Today I was at the Acura dealership for a non-working A/C and the mechanic suggested that I replace the timing belt. My car is 1998 Acura TL 3.2 with 80k miles on it.
1) Should I replace the belt now or can it wait another 20-30k in miles?
2) Should I replace it at the dealership or get it changed elsewhere? The dealer is asking almost $1100.
Appreciate your advice.
When does the owner’s manual say to replace the timing belt? You probably can get a better price at an independent garage. Get another couple of estimates. If you don’t have a regular garage, ask friends, neighbors and colleagues for recommendations.
After 11 years it’s overdue for a belt.
You can nearly go anywhere as Honda is so prevalent. Your vehicle is nothing more than a glorified and much nicer Honda Accord V6.
If that is the original timing belt in the car, get it changed ASAP. Get quotes from some other garages, make your choice and get it done.
Timing belts weaken with age as well as mileage. Though the first specified belt change isn’t until 105K miles, I can almost guarantee that 11 years is past the time interval, so it’s due.
That said, you can take it somewhere other than the dealer and have it done for a lot less $$. Call a couple of independent shops and price the job; the water pump on this engine is driven by the timing belt, so it should also be replaced at the same time as the belt.
I should add that this car has an interference engine. Should the timing belt break, the pistons will collide with the valves and cause significant internal engine damage that will cost WAY more to fix that whatever you pay for replacing the belt. Don’t wait too much longer.
All, thank you for your response. Its clear that the timing belt needs to be replaced fairly quickly, so I will follow your advice and get some estimates.
best wishes.