Timing belt broke at 3,000 miles. Why?

Maybe they tightened it too much

Have you asked for original shop for your money back or do they refuse?

Yup! I have given them the opportunity three (actually my husband also talked to them briefly about it too so I guess thatā€™s 4 times they had the opportunity to solve this problem!) times to make things right. Only now am I forced to be at the position where I am asking for my money back, they have had every opportunity to realize it was their mistake and fix it. I am not a trained mechanic, I am just a regular lady on a car forum and we figured this out in like 2 days. They have a staff of trained mechanics who supposedly have been doing this for 30+ years. If they saw the evidence in front of them and didnā€™t realize something was off right away it is actually frightening that these people work on machines as dangerous as cars can be. I could have literally died because of their dumb mistake. (I only say that because I just read a legal case about a lady whoā€™s timing belt broke, she got out of the car to pick of some car piece and got hit by car) Thank god I was able to pull over safely. I was broken down on a state highway that had no shoulder, with no phone service trying to make it across traffic with my dog to find a phone to call a tow on a 90 degree day and literally that was the best of all these days so far. It astonishes me that people can be so completely devoid of ethics, empathy and moral code.

Seem like small claims court. Upside you may get the cost of repairs .

Sorry about this. Iā€™d leave an unemotional Yelp and other review of events, timespanj and refusal to do anything.

It sounds to me like you have an easy case. You really only have to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the shop failed to install the timing belt correctly (e.g. installed the guide plate backwards) or that they supplied defective parts. You have the necessary evidenceā€“the physical guide plate, print out a copy of the belt routing diagram with the guide plate highlighted, and pictures of the failed engine.

In the event of a faulty installation, I am not sure that the shopā€™s warranty period matters, as negligence cannot be disclaimed away. In the event that the timing belt itself, or any other part which the shop supplied was defective, you should still be within the time and mileage warranty for this type of work.

Not only that, but if the timing was thrown off enough the engine wouldnā€™t have just ran bad or shut off, it couldā€™ve locked up and sent your car into an uncontrollable spin out that couldā€™ve caused more damage to the car and possibly take multiple lives. Iā€™d consider the shop extremely lucky and if it were me Iā€™d take just fixing it or paying for an engine any day over being blamed for murder.

You are going to be questioning everything on this car from now until the end of time. Why not just trade it in on a new one and sleep better at night?

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The brake explanation does not check out. Any rust on the contact surfaces of the rotors is scrubbed off after the first few stops of the day. As for what the dealer offered you in trade, go to CarMax and see what they offer you. Make like Sgt. Schultz from Hoganā€™s Heroes. Say nothing about the engine change or any of the other issues.

I meant to google that, thatā€™s lot illegal to not disclose you have a rebuilt engine? It honestly I donā€™t know that itā€™s rebuild, might just be used. Do you have to disclose you have an engine that didnā€™t originally come with the car?
Also, I reeeeeally want to believe this other guy is not as curupt as the timing belt guys, and also not finding very google YouTube videos about breaks online. The break pad makes contact on both sides of the rotor? Not just one? So there are two separate pads, either side of the rotor? And if that is the case, is there any space in the center of the backside of the rotor that could build up rust?
And in another installment of random declarations by me: Car mechanics should be mantitory for one year in high school so everyone knows at least the basics of this death trap they drive around everyday!

Wow! Thatā€™s a bad design for that Timing Belt Guide/Disk. Very easy to put that on the wrong way ā€¦ being lulled into thinking the disk curls inward (like the larger ā€œdomeā€ immediately above looks like a ā€œfinishingā€ cap of some kind!).

That part shouldā€™ve been a symmetrical disk with a solid core and soft, machined edges that couldā€™ve been installed either way ā€¦ like a narrow metal ā€œdonutā€.

I blame Honda for a bad part design - and one that encourages damage. Putting that disk on with the curled edges facing you is counter-intuitive. And I can see how a distracted (or lesser-experienced) mechanic could make that mistake.

Iā€™ve read this whole thread and I get it ā€¦ the mechanic looks like heā€™s covering it up ā€¦ and he probably IS ā€¦ but I think heā€™s also a victim here (to some degree) - because of the bad part design. In the end, though - his shop is responsible for not knowing the correct way to put that Guide disc on (AND not double-checking the work before firing up the engine).

Bad situation for everyone, unfortunatelyā€¦ But if Iā€™M drawing the ā€œblame pieā€ here, Honda gets 60% for ā€œencouraging mistakesā€ with their poor design.

WAIT A MINUTE!

Looking at those two pictures again - if weā€™re saying thatā€™s shredded rubber from the belt in those holes around the circumference of the disc ā€¦ the first picture seems to show the rubber fragments reaching inward (in the picture, at least) toward the curled edges of the disc. This is what would happen if you were using a cheese grater to extract lemon zest (letā€™s say). You rub the lemon on one side, and the lemon fragments build up and protrude out the grate holes on the other side. If this is what the picture is showing, then the disc/guide WAS installed correctly ā€¦ but the belt (for some other reason) ā€œwalkedā€ toward the disc and was ā€œgratedā€ by the holes in the disc.

Is THIS a possibility?

You donā€™t need to disclose anything. I wouldnā€™t. Remember, itā€™s Caveat Emptor ( let the BUYER beware) not Smhdotm ( seller must have diarrhea of the mouth).

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