Superb Cambelt

[dieseldawg]

Hi all,

I had my car (2013 Superb 2.0 Tdi DSG 170 CR) serviced at Blade Skoda in Bristol. and what a fantastic service they did too. I will without doubt be taking it back there!!!

 

I asked on the off chance that they knew (mainly so I knew what my car needed as and when) when the cambelt was due.... the response.... wait for it ... 140,000 miles!!!! (or 5 years. I do 30k per year) 

 

I almost fell off the chair!! that's almost twice my last car! I suspect that I will be getting it done early! has any one left it until the 140k mark!? any consequence? 

 

Cheers Dan

[Superb170]

And the famous cambelt debate continues Now that has to the longest I've heard of. Another one to add to the ever increasing list of suggested intervals. I wouldn't fancy leaving it that long. Did they mention if it varies according to year of manufacture or some other factor, because the range being offered by dealers is quite dramatic to say the least!

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[ILOVEMYSUPERB]

Did they mention if it varies according to year of manufacture or some other factor Tapatalk

Think the variable is what day of the week you ask!

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[psycholist]

The cambelt service interval on my CR170 TDI is 210,000 km or 130,000 miles, I've not seen anyone claiming as high as 140,000 miles though. I've just had it done on my car at a little under 150,000 km though, all under warranty from the dealer I bought it from, as the water pump had started leaking. Can't recommend Sheehy Motors in Naas enough . I was planning on getting the timing belt done before looking at a 200+ bhp remap anyway, so this moves things forward a little ...

[misterbee13]

Just had mine done at 62k and 4 years old. Reason was like above post, slight leak from the water pump. Oh, and it's got a PDUK naughty box on

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[dieselV6]

So long as it is inspected from 1/2 - 2/3rd mileage onwards and there are no other issues, there is no reason to change these cambelts before their stated life of 130k /140k, depending on engine. These are new Continental designed gear/belt drives that have been specifically designed to address momentary belt stretching and load spikes, and also includes better tensioner and rollers. Add in the fact that CR engines put much smoother load onto the timing belt when compared to IP/PD ones, and you get belt mileage comparable to DPF durability.

 

I'll keep the belt on my 1.6CR Roomster (130k one) till end of life (with inspections), in any case before putting any money into replacing it I'll strongly look at DPF ash content and other issues, as right now it looks there's going to be a paywall of bills in 6-8 years time (new DPF or DPF delete, timing belt, 2nd gearbox oil change, likely new brake discs and pads, and a regular inspection service items).

[Superb170]

The cambelt service interval on my CR170 TDI is 210,000 km or 130,000 miles, I've not seen anyone claiming as high as 140,000 miles though. I've just had it done on my car at a little under 150,000 km though, all under warranty from the dealer I bought it from, as the water pump had started leaking. Can't recommend Sheehy Motors in Naas enough . I was planning on getting the timing belt done before looking at a 200+ bhp remap anyway, so this moves things forward a little ...

I know there are lots of variations on this forum but I thought the Irish dealers seemed to be more consistent at 180k kms (no time limit) or so I thought - that is what I have been quoted a few times both for my last 2011 170CR and my current one.  I don't think we will ever know for sure!  Must be Skoda's best kept secret

[psycholist]

I'll keep the belt on my 1.6CR Roomster (130k one) till end of life (with inspections), in any case before putting any money into replacing it I'll strongly look at DPF ash content and other issues, as right now it looks there's going to be a paywall of bills in 6-8 years time (new DPF or DPF delete, timing belt, 2nd gearbox oil change, likely new brake discs and pads, and a regular inspection service items).

 

I'm curious about the DPF lifetime issue. As I understand the way they work (They filter carbon particles (soot) from the exhaust while the engine is cold/overfuelling near max power and burn it off into carbon dioxide while the car is running as normal with spare oxygen available in the air flowing through the engine), there should be no net accumulation of soot or ash inside them once the engine is regularly run at temperature for more than 15 or 20 minutes, so the DPF shouldn't wear out unless it corrodes away or something.

[dieselV6]

There is always some leftover ash, as both fuel and oil have small amounts of particles/compounds which do not burn off, and it slowly accumulates in the DPF until it reaches a prescribed limit.  The DPF has to be replaced then.

 

On my car (1.6CR 105bhp CAYC), the limit is 70grams, after 23k miles the ash content is currently at 13.7 grams, resulting in projected mileage to replacement of 23*70/13.7 = 117k miles.

 

Ash content can be checked with VCDS in Advanced Measuring Values. Newer and larger engine DPFs may have larger allowance for ash content (I recall ), though I have not looked into it

[psycholist]

Very interesting. Removing the DPF isn't an option on newer cars if you still want to pass the MOT/Irish NCT I think, though I'm not sure how they check for this since it's not the easiest thing to get to.

[silver1011]

My only advice on cambelt mileage limits is to ignore the dealers and speak directly with Skoda UK.

 

Call or email them with your VIN/ reg number...

 

http://www.skoda.co.uk/about-us/contact-us

 

Skoda UK extended the blanket time limit from 4 years to 5 years on all cars registered after September 2010.

[peterposh]

My mondeo has a 125 k or 10 year belt change frequency, I had it changed at that mileage and it looks fine. Can't say about the condition at a molecular level but it's a tribute to whoever makes these belts

[basil-furface]

I had read the various time-to-change-cambelt conversations with alarm, as the only consistent property to the advice given was it always varied so wildly.

 

I bought a 2012 Mk2 TDi (170) with 82000 miles already so it was important to me to get it right. I phoned local dealer (Chesterfield) and was told 140000 miles.

[Superb170]

My only advice on cambelt mileage limits is to ignore the dealers and speak directly with Skoda UK.

.

I think this is the most sensible advice. After all if the belt fails the potential damage could be catastrophic. If you receive an answer in writing from Skoda (in your respective country) at least you will have something to reply on if they argue that the belt should have been replaced sooner.

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[dieselV6]

It's Skoda UK who have been peddling the 4 year (and now 5 year) timing belt replacement interval con. As do their parent, VAG UK. So the only answer you will get out of them is 4 years for older cars, 5 years for newer, none of which is applied by any other VAG importer in any other country in Europe, 4/5 year belt change is a genuinely local ripoff Britain "invention".

 

A while ago I made an effort to get a written answer on why they do it, to which they initially replied that UK market is different than rest of Europe, ie the cars would require more servicing.

To which I replied that yes, the market is indeed different, namely we live in a country with the longest average weekly commute in all of Europe, so belt replacements should actually be less frequent than in rest of Europe. Not much response to that, and as I had stated earlier, Skoda Auto Czech Republic wash their hands off altogether of the whole matter.

Edited 7 September, 2014 by dieselV6

[Derrycullen]

Collected my 2011 Superb Estate (140 BHP) last Friday in Surrey before drive home to Cork.

Mileage 84K but for sheer peace of mind had the belt & water pump replaced prior to collection.

The dealer stated not necessary  in his opinion but it was a " good & regular earner" for his service dept !

Rang some main dealers in U.K. & like other contributors received varying opinions regarding recommended mileage before replacement ( 100K>140K miles).

Rang dealers on this side of the water and all seemed to believe circa 100K Kilometres  (62KMiles) was the norm !

Certainly like Easter Sunday it appears to be " a moveable feast " !

[Superb170]

Rang dealers on this side of the water and all seemed to believe circa 100K Kilometres (62KMiles) was the norm !

Certainly like Easter Sunday it appears to be " a moveable feast " !

I think that dealer admitting that it was a 'good and regular earner' probably sums it up. Crazy! Were they all Skoda dealers that you called?

Good luck with the new car BTW!

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[silver1011]

It's Skoda UK who have been peddling the 4 year (and now 5 year) timing belt replacement interval con. As do their parent, VAG UK. So the only answer you will get out of them is 4 years for older cars, 5 years for newer, none of which is applied by any other VAG importer in any other country in Europe, 4/5 year belt change is a genuinely local ripoff Britain "invention".

 

A while ago I made an effort to get a written answer on why they do it, to which they initially replied that UK market is different than rest of Europe, ie the cars would require more servicing.

To which I replied that yes, the market is indeed different, namely we live in a country with the longest average weekly commute in all of Europe, so belt replacements should actually be less frequent than in rest of Europe. Not much response to that, and as I had stated earlier, Skoda Auto Czech Republic wash their hands off altogether of the whole matter.

 

The blanket time interval is clear - black and white. Whether you agree with VAG / Skoda policy is another topic, one already done to death several times on here.

 

The confusion arises over mileage, either refer to the handbook or in the absence of a handbook (all new Skoda models) then the only reliable source of accurate information is to contact Skoda UK directly and get it in writing.