I took my car for a service yesterday and asked for the price of timing belt, water pump, tensioner etc because my car is 4 years old in march. They said all in for 400 but they had a bulletin updating the interval to 5 years instead of 4. They entered my reg on the system and it brought up when everything was due for a service/change and the timing belt was 5 years or 140, 000 miles or km (can't remember which). Anyway needless to say I was very pleased. :-D

Edited 26 September, 201411 yr by jaxx007

I would check it well before then I checked mine at 70k, 3 years old and the belt was heavily cracked and the water pump was starting to leak.

I thought they were supposed to be long-life belt to begin with but it doesn't sound like a long-life belt from your post :-(

Edited 27 September, 201411 yr by jaxx007

Yes I thought they were to but I'm glad I checked mine when I did

Interesting..... what if a 1.6tdi 60 plate at 4 years old had done 16,000 miles.....  would you still change the belt etc, oh its driven sensibly if that matters. Thanks

Regardless of miles they should be changed at the fist interville that it has reached.ruber detiorates after time which can lead to it cracking and making the belt weak. Personally if I was you I would take the top cover off and just check the condition of the belt.

I will get my friend (mechanic) who is far more mechanically minded than myself to do it and give it a sneaky check.

I emailed Skoda about this, as I wanted to know what they now say the interval is, as have heard that it's much longer in other countries (despite being the same product).

 

They replied with the below - they didn't answer about the difference in suggested change intervals in the rest of Europe.

   
Subject:    SD-2014/09-019157

Dear (removed)

Thank you for your recent contact in relation to the cambelt on your vehicle. Please accept my apologies for the delay in my
response. I have attempted to call you on the number which we have on our records. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in reaching
you.

I can confirm that the replacement interval for the cambelt on your vehicle is 140,000 miles or five years (whichever comes
first).

I hope this information proves useful. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me quoting the above
reference number. Thank you for contacting ŠKODA UK.

Kind regards


Philip Rhodes
Customer Relations Advisor

wow...... 140k !!!! Bloody hell my car has done 16k in near enough the same period ! I need to get out more.

4/5 years is SUK's "recommendation", ie it is not mandatory. I challenged it over a year ago and got an email response to this. I then also specifically challenged the fact that workshops claim 4/5 year replacement is mandatory and again got an email stating "it is just a recommendation". Frankly, it's VAG UK con, discussed many times before, no other VAG distributor in Europe has time limit on belts, just mileage limit. Don't fall for it, inspect belt from half mileage onwards, replace if visibly worn or if reached mileage.

Edited 3 October, 201411 yr by dieselV6

That approach does sound sensible, i don't see how my belt with 16k under its '' belt '' and driven like Miss Daisy can be ready for a swap.

But you know how you drive.

 

If you buy an Ex lease car at 3 or 4 Years old, and that has been doing 30,000 miles a year,

maybe a Hire Car or Driving School vehicle,

or even maybe one that has only done 3,000 miles a year as a Mobility Finance Lease car,  you may well choose to have 

a Full Major Service done including belt change.

 

george

Low mileage cars often can mean more stress on the belt due to more cold starts etc. That's why there is a time limit.

 

Skoda recently changed their timing belt intervals for all cars manufactured after a certain date (some time in 2010 I believe).

 

Phil

But you know how you drive.

 

If you buy an Ex lease car at 3 or 4 Years old, and that has been doing 30,000 miles a year,

maybe a Hire Car or Driving School vehicle,

or even maybe one that has only done 3,000 miles a year as a Mobility Finance Lease car,  you may well choose to have 

a Full Major Service done including belt change.

 

george

Agree i have owned it from virtually new so know its history, an ex lease or company car driven like an F1 racer would certainly be treated to a belt change, when we had my partners 1.9TDI Elegance Fabia done a year ago (its an 06 plate) it had done 50k on the clock and the belt was virtually new..... when compared to the new one it was hardly any different and that was at 7 years old when it should have been changed after 4.

Edited 4 October, 201411 yr by Hudson1

Peoples Experiences and Workshop Reports, Warranty Claim Numbers is how Manufacturers know they can Extend Service Schedule Times and Guidelines.

(as well as other stuff.)

 

When a New Car, totally new like a Up! Mii Citigo come out, you do not know how they will be after 3 years untill after 3 years from them going on sale to the public.

Even if they tested as Mules for 18 months.

 

The vRS MK2 was on Fixed Servicing, and then after 2 years was given a Variable Servicing Code.

They have a 40,000 mile Spark Plug Service Schedule and have since 2009

 

Yet Spark Plugs have been failing at less than half that for 3 years now & VW never tell the Workshops / Technicians 

that they should not stick to Service Schedules or Guidelines,

& report Failing Plugs to Skoda HQ, and they may review the Service Schedule.

 

There is a Difference Between Lease / Fleet Servicing and Service Plans, & EU / UK & Rest of World.

Service & Maintenance & then Private Owned cars and Dealerships wanting Income from Service & Maintenance.

 

Volkswagen Group seem to make it up on the hoof, more than other Manufacturers,

& VW's can have the Same engines as in a Skoda and different Service Regimes.

 

What VW do not do is give 5 Year Warranties as Standard, you pay to get the extra 2 years,

& the chance of 7 Year Warranties as Standard with VW Products is probably never going to happen.

They have no faith in there own Products and Components.

 

 

What VW do not do is give 5 Year Warranties as Standard, you pay to get the extra 2 years,

& the chance of 7 Year Warranties as Standard with VW Products is probably never going to happen.

They have no faith in there own Products and Components.

I have always wondered about this, its the like of Kia and Hyundai that give the 5 and 7 year warranties but the so called '' premium '' makers appear not to have much faith in their own products by still giving the usual 3 year warranty....... says a lot about how the Koreans are starting to build cars i think.

Been told that skoda's built before August 2010 are every 4 years for timing belts. Skoda's built from September 2010 are every 5 year's.

I have always wondered about this, its the like of Kia and Hyundai that give the 5 and 7 year warranties but the so called '' premium '' makers appear not to have much faith in their own products by still giving the usual 3 year warranty....... says a lot about how the Koreans are starting to build cars i think.

But those warranties aren't quite the same as not everything is covered for the full period. Some things are only covered for 3 years.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Lots on info on here from 2009 when the current belts were starting out (I think).

 

http://www.continental-corporation.com/www/pressportal_com_en/themes/press_releases/1_topics/fairs_events/hidden/salon_geneva_2005/ct_salon_geneva_en.html

Anyone has ever suffered from throttle response or hesitation issues with these 1.6tdi engines, mainly at low rpm?

Been told that skoda's built before August 2010 are every 4 years for timing belts. Skoda's built from September 2010 are every 5 year's.

So my car was ordered at the height of the VAT Free offer in July 2010 and delivered at the end of September 2010. Anyway I can find out whether it is 4 or 5 years?

Phone a dealer, ask them to check the Interval. All you need to give them is the reg plate and they can tell you when your service is due, brake fluid, fuel filter and timing belt intervals etc over the phone.

They often do tell you,  over the phone, or sitting face to face over the Service Reception Desk.

 

What the person says after reading what they see on the screen is not always correct though.

Like the 'Pretty Faced blonde one (dyed) ', that told me, my MK2 vRS must be a Diesel even though she was checking the VIN & Reg No.,

 and she said they do not come as Automatics.

She has only been working there for 5 years, and she still was convinced i was wrong and she was right,

when i walked out.

 

george

Edited 21 October, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi

Isnt it pointless to say the interval is mandatory, when the warranty will have long expired and even consequential failure of such items would not be covered, and even if it failed in warranty, they would wriggle out with "fair wear and tear"

 

Conti engineered the cambelt drive for VAG, and have long claimed "lifetime", although what constitutes "lifetime" is unclear. If its easy, a regular inspection of the belt would be the way to go. Back in the days of the mk1 fabia, the service book recommended this approach in the printed schedule.

 

Having said all that, I believe the majority of cambelt failures have been due to tensioner failure or auxiliary failure e.g. seized water pumps driven off the belt, which I think they dont do any more.

Edited 21 October, 201411 yr by xman

If your car is a 10 plate it's highly likely that it's due now. 60 plate then Feb/Mar next year.