My Vrs Tdi wagon is just on 5 years old and has done 39k, it's going in on Thursday for Cambelt, tensioners and Waterpump £600 all in at my local main dealer. Two local independent garages quoted about £50 less so for the peace of mind Skoda it is. Think its advisable to stick to the 5 year change regardless of mileage. 

8 hours ago, seriesdriver said:

I believe there was a time years ago when the diesel tdi waterpumps had a plastic impeller which had a habit of not staying connected to the pump shaft this habit was stopped when the pumps were given metal impellers.

It was the petrol engine (I think 1.8T) that had the plastic impeller that came unstuck. The diesels got a design with a shutter for faster warm up, which appears to be less reliable than originally hoped for.

Replace timing belt at 210000 kms for non dust rich countries.
 

This is what my service manual says. No time interval is mentioned.

My local Skoda dealer said the timing belt can last 10 years with no issues and that they never had snapped/broken belt. But the water pumps start to leak pretty often...  

They said that even the *fixed* water pumps start to leak after 4-5 years.

6 hours ago, fr1nklyn said:

Replace timing belt at 210000 kms for non dust rich countries.
 

This is what my service manual says. No time interval is mentioned.

Which is why there has been much debate on here as to why Skoda UK 'recommend' that the cambelts are changed every 5 years - no other VAG importer appears to 'recommend' this interval and Skoda UK have never been forthcoming with a 'good reason' so the cynics suggest it's just a revenue generating opportunity for UK Skoda dealers!

 

But if a UK Skoda owner wants any possibility of a 'goodwill' contribution in the event of a catastrophic cambelt failure then not changing it at 5 years would be a major factor.

Edited 12 April, 20215 yr by PetrolDave

@PetrolDave True - the climate in UK isn’t that different from the rest of the EU countries.

 

I think that cambelt service is more like an option to extend your warranty(of the engine only) with 2 years.

I would change the belt and water pump. 5 years is a decent time for a belt and the associated parts while its stripped it is good practice to also change the water pump as that can also fail.

As a car is probably the second most expensive item people purchase why take the risk I have seen many VAG diesel engines go bang a cheap repair for that is 5K plus. Distance traveled as mentioned is only one factor to take into account.

 

As a separate point you will be due a major / full / 6 year service next year also if following the service schedule replacing fuel, air and pollen filters a delay will increase the cost next year. Along with a worry about reliability of the belt.

 

No one's going to go against manufacturer's guidance. This image is a 7yr old Fabia pd cam belt about to be changed, 38k miles after last change. Overdue on time (by 3yrs) The belt is smooth, no cracks, fraying as yet.

 

This can belt Q came up before. Apparently, the same 2l diesel engine is found in VW and Audi, yet VW offered 7yr and Audi 9yr on Cam belt.

 

I heard the Bora diesels had plastic impellers that broke but if s metal impeller seizes it throws out the whole timing of the belt destroying the engine. The metal is stronger, the plastic breaks.

 

Different manufacturer, but friend who breaks cars had a couple of timing belt fails on Peugeots, both went at 60 k plus miles and were over 10 years. 

Another car, a Xantia went on 70k miles. Owner had one belt kit change and it went to 140,000 miles and he forgot about the next interval. 

 

The mileage was more important as the belt had come to its threshold.

 

Lots of factors way in, but I think you would get to 40k  or another 2 years before contemplating. Are Cam belts really this fragile nowadays?

 

Pulleys might start to squeal and give sign they giving up.

 

20k seems too low imo.

 

I take a picture of my Octavia and we can all compare belts!

Its the underside of the belt that should be scrutinised, preferably where it takes a reverse curvature around the tensioner, any cracking at the root of the teeth is more apparent that way.

Another use for my endoscope camera...

12 hours ago, J.R. said:

Its the underside of the belt that should be scrutinised, preferably where it takes a reverse curvature around the tensioner, any cracking at the root of the teeth is more apparent that way.

Exactly this, I see the image is of a 7 year belt on a pd that is a bigger risk as pds are know to be harder on timing belts.

Could someone post a guide, image or video about how to be able to see the top of the belt like in the pic above? Is it simply a case of pulling the cover to one side in the octavia?