Before you lawyer up, have you talked to Honda corporate yet? They might authorize at least a partial good-will discount from the repair.
I called the Honda Corp customer service number and they told me they don’t know how to interpret the serial number on the belt and referred me back to the repair shop. I asked the repair shop for the Honda Corp contact info and they directed me to contact the Honda Corp regional office for Maine where the car broke down. The repair shop won’t even provide the Honda Corp contact info I need. But yes, I hope that at the very least they will co tribute a “goodwill allowance”.
Looking at these pictures, I think the same thing. Of course, you didn’t say how many miles were driven on this belt, but this timing belt appears to be in worse condition than the original timing belt from my Daewoo Lanos, which was run for 17 years and 80,000 miles. This belt is also in much worse condition than the timing belt which I replaced in my 1995 Caravan, which had approximately 12 years and 50,000 miles on it.
I took pictures of the Daewoo timing belt, and can post them if anyone wants to see. I don’t have the timing belt from the Caravan anymore, but I do still have the timing belt from my 1994 Sundance, which I think is original, as well as a timing belt from a junkyard engine that I bought, which was out of a 1991 Plymouth Acclaim, also probably original.
Tha is so much for your feedback and confirmation. I am contacting the Honda Corp. to see if they will help.
I hate to say it, but that belt looks to have been in there for a lot longer than 2 years . . .
The last timing belt I did on my own car was right when it was due, at either 8 or 9 years, and it looked downright pristine compared to yours that is supposedly 2 years old
My gut feeling says something went wrong at that dealership 2 years ago
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I’ve actually never seen a timing belt or read all the other responses so what do I know? Seems to me you only have a couple shots. Pull a new Honda belt and compare the numbering. I can’t believe the factory would be using service belts with the same markings but maybe I’m wrong. If it looks like a service belt, your only option would be to ask for help from Honda due to a bad belt. If it looks like the original and you can get a couple Honda dealers to say the same thing, about all you can do is take it to small claims court and let a judge decide.
Another possibility is that it sustained damage after being replaced two years ago.
Yes, it looks worn, but that could be age or damage.
My vote is on age . . . as in way more than 2yrs old
By the way, I genuinely hope I’m wrong about this . . .
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Sorry you are having this difficulty. Frustrating for sure. Given that your shop has already determined no problem w/the engine or on the timing belt path was responsible, it seems like these are the most likely possibilities:
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The shop didn’t actually replace the timing belt. Seems hard to believe if they replaced the other stuff, but I suppose it could have happened by mistake; e.g. they inadvertently put the old one back on rather than the new one.
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Defective replacement timing belt. Either it was really old, sitting on the shelf for a long time, or it wasn’t a good quality name brand belt. Folks here seem to suggest to either use an oem belt purchased from a dealership or Gates.
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Bad luck. Good date code, quality-brand belt that happened to be defective out of the box.
Is there any sort of visual indication the belt has switched directions at some point? If so, that could indicate the old belt was installed rather than a new one, and it was installed in the other orientation. That could definitely cause a belt to break. How many miles/years was on the belt they (supposedly) replaced?
With belts it can be difficult to determine age. However, that belt looks a bit older than 2 years to me. I also wonder about the outer surface being scrubbed and wearing the part number off of it.
For what it’s worth, a broken belt does not necessarily mean a ruined engine. The cylinder heads can be repaired or replaced. Sometimes a piston or two may get cracked which would mean a new engine but this would be a very, very rare thing to happen.
Over the years I’ve never seen a broken piston. The piston tops get nicked up but nicks are easily cleaned up during head replacement.
Any chance of posting a pic of the actual break?
A broken timing belt is unusual. With old age timing belt failure the teeth are usually stripped off of the belt. I did not see a picture of a broken timing belt.
Two years ago I was assigned a job to replace the timing belt on a Toyota Highlander so that it could be sent to the auction. I opened the hood and saw that one of the cam gears broke off and cut through the plastic timing cover. The camshaft was seized and the dipstick showed fresh motor oil, recently refilled. It seemed that the engine ran out of oil and one of the cams seized but the timing belt did not break.
I picked the following off a website, but cant remember the URL. It refers to Honda belts:
The belts typically have three groups of numbers. Honda uses:
a. A group of numbers that show the distance in the mfg run
b. A number that indicates the year of mfr
c. A number that indicates the week of the year it was manufactured
According to the numbers on your belt, it was manufactured in December 2005.
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I feel for you but you should realize that Honda doesn’t manufacture timing belts and they do not repair vehicles. The belt was made by someone else like Gates and the dealer that serviced the car is an independent business as well. While Honda may offer a goodwill gesture, they aren’t really liable for it. Good luck.
I think you found this page:
However, that page says that “5” means 2015, not 2005.
I have never worked on a Honda before, however inquiring minds want to know: on this Honda 3.5L V6, if the timing belt breaks, in your experience, how many cylinders usually bend valve(s)?
It sounds like the OP is far away from home, and needs to get this car home in order to pursue possible legal action, or sell/trade/junk it. I would think that if at least 4 of the 6 cylinders have proper compression once a new timing belt is installed, the engine would start and run well enough to maintain highway speeds, and not stall out. I remember driving a 4-cylinder car with one dead cylinder, and other than tremendous shaking at idle, it still ran.
Oops, you are absolutely correct
I would take exception with this statement. Honda doesn’t manufacture hundreds of parts that go into their vehicles. Manufactured by their specifications or accepted as manufactured. Honda warranties their cars and parts and not the OEM.
Courts award damages based on real loss. There is no need to limp this thing home to seek damages. Just fix it if that’s what you’re going to do and then seek to be made whole. Although you provide the funding up front, this ensures all problems are addressed before you ask for compensation. Otherwise it is based on an estimate. Secondly, the OP has a duty to minimize damages/loss. Purposely driving the vehicle in a compromised condition and potentially doing more harm (an easy argument for a lawyer to make) may hurt their case…
If the valves are damaged and the cylinder isn’t firing properly, I’d worry about unburned fuel being pumped through and ending up in the catalytic converter, causing damage there. I don’t know if the affected fuel injector could be disabled to prevent this.
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I don’t think that’s the case here. The OP drove the car in good faith, thinking it was in a good condition.
Me personally, I do not think the OP has any chance of recovering damages, a free repair or replacement of an engine, unless the replacement belt was under warranty after two years, which I doubt.