What is the longest anyone has gone without changing a timing belt?

Regarding the maximum life of a timing belt is a good question to ask as there is little or no information provided by engineering people or vehicle mfrs. to encourage a reasoned decision by vehicle owners or mechanics. The problem in the way of this this is that there is a variety of usage conditions including, locale, temperature, time, mileage and speed that contribute to timing belt lifespan. A mfr must specify a simple change interval with anticipated warranty complaint frequency and overall customer satisfaction in mind. To provide a belt change interval with qualifications according to the conditions mentioned would be confusing and subject to varying and potentially erroneous interpretations. A computer program similar to GM’s oil change monitor could work but GM will not likely pursue this as timing belt life is mainly an oriental car and VW interest.

Some of GM’s cheap ass cars still use timing belts . . .

In other words, some of GM’s more frugal customers still have to deal with the issue

I found it interesting that in my 2004 PT Cruiser’s manual it said thet the belt should be changed at 60000 mile except in California where it was 105000. My guess is that the manufacturer would have to pay for it in California if it had to be changed at less that 100000 miles.
Any Californians out there who can confirm or debunk this?

I think the exact same thing was stated in the owner’s manual for my 1997 Mazda, which I haven’t owned in some time

I live in California, the car was bought used, but it was a California spec car

So I’d say I’m confirming it

I knew of an old Civic that apparently went nearly 140K on the original timing belt, which finally broke, with major damage. I was amazed it reached that number anyway, because I’m pretty sure it had very few oil changes.

I know of a couple that owned a Civic, which they didn’t maintain very well

The timing belt broke while they were in Mexico

They literally had to push it across the border, back to the US, where they had to pony up some bucks for a head job, along with that overdue timing belt job . . .

In my defense, the 92 Voyager that went 170000 and 14 years was a non interference engine so the on car would suffer no damage . All the other maintenance was done on time, oil every 3000 miles etc. There are some people on this site that cite the dangers of being in the left lane of an expressway or in a bad part of town but those same situations also happen with the many other things that can disable a car.

First belt on a Toyota Corolla changed at 10
Years 155k miles. They said it looked fine. Which can be deceiving I know. Second belt is 9 years 100k miles. Not sure if it’s worth replacing. Car is getting old.

Woops I meant first change at 15 miles. 10 years.

Try this again 155 k miles.

@kenberthiaume - you know you can edit your own post??

First car with timing belt was a 79 Civic (83-88, 20000 miles onto it). Then, in order, I had a 76 Accord (85-87, 4000mi), 82 Prelude (86-87, 2000mi), 86 Civic (88-91, obtained as a wreck, 4000mi), 81 Omni (98-03, 5000mi), and now an 87 Nova (11yr, 1500mi).

I didn’t replace it on any of those, and all those cars were used when I got them, most already in bad shape, and I never thought about it until a few years ago. That’s my anecdote with estimated ownership periods and mileages. I guess I could sum it up by saying that I’ve gone about 30 years total without changing a timing belt, although the miles I put on each car was pretty low.

Ha. No I sure did’t

@kenberthiaume, hover your cursor over any of your posts and a little gear comes up in the upper right hand corner. Click it and you get an edit option.

What is the longest anyone has gone without changing a timing belt ?

Lemme see…First and only one was back in 1982 IIRC. Infrequent oil changes led to camshaft seizing in head and snapping the belt on a GF car. Up until recently, I have never owned a vehicle with a belt choosing to avoid them if at all possible. Just don’t like the idea of a maintenance item like this if it can be avoided…

Here’s an interesting scenario

Car A is a midsized car, timing belt V6, gets 28mpg

Car B is a midsized car, chain driven V6, gets 22mpg

Would the timing belt haters choose the chain driven V6, even though it gets significantly worse fuel economy?

Aside from the fact I rarely boil choices down to only cam driver mechanism and fuel mileage- everything else cannot be equal in your example. No engine I know of suffers that kind of disparity in fuel consumption due to the choice of cam driver mechanism alone. Chances are, the lower mileage engine is souped up in some additional way that makes it more desireable for some people due to the additional performance.

Let’s assume your example is valid- there are many people who use cars in city commuter environments where they may put on only 2-5k miles per year. In their case, the cost of maintaining a belt is a wash or slight loser not even factoring the inconvenience of having to submit your car for this additional service. Fuel mileage alone is probably not the best differentiator to use, assuming such a scenario even exists…

I only have one car that routinely sees more than 5k miles/year. I own a half dozen cars (used to be more but I’m getting older and less inclined) I do all my own work, the LAST thing I want to be doing is timing belts on 5 cars…BTW- I steer clear of V6 engines too since they are usually belts and packed into the compartment. I’ll take a peppy I4 or an I6 over a V6 any day.

@TwinTurbo

Thanks for the answer

So, for you the answer is simple . . . you absolutely will not consider buying a car with a timing belt

Fair enough

Going back to my previous question, let’s consider this

Perhaps the t-belt v6 is more fuel efficient, because it’s a more modern design

Aluminum alloy block and heads
Multiple valves per cylinder
etc.

Whereas the chain driven v6 is more old school

Cast iron block
ohv engine design
2 valves per cylinder
bigger displacement needed to equal the horsepower rating of the other engine

For the record, I have absolutely no prejudices against that “old school” engine design I mentioned.
In fact, those old school designs are sometimes good workhorses

I will avoid them if at all possible. Notice in a prior post I said “up until recently”. I bought a new 2012 Ody and other factors outweighed the belt. FWIW- probably the most regretted purchase for me to date due to the shudder during VCM operation. The van has recently eclipsed 4500 miles in the year and a half I owned it.

I’m not a big fan of v6 engines regardless. I find them harder to work on and don’t value the extra power enough to choose one over a 4. My Camry is peppy enough for me with the chain equipped 4 banger. Oddly enough, I often choose the notoriously inefficient Trailblazer with its Atlas I6 over the Camry for my commute of 38 miles each way.

However, I have other outlets for fulfilling the occassional need for speed and power. Those are old school big blocks.

Hey, I don’t limit myself to cars! I choose shaft drive motorcycles over belts too! :wink:

I went forever without changing a timing belt on my car that had a timing chain :stuck_out_tongue: