My octy vrs Tfsi is just over 4 years old & has done 38k,i had my timing belt,tensioner,idler wheels & water pump & aux drivebelt replaced & i asked the garage for the old parts so i could inspect them,they showed me the water pump & left the other parts in my car for me,I have to say i could find no wear or damage to any of the components,the only wear i could see was the stiching was starting to seperate on the aux belt,but timing belt looked fine,no visable wear at all,Im glad ive had it done & can forget about it for the next 4 years but imo i could of left it for another 20-30k/2 years at least,i havent posted this to start a 4year belt change or not thread but just thought id share my thoughts.

i havent posted this to start a 4year belt change or not thread but just thought id share my thoughts.

I hope people read that bit and not start off on one.

I like your idea of getting it done now better safe than sorry and keeping the bits to have a look at. Since you saw no signs of wear etc do you think you might leave it longer next time or still air on the side of caution?

I am tempted to leave it for 5 years,by which point the new belt will have covered 60-70k. I bought the car at 2 years old with 11k on it so ive done 27k in the other 2 years.

The problem is that they don't tend to look worn at all, and then they snap.

Leave it an extra year and risk it - personally, I wouldn't!

i think if you don't exceed the mileage then 5 years would be fine.

I can remember with my old cars it was purely done on a set mileage, which in some cases would have taken more than 10 years of motoring for me.

£300 to make your car feel just the same as before :(

Auxiliary belts don't dry out and crack these days. The ridges wear down and become thinner. To an untrained eye, a worn out belt looks perfectly fine.

I changed the belt on my PD140 earlier this year.

I had just got the car, it had done 61,000 miles and was 6 years old and the belt had never been changed. It looked fine, as did the tensioner etc.

I wouldn't leave it that long myself, the previous owner was going by what was printed in the car's manual, and was going to do it at 80,000 miles!

Edited 14 November, 201213 yr by booke23

Auxiliary belts don't dry out and crack these days. The ridges wear down and become thinner. To an untrained eye, a worn out belt looks perfectly fine.

True, they look perfectly fine. Comparing my last Cambelt removed after 60k and the replacement you couldn't see any difference with the naked eye.

I would've changed it. Better safe than sorry, and following the recommended guidelines puts you in better stead with skoda if anything untowards happens now your out of warranty.

Did you have it changed at DM Keith!?

If so I think I'd rather take my chances with a worn belt than a new one fitted by them!

You take your chances if you dont do it.

A mate of mine did with his V6 alfa and went around 4 months past its time and it cost him £3500 to rebuild the motor when it snapped.

Leaving it longer than recommended is just going to hurt resale value, never mind risking an engine

Mines is gettin done in a few weeks, i was also going to do the exact same thing get all belts, water pump, tensioners and idler wheel done, along with air fuel and pollen filters and spark plugs.

call it overkill but then i'm mega anal when it comes to servicing lol.

its the first thing i done when i bought my vrs 3 weeks ago - depsite it only covering 60k on a 06 plate i couldnt see any evidence of a change being done....

My friend had a Clio which he bought and had booked in to get the cam belt done only to snap 3 days before it was due in and need a new engine - couldnt risk that,,,,,

You take your chances if you dont do it.

A mate of mine did with his V6 alfa and went around 4 months past its time and it cost him £3500 to rebuild the motor when it snapped.

That will happen unfortunately. I have an Alfa in the garage, and the manual says 72K for the belt change, but every dealer/mechanic now says 36K.

With that sort of engine, or for that matter any engine, is it worth risking total destruction (if you are unlucky) for the sake of £300?

When you say you will have it changed in another 4 year's, is that the guarantee the garage gave you on the new belt?

If so that's very good as most only guarantee them for a year. And that means if you want to cover yourself against cambelt failure you would need it changed every year!

When you say you will have it changed in another 4 year's, is that the guarantee the garage gave you on the new belt?

If it was done at a Skoda Garage I believe the guarantee is 2 years, This is for all work/parts carried out

If it was done at a Skoda Garage I believe the guarantee is 2 years, This is for all work/parts carried out

Genuine parts are guaranteed for 2 years, as long as fitted correctly.

I changed the belt on my PD140 earlier this year.

I had just got the car, it had done 61,000 miles and was 6 years old and the belt had never been changed. It looked fine, as did the tensioner etc.

I wouldn't leave it that long myself, the previous owner was going by what was printed in the car's manual, and was going to do it at 80,000 miles!

What a fool, I mean believing what his manual says...!!!!

I'll change mine shortly.My TFSI is 5 yrs old but only done 40k

Just had my belt done in Skoda main dealer for an offer of €349 euro, it's a deal all vag dealers are doing till the end of year, I'm a mechanic could have done it myself but at that price it was good value to let them do it, as for milage my vrs pd tdi is a feb 2007 car and had 119k kms done.

All parts looked fine also but was due at the 120k km but my car is nearly 6 years old.

A perfectly good looking well maintained top brand tyre can still blow out.

I changed the belt on my PD140 earlier this year.

I had just got the car, it had done 61,000 miles and was 6 years old and the belt had never been changed. It looked fine, as did the tensioner etc.

I wouldn't leave it that long myself, the previous owner was going by what was printed in the car's manual, and was going to do it at 80,000 miles!

My wife's got a 1.9PD Seat, but it's the same PD engine. Seat say 80,000 or 4 years which ever comes 1st. Her car was 5 years old so I booked it in straight away without hesitation and have no regrets. As others have said better spend 300 up front than have the engine go pop and suffer all the expense and inconvienience that would go with it.