I recently had my timing belt replaced. After the replacement, the car seems sluggish, labors up hilss and has lower gas mileage. My mechanic says there’s nothing wrong. Is this a general problem and what should my mechanic be looking at?
There is a very real possibility that your mechanic placed the timing belt one or two notches “off” from where it should have been installed. This would “screw-up” the valve timing and that could definitely affect both power and gas mileage.
Since your mechanic insists that nothing is wrong, then I think you have no alternative but to take the car to another shop to be checked. If it turns out that the belt was improperly installed, then bring the bill to the first mechanic. And, whether he pays that bill or not, I would suggest that you not use that mechanic again.
Thanks for the information.