TIMING BELT CHANGE - 5 YEARS

[Yorkie6947]

Unpleasant and unwelcome shock in the wallet this morning when I arrived at the Skoda Dealer to drop my Superb Mark 3 off for Service and MOT!

Reminded that at 5 years, TIMING BELT should be changed and it would cost £550! - hope that is VAT inclusive!

Service reception tried to respond when I commented at cost by saying it was a big job and the alternative was unthinkable! Doesn't make my wallet feel better!!

 

Mind you, having said all this, as an Engineer, I spent quite a bit of time trying to equate these calendar maintenance events to time or mileages! Accepting of course that items such as belts, hoses etc. do have a finite shelf life!

 

However, surely in this day and age, it would not be beyond the bounds of possibility that an Engine cycle counter could be added to the Engine Management package and work out maintenance scheduling in terms of cycles?

 

My car is 5 years next month and has done 16120 miles!

[100andthirty]

Yorkie, I feel your pain. My timing belt event is in January next year. The issue with the belt is a mixture of time and mileage. Clearly the work the belt does is important but the deterioration over time can't be ignored. You could choose to leave the expenditure for another year, but it would always be your risk! 

 

I'm not an expert on timing belt technology but I have read lots about it and whilst some manufacturers quote longer lives for their belts, the interval often is reduced with practical experience. I guess "practical experience" means the loss of a few engines. Certainly for my cars over the last 20 years all but one of which have had belts, I've settled on 5 years as the replacement interval. I don't do such low mileage as you, though, but my mileage is still lower than average.

[Shaady]

Am sure I have heard somewhere that the interval is actually longer in other countries by quite some distance, so it seems the belts are capable of lasting longer they just put the fear in us in the hope we cave and get them changed!

[skomaz]

In the UK it's 5 years for Skoda but elsewhere in the world, or for the same engine in an Audi I recall VAG say it's 120,000 miles but inspect at services.

 

Personally on our old 2001 Fabia we did 80,000 miles on the first cambelt with no issues and on our current 2007 Octavia, where the recommendation is 4 years, have been changing it at 5 or 6 years, again with no issues.  I'm aware of the risks but accept those given the value of the car.

 

At 5 years and 16,000 miles I'd be tempted to decline the cambelt change and may be look at getting it done much more cheaply at an independent specialist in a year or so.

Edited 24 February, 2021 by skomaz

[Yorkie6947]

I think all the correspondents so far are correct in their thinking to a greater or lesser degree.

Choosing to stay loyal to the Main Dealer obviously costs as it has me!

 

As far as life is concerned, the quoted mileage seemed to universally be 70000 miles (120000 kilomtres).

I think the VAG Group have set 5 years for convenience sake, because service events are pretty much calendar based so as not to inconvenience and aggravate the customer too much!

 

On the basis of 70000 miles, 5 years life would be a mean annual mileage of 14000 - not far adrift of what we got used to - 12000 miles per annum!

 

Maybe the 120000 miles is in fact 120000 kilometres?

 

Anyway, job done now! Anyone want a 5 year old Superb at low mileage for a reasonable price?

[Gizmo]

The 5 year period is only on the UK, everywhere else it’s only on mileage... make of that what you will! 

[plasma99]

I’m sticking with what appears to be the continental recommendation of 210000 kms  (130000 miles) without time limit. 
 

It’s not without worry.  You do wonder if VAG UK really do know something that they are not publicising.  However, without an adequate explanation, I’m not adhering to the UK recommendation.
 

My hunch is that the belt and associated components are good for the lifetime of the car (unless you are a Taxi driver).  If VW are recommending a 130k mile change, that would be their worst case and you can bet your boots they have successfully tested the belts/associated components well above that mileage.

[Yorkie6947]

My hunch is that the belt and associated components are good for the lifetime of the car (unless you are a Taxi driver).  If VW are recommending a 130k mile change, that would be their worst case and you can bet your boots they have successfully tested the belts/associated components well above that mileage.

 

I'M DARN SURE YOU ARE RIGHT THERE! THEY WILL NOT TAKE TOO MANY RISKS!

 

INRTERESTING POINT YOU MAKE ABOUT VAG UK - I WONDER? I WOULDN'T HAVE EXPECTED THEM TO TAKE A DIFFERENT VIEW TO THE CONTINENT.

MAYBE THEY ARE INFLUENCED BY THE USA WHERE AVOIDING LITIGATION IS ALWAYS HIGH ON COMPANY AGENDA!

[irc]

It's a tricky one.   When the time comes I think I will probably just get it changed at 5 years and look on it as a one time expense. By the time it is 10 years the car value will be low enough I would gamble on a 5 year old 45-50k mile belt being OK for another year or two.

 

Probably replace the car at around that time anyway to get one of the last ICE cars. Assuming reality and issues with mass EV use and our electricity grid haven't  pushed the ICE ban back a bit.

[rafmike]

Ah the mysteries of Briskoda.  My lovely Superb went in today for five year service, brake fluid cx and timing belt cx, got a call from the garage at 14.00 “MrBenfield, timing belt has been replaced then we took it out for a test drive and about half a mile out the **1* hit the fan as the timing belt failed and to cut a very long and expletive ridden story short your engine needs a rebuild”. Not a problem you may think but the car goes in as part ex on Wednesday for my nice new shiny Octavia iv Vrs and I’m driving around in a roller skate called a Fabia ugh.  Earlier on in this chain someone mentioned that the danger time for timing belt cx was when the car was new or the first 500 miles after belt cx nobody mentioned the first 500 bl**** yards.  All I did was read up on timing belt cx on Briskoda.

 

Stroke of luck and saves me £14 (1 day road tax) but the garage where my car is and the garage where the new one is are both in the same group, now we find the meaning of customer service.

[DB72]

32 minutes ago, rafmike said:

Ah the mysteries of Briskoda.  My lovely Superb went in today for five year service, brake fluid cx and timing belt cx, got a call from the garage at 14.00 “MrBenfield, timing belt has been replaced then we took it out for a test drive and about half a mile out the **1* hit the fan as the timing belt failed and to cut a very long and expletive ridden story short your engine needs a rebuild”. Not a problem you may think but the car goes in as part ex on Wednesday for my nice new shiny Octavia iv Vrs and I’m driving around in a roller skate called a Fabia ugh.  Earlier on in this chain someone mentioned that the danger time for timing belt cx was when the car was new or the first 500 miles after belt cx nobody mentioned the first 500 bl**** yards.  All I did was read up on timing belt cx on Briskoda.

 

Stroke of luck and saves me £14 (1 day road tax) but the garage where my car is and the garage where the new one is are both in the same group, now we find the meaning of customer service.

 

Wow, I know it's called a timing belt but that really is what you call timing.

[rafmike]

1 hour ago, DB72 said:

 

Wow, I know it's called a timing belt but that really is what you call timing.

Well all agreed I get my  new car on Wednesday and Yeomans take over my old car when it’s been fixed.  There’s an old saying “It doesn’t matter what the retail problem is, what matters is what the seller does to rectify the situation “  quite frankly I don’t think that  they could have done more.  **1* happens.

[cnc]

1 hour ago, rafmike said:

Well all agreed I get my  new car on Wednesday and Yeomans take over my old car when it’s been fixed.  There’s an old saying “It doesn’t matter what the retail problem is, what matters is what the seller does to rectify the situation “  quite frankly I don’t think that  they could have done more.  **1* happens.

Mine new Superb came from Yeomans (although in my head I still call them Carrs Skoda). I have always been happy with their customer service. 

[Warrior193]

3 hours ago, rafmike said:

Ah the mysteries of Briskoda.  My lovely Superb went in today for five year service, brake fluid cx and timing belt cx, got a call from the garage at 14.00 “MrBenfield, timing belt has been replaced then we took it out for a test drive and about half a mile out the **1* hit the fan as the timing belt failed and to cut a very long and expletive ridden story short your engine needs a rebuild”. Not a problem you may think but the car goes in as part ex on Wednesday for my nice new shiny Octavia iv Vrs and I’m driving around in a roller skate called a Fabia ugh.  Earlier on in this chain someone mentioned that the danger time for timing belt cx was when the car was new or the first 500 miles after belt cx nobody mentioned the first 500 bl**** yards.  All I did was read up on timing belt cx on Briskoda.

 

Stroke of luck and saves me £14 (1 day road tax) but the garage where my car is and the garage where the new one is are both in the same group, now we find the meaning of customer service.

That's extraordinary, about the only good thing about it is that it happened while the garage still had it! 

[rafmike]

1 hour ago, cnc said:

Mine new Superb came from Yeomans (although in my head I still call them Carrs Skoda). I have always been happy with their customer service. 

 Cars IndianQueens and I have been having ups and downs for the best part of 15 years and six new Skodas.  It began when I told them that I would never buy a car from them until they got competitive and that I was happy to go up country for my Carwow car at £2000 cheaper and just because I lived in Cornwall did not mean that I was happy to pay their prices.   Yeomans, now they are turning out to be a fox of a different colour, bought a car from them and got great customer service.