2004 Hyundai Sonata, Timing Belt Replacement/Maintenance

If the OP doesn’t believe the folks at the dealership, all he/she has to do is to open the glove compartment, take out the Owner’s Manual/Maintenance Schedule, and see what the vehicle’s manufacturer has to say on the issue.

Every major maintenance procedure has an elapsed time value, as well as an odometer mileage value, with the proviso, “whichever comes first”. If the odometer mileage value for this procedure is 60k miles, as the OP seems to indicate, more than likely the elapsed time value will be 5 years. If that is the case, then the OP appears to be about 4 years overdue for this vital maintenance–but I am just guessing about the interval for this specific model. The only way to get the “official” version is to look at that maintenance schedule.

Vehicle maintenance shouldn’t be a mystery, and simply reading what the vehicle’s mfr lists in the maintenance schedule should eliminate the mystery aspect. Trust me–your car will last much longer, will be more reliable, and will cost you less in repairs in the long run if you begin to read and follow the maintenance schedule that the mfr provided.