Cam belt change after 4 years

[superblack]

My 09 TDI has just been serviced and I was advised that it will need a belt change in 6 months time. As it will only have done 50K by then this seems very cautious. What are you older diesel Superb owners doing? I also understand that this is a UK recommendation, if that is correct are the cam belts fitted to rhd cars inferior to those fitted to lhd? Bit of a throw away that one - sorry!

Any advice on where to get work done in East Sussex other than Skoda dealership as they would like £450ish?

[Black vRS Oct]

If your on 'fixed' you should be suitable for fixed price servicing (from skoda) as your car is over three years old. £299 for cambelt or £369 including water pump.

http://www.skoda.co....CFe_MtAodDVgAJg

[Cemesis]

I was told today that the cambelt on the new CR engine is 130k or 4 years. It is a cautious change because if it fails your engine kills itself and the bill is thousands. Then owners say they should have been warned to change it earlier...

[silver1011]

Any advice on where to get work done in East Sussex other than Skoda dealership as they would like £450ish?

As above £299 is the maximum you should pay for a cambelt on Skoda's National Pricing.

Any dealer trying to charge you £450 is pulling your leg.

[dieselV6]

There we go again, the same troll comments conning people into VAG UK 4 year timing belt con.

Change belt at mileage specified in your car's Service Schedule book, prior to mandated change inspect belt at intervals that are also specified in the Service Schedule book, and only replace if the belt shows signs of wear.

I recommend this Roomster thread for your perusal:

http://www.briskoda....hed-belt-change

and especially my last post there:

http://www.briskoda....60#entry2980164

Silver1011 actually even claimed he's got 4 year timing belt interval in his service book, then deleted the post after I challenged this and demanded seeing a photo of his service book page.

But in short, no other country in Europe and possibly the world has Skoda dealers recommending nor mandating 4 year belt replacement change, it is exclusive VAG UK Ripoff Britain con and has been going on for at least 6 years.

Bentley, Haynes and Elsa car service manuals only recommend replacing timing belt at mileage, just like your car's service schedule book. The only bulletins recommending 4year belt changes originate from VAG UK headquarters, On Roomster forum we had repeatedly requested for someone to post any document suggesting 4 year interval that originated outside UK, in Skoda Auto Czech Republic, and we are still waiting for a pdf or a scan. It is pure Volkswagen Auto Group UK Milton Keynes invention to boost service department revenues, as at 4 years old many owners still service within dealership network.

Once again, change belt at mileage specified in your car's Service Schedule book, prior to mandated change inspect belt at intervals that are also specified here and only replace if the belt shows signs of wear. You will save yourself a lot of money and actually reduce risk of damage to the engine. My 2002 Octavia's engine was actually damaged by sloppy timing belt/water pump job in 2006, because the engine head was not refilled with coolant properly. This over time led to a leaking head gasket, and another timing belt + gasket replacement job later, so I was out of pocket twice. Most snapped belt problems happen after poorly performed timing belt changes (I know of at least 2 cases from my colleagues, in both cases the workshop messed up), not because of belt wear unless replacement mileage was ignored.

Edit: I changed the belts myself at 75k miles on my Mk1 Superb (which is specified belt mileage) and both belts (injection pump and camshaft) were in pristine condition, so even the specified mileage interval is very cautious. New belts in engines like 1.6CR TDI are specified to 130k miles, and I am reasonably sure they will last till then (Continental that makes 130k belt and timing gear design is quite at pains to demonstrate how their new timing belts really last this long).

Also, to fully disclose where I am coming from, I am a long term Skoda enthusiast, I bought 3 Skodas (Octavia Mk1 in 2002, Mk1 Superb in 2006 and a Roomster recently) with my own money so far.

Edited 25 October, 2012 by dieselV6

[superblack]

Thank you for your input, this is what I suspected was going on as I have become much more sceptical in my old age! That and having my wallet constantly under attack. I wonder whether there is a European based source of service recommendations that could be referenced? Begs the question what other service intervals are being "tweaked" - brake fluid change every 2 years for example. I agreed to that one at the last service as it is obviously stupid not to have brakes in optimum condition- but I do not recall needing to renew brake fluid in any other vehicle so frequently?

[dieselV6]

On new Skoda cars brake fluid interval is 3 years from new, then every 2 years for brake fluid, this is to prevent brakes boiling and to reduce internal corossion of the brake system due to water content, and it actually is specified in the Service schedule booklet that came with your car.

Original Service Schedule booklet is actually by far the most accurate source of information for your car, occassionally it comes with printed amendment pages. Recalls and changes to service schedule are very rare, and usually concern more specific items than the general belt/filter/fluid maintenance.

Example Roomster (not Superb Mk2) service schedule page is below, on the right you can see the brake interval:

I have a theory that subsequent brake fluid replacements are 2 years only because quality of aftermarket fluids varies even if they're within spec. But nevertheless since Skoda Auto (car's manufacturer, not Skoda UK salesmen) insists on 2 year interval after first brake fluid change, I'd stick with 2 years.

(click the picture to zoom in)

Edited 26 October, 2012 by dieselV6

[silver1011]

On 2012-10-25 at 15:12, dieselV6 said:

There we go again, the same troll comments conning people into VAG UK 4 year timing belt con.

 

Silver1011 actually even claimed he's got 4 year timing belt interval in his service book, then deleted the post after I challenged this and demanded seeing a photo of his service book page.

 

 

 

Only just seen this, almost 5 years later.

 

The only trolling going on here is dieselV6's persistent pursuit of all cambelt related threads in an bizarre effort to dispel Skoda UK's cambelt time intervals.

 

Have you found the time to take Skoda UK to court yet?