over 180k miles on mine when I changed it

 

[chuckywang]

100k miles seems to be the norm.

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: phoenix79
I had over 180k miles on mine when I changed it

unless you have a non-interface engine, that's just stupid. even then, you'll still get stuck somewhere if it brakes.

 

[chuckywang]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: apex32
I replaced mine @ 80k miles on my 2001 Accord. 4 years/25k miles is Nothing. You are good for many years to come

When we get our next oil change at the Honda dealership is it reasonable to ask them to inspect the timing belts condition?

If your car only has 25k miles on it, the timing belt should be fine. You could drive at least 50k miles more with that belt. I had my Accord's belt replaced at 100k miles.

 

[Sukhoi]

I'd rather be safe than sorry on something of that nature. My car's was originally replaced at 63K, and I'm planning on doing it again around 120K. I may well be driving cross-country right about when I cross 120K miles so I'm going to get it done before doing that for sure.

 

[phoenix79]

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: phoenix79
I had over 180k miles on mine when I changed it

unless you have a non-interface engine, that's just stupid. even then, you'll still get stuck somewhere if it brakes.

Yeah, it's non-interferance. (Yay Toyota!)

 

[Aftermath]

The maintenance schedule on my '95 accord calls for it every 90k miles or so many years, I can't remember how many.

I had it changed (along with the water pump) at 91k miles and the guy said it was still in good shape.

 

[deadlyapp]

60k is recommended, but they are built to typically last longer than that.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

They told the wife that her 99 Honda was 105k. I think the owners manual even tells yea what it should be.

I may well be driving cross-country right about when I cross 120K miles so I'm going to get it done before doing that for sure

Yea I would. I hear they blow at exactly 120002

 

[Lotheron]

Gotta love having a timing chain!

 

[Christobevii3]

It depends on the weather extremes. If you live in say minnesota and it has gone from 100 degrees in summer to -40 often, i'd do every 3 years. If you are in south texas and going from 115 degrees to 50, i'd still do every 5 years. A $100 belt is a lot cheaper than a bunch of bent valves.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

We changed it in our Accord @ around 120k miles for the first time - it depends how you drive, I'm told that people who autocross and such will change it more often.

 

[apex32]

Originally posted by: chuckywang

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: apex32
I replaced mine @ 80k miles on my 2001 Accord. 4 years/25k miles is Nothing. You are good for many years to come

When we get our next oil change at the Honda dealership is it reasonable to ask them to inspect the timing belts condition?

If your car only has 25k miles on it, the timing belt should be fine. You could drive at least 50k miles more with that belt. I had my Accord's belt replaced at 100k miles.

Yeah you are fine for quite a while. I replaced mine because I can do it myself and i had the belt for a discount price so i threw it in. However i do not recommend doing this yourself unless you are very experienced. It is not an easy job. And they wont 'inspect' the belt for you as it is a pain in the ass to get to, well i suppose they would, but the price tag wouldn't be worth it. I replaced mine early because i know i drive a lot differently than the average 'soccer mom'. hehe

 

[Dirigible]

On my Hondas, the recommended timing belt replacement interval was around 80k or 90k. You should be fine. Your manual should tell you, or you can go here (registration required) to get the maintenance sched: https://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/login.asp?page=%2Fprod%5Fhome%2Easp

 

[Sukhoi]

Originally posted by: Antisocial Virge
They told the wife that her 99 Honda was 105k. I think the owners manual even tells yea what it should be.

I may well be driving cross-country right about when I cross 120K miles so I'm going to get it done before doing that for sure

Yea I would. I hear they blow at exactly 120002

Of course, that's how they're designed. I'd just rather not have a chance of mine going out when I'm in the middle of Wyoming and have to be at work in a few days. If I get it done back here there's also a good chance I can get my dad's personal mechanic to do it, and that would save me a lot of money.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Dirigible
On my Hondas, the recommended timing belt replacement interval was around 80k or 90k. You should be fine. Your manual should tell you, or you can go here (registration required) to get the maintenance sched: <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/login.asp?page=%2Fprod%5Fhome%2Easp">https://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/login.asp?page=%2Fprod%5Fhome%2Easp</a>

Yeah I'll probably RTFM.

Like Sukhoi posted, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I had a timing belt break on my first car when I was poor and it $$$ sucked $$$.

On the other hand I don't want to waste $500 if it's fine for another 60,000 miles.

 

[conehead433]

I replaced mine on a 1995 Nissan pickup 3.0L V6 at 95,000 miles because I was having to replace the water pump, and to do so you have to remove the timing cover. Actually the belt appeared to have very little wera, but it did have slightly more slack than it should have on the side away from the tensioner. The main concern is what type of engine do you have. Some engines will bend the valves if the timing belt breaks and others don't.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: conehead433
The main concern is what type of engine do you have. Some engines will bend the valves if the timing belt breaks and others don't.

To be perfectly honest I don't know, it's a Honda 4 banger with automatic transmission.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: apex32
I replaced mine @ 80k miles on my 2001 Accord. 4 years/25k miles is Nothing. You are good for many years to come

When we get our next oil change at the Honda dealership is it reasonable to ask them to inspect the timing belts condition?

no

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: apex32
I replaced mine @ 80k miles on my 2001 Accord. 4 years/25k miles is Nothing. You are good for many years to come

When we get our next oil change at the Honda dealership is it reasonable to ask them to inspect the timing belts condition?

no

Why?

 

[apex32]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: apex32
I replaced mine @ 80k miles on my 2001 Accord. 4 years/25k miles is Nothing. You are good for many years to come

When we get our next oil change at the Honda dealership is it reasonable to ask them to inspect the timing belts condition?

no

Why?

I answered this in my last post... furthermore you are no where near the time you need to start thinking about replacing the timing belt.

To get to the timing belt, you have to remove the valve cover, take off a bigass bolt that is a PITA to get off in order to remove the harmonic balancer, take out an assload of small screws all around to get a plastic piece off, then you have to take the belt off by removing the tensioner among other things. All in all, to inspect the belt, it will cost the same to replace it.