1.4 TSI DSG Cam belt or chain?

[ajw1100]

Does the 1.4 TSI DSG have a belt or chain? Also what are the service/replacement requirements/costs? It is likely we will only cover around 5k miles a year.

[themanwithnoaim]

Difficult to calculate inflation over the next 8 to 12 years prior to your car needing that service/replacement consideing your current mileage.  Really don't think its something that should concern you though, the DSG needs servicing more frequently than the cam chain which is what they have IIRC from a FB thread recently.

[ajw1100]

Thanks and quite understand. As usual didn't explain myself properly. I was just asking which it had, chain or belt? And when it should need servicing or replacement if it is a belt and if so cost.

 

My Passat needed a new belt every 4 years at a cost of around £400 incl pump etc. My current Avensis has a chain which should not need replaceing unless something goes wrong.

[lostp]

It's a new 'long life' belt, in theory every 100,000 miles or so? Personally I'd do it sooner than that but think that's the official line.

[themanwithnoaim]

Sorry seems the FB stuff was rubish (no surprize there then) I did some digging about on the EA211 engine and found this page on it http://blog.caranddriver.com/we-sample-the-ea211-volkswagen%E2%80%99s-next-global-four-cylinder-engine-series/ which shows its a life-time cam BELT another confirmation on pistonheads but I shut the page without taking the link, a lot of people doubt the lifetime claims but, I guess like many other things in life only time will tell.

 

Still be a great question for customer service when it fails "well you guys said lifetime"

 

Regards

T

 

Edit. Beat me to it Lostp, well done but not hard really I'm getting old just like my poor computer.

Edited 4 November, 2014 by themanwithnoaim

[Geek42]

As already mentioned, it is a long-life belt. Skoda has an online system that I used to look this up (ERWIN) and the official line is that the belt should be checked after 150k miles and checked every 18k miles after that (converted from 240k km and 30k km respectively). No official replacement schedule.

 

More here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/317272-service-schedule/

[LiamONeill]

While conventional wisdom says the chains are a better choice that isn't always the case. The Mk2's chain-driven petrol engines have issues with that chain slipping and destroying the engine (http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/266114-18tsi-and-20tsi-engine-failures/) which it seems is common across the VAG group using those engine. 

BMW/Mini also have timing chain issues and potentially big repair bills. 

[Geek42]

While conventional wisdom says the chains are a better choice that isn't always the case.

 

Agreed, the only issue I've had with timing devices was a chain, on a Mondeo. I bought it used (with 80k miles on the clock) and after about two weeks started to notice a rattle. I had it checked out by an independent who suggested a mis-tensioned timing chain. The garage I bought it from had a look and insisted that it was something else, and told me to carry on driving it until they had a free slot to make the repair. I put in writing my displeasure with their advice and when it died catastrophically a week later they were left with a far more costly repair.

 

I failed to reject it as all the usual helpful associations told me that a car with 80k miles on it can't be expected to be in good condition and my only choice was to let them try to repair it (I was advised that they'd have to fail to repair it at least 3 times before I'd stand a chance of rejecting it in a legal wrangle).

 

It was never right after that, but I kept it going for 2 years without spending a bean on it and then chopped it in, so in the end not so bad. For me anyway.

[ajw1100]

Excellent replies, my thanks to you all. :clap:

 

Yes, result!

That is another plus point for the Skoda Ocatvia 1.4 Elegance Estate. Maybe its similar to the new Focus ecoboost engine which on a YouTube video by some techy guy from Fords said their belt was a lifetime belt which was kept in good condition as it ran in an oil bath. Cannot remember exactly but that was the jist of it. I wondered how long a life they reckoned  the car had.

 

Or maybe not.......

Just looked at the:  http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/317272-service-schedule/ link as on Geek42 post above (I will get the hang of quotes and links one day) so there seems to be some controversy  about this, although reading the other links it seems that it may be a lifetime belt. I will have to check with SK UK.......

[Geek42]

It's a lifetime belt, as confirmed by ERWIN and SUK customer services in an e-mail to me. Any dealer quoting 4 year replacement interval is being a plank (or worse).

[ajw1100]

That's very good news, being a newbie what does ERWIN stand for?

[Geek42]

Electronic Repair and Workshop INformation service. Online tool giving independent garages all the info they need to service and maintain a Skoda. I bought 1 hours access for a fiver to check the service schedule!

[philwoodphoto]

That's very good news, being a newbie what does ERWIN stand for?

 

https://erwin.skoda-auto.cz/erwin/showHome.do;jsessionid=046CF7F651E7E5A8963CB5734DAA7E2A

[Lung]

Does the 1.2 have the lifetime belt or a chain?

[ajw1100]

Now I know its now bookmarked

[Orville]

The only cambelt failure I personally know of was my fathers Renault Megane Scenic. The original belt was changed according to service schedule (5 years), and then the new one failed 2 or 3 days afterwards. He heard a few misfires seconds before loud rattling and check engine lights. The engine required a full rebuild but fortunately it cost him nothing (other than aggravation) due to the Main Dealer accepting liability for a dodgy install.

I will never replace a cambelt within any of my cars because a new one is more likely to fail (be fitted incorrectly or not tensioned correctly) than the old one. Modern cambelts are Kevlar reinforced and covered so will likely last much much longer than the car.

[philwoodphoto]

The only cambelt failure I personally know of was my fathers Renault Megane Scenic. The original belt was changed according to service schedule (5 years), and then the new one failed 2 or 3 days afterwards. He heard a few misfires seconds before loud rattling and check engine lights. The engine required a full rebuild but fortunately it cost him nothing (other than aggravation) due to the Main Dealer accepting liability for a dodgy install.

I will never replace a cambelt within any of my cars because a new one is more likely to fail (be fitted incorrectly or not tensioned correctly) than the old one. Modern cambelts are Kevlar reinforced and covered so will likely last much much longer than the car.

I've snapped 3 cambelts in my driving history. A mark 2 astra that cost me £15 for a new one and it was an easy diy job. Then I snapped two in a 16v mark 3 astra, both required £1000+ engine rebuilds! Needless to say I changed my A4 V6 quad cam belt well before it needed it - didn't fancy breaking that one. So I broke the gearbox instead! :-/ Looking forward to a cam belt that will last as long as I will own it when my Octy finally arrives

[Orville]

I've snapped 3 cambelts in my driving history. A mark 2 astra that cost me £15 for a new one and it was an easy diy job. Then I snapped two in a 16v mark 3 astra, both required £1000+ engine rebuilds! Needless to say I changed my A4 V6 quad cam belt well before it needed it - didn't fancy breaking that one. So I broke the gearbox instead! :-/ Looking forward to a cam belt that will last as long as I will own it when my Octy finally arrives

Pehaps you should just stay clear of Astra's. 3 broken cambelts must be a record for one person.

[philwoodphoto]

Pehaps you should just stay clear of Astra's. 3 broken cambelts must be a record for one person.

I'm staying well clear of them - the ecotec engines were notorious for it, suppose to change them every 40k! Mind you my first car was a mark 1, passed around the whole family from new, fantastic car!

[Geek42]

My first car was a Cavalier, and the cambelt was due a change every 36k miles or 4 years. Mind you, it had an engine management problem once and on one day it had a full service, timing belt and new ECU and the whole lot came to just over £250, and that was at a Vauxhall main dealer (a few years ago mind). SWMBO had a Clio not long after for which they wanted £250 just to change the belt, so the Cav wasn't so bad.

[wolverine5pl]

i cant belive its LIFE TIME belt. no way belt gonna last that long.

[PetrolDave]

3 minutes ago, wolverine5pl said:

i cant belive its LIFE TIME belt. no way belt gonna last that long.

Many engineers say that "life time" means until it fails, i.e. it says nothing about the actual length of time the item will work for.

[Warrior193]

8 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

Many engineers say that "life time" means until it fails, i.e. it says nothing about the actual length of time the item will work for.

And when it does eventually fail, the engine most probably will be scrap 😒

[J.R.]

29 minutes ago, wolverine5pl said:

i cant belive its LIFE TIME belt. no way belt gonna last that long.

 

I believe it, everything on earth lasts for it's lifetime, no more and no less.

[Ootohere]

@wolverine5plEven if the belt was lifetime there is the very good observation in another thread this week.  The tensioner / springs/ bearings are not.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/509743-thoughts-on-timing-belt-changes

 

VW / Skoda UK or their contractors for Customer Services give the same answer year after year.

Mk3 1.4 TSI / DSG.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/458348-timing-belt/page/3

 

 

Edited 8 January, 2023 by toot