1.4 TDI 60,000 mile service

[radfordln]

Hello...

Nearly hit the 60,000 mile mark on my '07 plate 1.4TDI Fabia and so just rung to book it in for the service. Been told that Skoda recomend a cambelt change at 60k/4 years and so that I should have this done.

Given that the price quoted wouldn't give much change from £600 just checked the service book and it suggests that the belt isn't due to be changed until 120,000 KM which I work out to be 74,500 miles.

Does anyone know for certain what the position is? Just wondering how long I delay the pain for :'(

[Guest]

Hello...

Nearly hit the 60,000 mile mark on my '07 plate 1.4TDI Fabia and so just rung to book it in for the service. Been told that Skoda recomend a cambelt change at 60k/4 years and so that I should have this done.

Given that the price quoted wouldn't give much change from £600 just checked the service book and it suggests that the belt isn't due to be changed until 120,000 KM which I work out to be 74,500 miles.

Does anyone know for certain what the position is? Just wondering how long I delay the pain for

Hi Radford, yep...60,000 miles or 4 years is now the updated mileage or timescale for cambelt change on the 1.4 and 1.9TDI's.

[seboni121]

Yes I thought it was around the 75k mark,I will have my 08 1.4tdi done by mate ex-skoda technician as it will be out of warranty and half the price!!!,genuine skoda stuff but without the £30 per hour tariff

[radfordln]

Has something changed then? The service book that came with the car clearly says it is 120,000 KM so that is a big difference.

As the service cost seemed high just spoken to another dealer in the area and they indicated that it didn't nead doing until 80,000 miles or 4 years (which comes first).

Their costs were: £250 for the service, £75 for the brake fluid and £390 for the belt. Ouch all round really.

And just to add insult to injury had an argument with a Rover 25 at the weekend and cracked the bumper :'(

Hmmm perhaps I should just buy a new VRS

[Guest]

Hello again Radford, yes...sometime ago a service bulletin was issued with updated instructions for all the 1.4TDI and 1.9TDI cambelt service intervals. This is fairly normal stuff and often happens as manufacturers realise they have sometimes been a bit too optimistic regarding the life span of cam belts. Fiat and Ford both did the same as has Vauxhall. It's very very important on the PD engines too since the belt does twice as much work as a normal belt. I would add that the dealer you phoned gave you out of date information...he needs to check his service bulletins! It's defo 60,000 miles, it used to be 80,000!

[radfordln]

Just to complete the story -

Work completed on Monday but the garage (Grey Gables - Witney/Oxon) hadn't prepared the invoice so it came in the post today.

Work completed:

60,000 mile service

Replace cam belt, rollers and tensioner

Replace water pump and level coolant

Replace front side light bulb

Labour - £261

Parts - £212.29

VAT - £94.66

Total: £567.95

All in all I'm reasonably happy with that and more than happy with the service from Grey Gables.

[seboni121]

Just to complete the story -

Work completed on Monday but the garage (Grey Gables - Witney/Oxon) hadn't prepared the invoice so it came in the post today.

Work completed:

60,000 mile service

Replace cam belt, rollers and tensioner

Replace water pump and level coolant

Replace front side light bulb

Labour - £261

Parts - £212.29

VAT - £94.66

Total: £567.95

All in all I'm reasonably happy with that and more than happy with the service from Grey Gables.

WOW what a whallop :wonder: I will be there or there abouts in 2 years,I will get my mechanic to do it shocking price

[Guest]

That sounds pretty good Radford. In fact that's cheaper than an independent quoted my neighbour for this to be carried out. And of course you have genuine parts too.

[delta925]

I am pleased with the VAT offer I bought a new 1.6TDi CR rather than a used 1.9TDi PD.

I have just looked at the service schedule booklet which is for both the Fabia and the Roomster and the numbers on the back are

03.10

S00.5530.22.20

5J6 012 009 FA

This states

• Every 90,000km (~56,000 miles) then every 30,000km (~19,000 miles)
  
• • Inspect toothed belt (4-cylinder petrol engines, except 1.6ltr / 77kW engine)
    

• Every 210,000km (~130,000 miles)
  
• • Replace toothed belt (diesel engines)
    

Nowhere are time limits mentioned for the toothed belt.

So with my current annual mileage under 10000 a year and my plan to keep for 10 years I'll never have to pay out for cambelt replacement nor will the next owner need to have it replaced soon after purchase.

[LeedsVRS]

It's up to you of you want to take that risk but if the belt snaps out of warranty don't expect any contribution from Skoda, especially if you haven't followed the updated guidance.

[horkin]

It is true that it is not uncommon for manufacturers to adjust the service interval times for the cambelt. My main gripe would be that the exact same thing happened with the MK 1 Fabia where the belt life was deemed shorter than originally stated. Why is this? :think:

[Guest]

It is true that it is not uncommon for manufacturers to adjust the service interval times for the cambelt. My main gripe would be that the exact same thing happened with the MK 1 Fabia where the belt life was deemed shorter than originally stated. Why is this? :think:

Hi Horkin, annoying isn't it? It seems to nearly always happen with virtually all manufacturers that I've worked with. There is sometimes a raft of reasons for this. But often it's due to an advisory from the belt manufacturers themselves and not down to the car makers. This may be due to a change in the belt material being used, this does sometimes change slightly. For example, a belt maker might include a compound to make the belt run quieter or with less friction but this can sometimes shorten the life of the belts. However, the advantage would be that the belt is guaranteed to give perfect performance soaking up less power and have an untroubled life (won't break) so changing it a bit early is a price worth paying, if you see what I mean. Belt design can also change slightly for the above reasons too. Other times it may be the car maker responding to a potential issue such as they get a small number of belts become damage (uneven or premature wear) during service. Sometimes even a breakage which these days if fairly rare! So the manufacturers always err on the side of caution to protect every ones engines and advise to change the belts a bit earlier...but at the same time they will often initiate a design change maybe to pulleys etc to prevent this premature wear and once introduced will yet again alter the mileage change interval for the belt once they are sure it has solved the problem. As long as the manufacturers instructions on belt change intervals are adhered to there is nothing to worry about.

How's the car going, still happy?