Cambelt Failure

[Suuntobob]

Has anyone had a cambelt failure on a 1.4 dsg TSi if so what was the age and age of the belt?

[robs12]

Might be a very quiet thread...

Will be interested to see if anyone says yes!

[varaderoguy]

This is a a slightly subjective response but here goes....

 

In essence, once every 5 years and around 90 to 120k miles. People have got 150k and still not changed it. It was usually a failed waterpump that causes them to change the belt.

 

In essence, it also depends on how well you look after the car. Do you let the car warm up? Do you drive it with mechanical sympathy? Do you drive fast/hard or gently/respectfully? All these factors will determine how long a belt lasts.

 

I would first start and look at the belt itself. Is it worn, fraid or stretched? Is it cracked? If so, it is time for replacement.

 

Please remember to change the waterpump at the same time.

[Gerrycan]

@varaderoguy's response is generally accurate as far as belt life is concerned but the reference to the water pump replacement is a less obvious  action on a tsi compared to a tdi..

 

On the tdi the water pumps failures are commonly reported (see pinned thread) and being on the same side of the engine as the cambelt if you are replacing one then it is recommended to do both.

 

The small tsi engine's water pump is on the other end of the engine which adds to the complication and cost of replacement. It is also far less prone to failure than the tdi's pump although it is not unknown. Mine failed at about 60k km after 4.5 years, but fortunately right at the end of a near 4000km holiday road trip where I could get away with just topping it up for the last 100km. 

There is a reported water pump 1.4tsi failure currently in the Superb 3 section, but as I say reports are relatively few.

 

Our car's belt is over 7 years old and still looks in good condition. Our car is driven conservatively, only 80k km on the clock, and serviced annually. I have never heard of a belt snap reported here yet so I'm gambling that I can get away with it for another couple of years before replacing the belt or the car entirely for an EV.

 

Edited 11 November, 2021 by Gerrycan

[MATT0693]

As with the above posts, it depends on a lot of factors.

The interval will be every 5 years or X Mileage, although, I have seen cars do in excess of 100k/10 years without a change.
varaderoguy is spot on, check the belt for any signs of wear and listen out for any odd noises from the tensioners/bearings.. if something isn't right change it.

If it fails, you will end up with a large bill for an engine rebuild, or buying a replacement engine is sometimes the cheaper option.
 

[PetrolDave]

Given the lack of consistent information from VAG importers about the cambelt life on the EA211 (some say it's for life, some including the UK Skoda importer say 5 years or 50K miles) I chose to bite the bullet and have the cambelt replaced after 5 years - and declined the offer to replace the water pump as (unlike on the 2.0 TSI) it's on the other end of the engine and reports of it failing are very rare.

[varaderoguy]

8 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

less obvious  action on a tsi compared to a tdi

I have TDI blinkers on.....apologies.  Its still a good call to replace the water-pump though - 2015 was still a known year for premature water pump failures.

[Gerrycan]

Forgot to mention that belt replacement for my car is recommended after 7 years in Australia. 

The recommendation was pointed out to me prior the last service but to be fair they did not try the hard sell when I declined.

[robs12]

So nobody with a 1.4 Tsi failure yet then so far.

 

...and a mix of TDi and TSI responses - completely different engines and service intervals of course.

[MarkyG82]

Nobody has actually answered the question. 

For what it's worth I've not heard of a 1.4 belt failure. Failures are relatively rare these days due to improvements in manufacturing and materials.

 

@Suuntobob can you elaborate a bit on why you'd like to know?

[robs12]

I guess it's the choice at 5-6 years old of following the UK stealer's advice of change the belt at 5 years (at considerable cost), or follow the manufacturer's advice from the workshop manual of inspect at 240,000km then every 30,000km (both the separate cambelt and water pump belts).

 

I'm taking the latter path, given I have a copy of the workshop manual and also the VW literature for the EA211 engine which clearly states maintenance free belt for life of the vehicle. I'll trust the manufacturer over a dealer...

 

I'll let you know how I get on 😉

[Suuntobob]

10 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Given the lack of consistent information from VAG importers about the cambelt life on the EA211 (some say it's for life, some including the UK Skoda importer say 5 years or 50K miles) I chose to bite the bullet and have the cambelt replaced after 5 years - and declined the offer to replace the water pump as (unlike on the 2.0 TSI) it's on the other end of the engine and reports of it failing are very rare.

Thats why I am asking the question to see how long the cambelt as lasted till failure, because know seems to have a definitive answer on when to change the bloody thing!

[Suuntobob]

57 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

Nobody has actually answered the question. 

For what it's worth I've not heard of a 1.4 belt failure. Failures are relatively rare these days due to improvements in manufacturing and materials.

 

@Suuntobob can you elaborate a bit on why you'd like to know?

 I am asking the question to see how long the cambelt as lasted till failure, because know seems to have a definitive answer on when to change the bloody thing!

[Suuntobob]

23 hours ago, Suuntobob said:

Has anyone had a cambelt failure on a 1.4 dsg TSi if so what was the mileage and age of the belt?

Also how long have people left the mileage and or age before changing

[MarkyG82]

You could treat it like many other parts of the car that need maintenance: hold out till it either you or it breaks. Issue being that a cam belt failure can easily write an engine off. Personally I would be more cautious and get it replaced at a reasonable time period (5 years or soon after* depending on mileage).

 

*This can be defined as 6/7 years or @robs12's approach. Both are valid. 

 

depends how deep your pockets are.

Shallow? Wait and have it checked periodically.

Got spare cash for maintenance? Get it done at 5/6/7 years.

Loaded? Wait till it goes boom and get another car!

[Suuntobob]

I ve had mine since 2000miles and 9 months old, it is now 6 years old and done 35000 miles of grandad driving. 

I live in the Trent valley which has no extreme temperatures. 

[robs12]

I think the problem is that any answers to the question (how long until it failed) are going to be such a small sample size (if it even reaches one!) that it is not really going to give you an answer you can use.

If there were any failures, there would be so many variables over usage (how often, temperatures, long periods unused, dusty conditions etc) that it would be meaningless anyway unless there had been many failures and some correlation could be made.

I am also yet to hear of a single failure....so statistically speaking, quite happy to not change it at 5 years. But if 90% of owners do change at 5 years (perhaps unnecessarily) then you will never hear of failures anyway...

Will be a good question to ask in another 5 years - of people that have not changed it.

 

You take your chances!

[fabdavrav]

The timing belts on the EA211 engines were designed to be "service life reliably spans the life of the entire vehicle!”.

 

I've decided to stick to the old 5yrs interval for peace of mind...& that's probably why VWUK state it also..to stop expensive claims...

 

The water pump on the EA211 was specifically moved to the other side of the engine & has its own belt..so if it shreds that it won't cause the main belt to shred..

[robs12]

4 minutes ago, fabdavrav said:

The timing belts on the EA211 engines were designed to be "service life reliably spans the life of the entire vehicle!”.

 

That's what they said...but they don't actually state how long the life of the vehicle should be (that I have found anyway..!).....if it were only 5-6 years then....fair enough 😉

[fabdavrav]

13 minutes ago, robs12 said:

 

That's what they said...but they don't actually state how long the life of the vehicle should be (that I have found anyway..!).....if it were only 5-6 years then....fair enough 😉

 

7yrs is the design life of the cars these days...but I still wouldn't trust it.....

[ords]

I guess if you've taken out an extended warranty,  you'll have to have it changed at the recommended times otherwise you may not be covered.

[PetrolDave]

13 hours ago, Suuntobob said:

 I am asking the question to see how long the cambelt as lasted till failure, because know seems to have a definitive answer on when to change the bloody thing!

Given that IIRC there has only been mention of one report on here of a cambelt failure on an EA211 engine you're not going to get any significant information from that question.

 

IMHO it would be more useful to ask how long people have been running with the original cambelt (times and miles/km) as that would elicit more replies.

 

Having said all that as this is a negative clearance engine (like the vast majority of modern engines the piston will hit a mistimed valve) the effect of cambelt failure will be many times more expensive than a precautionary cambelt change IMHO.

[Suuntobob]

On 11/11/2021 at 01:24, Gerrycan said:

@varaderoguy's response is generally accurate as far as belt life is concerned but the reference to the water pump replacement is a less obvious  action on a tsi compared to a tdi..

 

On the tdi the water pumps failures are commonly reported (see pinned thread) and being on the same side of the engine as the cambelt if you are replacing one then it is recommended to do both.

 

The small tsi engine's water pump is on the other end of the engine which adds to the complication and cost of replacement. It is also far less prone to failure than the tdi's pump although it is not unknown. Mine failed at about 60k km after 4.5 years, but fortunately right at the end of a near 4000km holiday road trip where I could get away with just topping it up for the last 100km. 

There is a reported water pump 1.4tsi failure currently in the Superb 3 section, but as I say reports are relatively few.

 

Our car's belt is over 7 years old and still looks in good condition. Our car is driven conservatively, only 80k km on the clock, and serviced annually. I have never heard of a belt snap reported here yet so I'm gambling that I can get away with it for another couple of years before replacing the belt or the car entirely for an EV.

 

Thanks Gerrycan

[Suuntobob]

On 11/11/2021 at 19:26, robs12 said:

I guess it's the choice at 5-6 years old of following the UK stealer's advice of change the belt at 5 years (at considerable cost), or follow the manufacturer's advice from the workshop manual of inspect at 240,000km then every 30,000km (both the separate cambelt and water pump belts).

 

I'm taking the latter path, given I have a copy of the workshop manual and also the VW literature for the EA211 engine which clearly states maintenance free belt for life of the vehicle. I'll trust the manufacturer over a dealer...

 

I'll let you know how I get on 😉

I tend to have the same opinion as you have a lot of research on the internet, I get the feeling Skoda UK are just ensuring lots of work for their dealers,  praying on peoples fears. However I plan on keeping my car a 1.4 Tsi DSG petrol for a couple of more years till the electric car market has settled down and buy electric, and I can see that selling the car wont go well without proof of a cambelt change, so I am thinking I may as well change it now even though the cambelt will probably be ok. I will ask for it back and post pictures of belt and tensioners.

[mydadscar]

Due to motoring through the Welsh mountains on holiday, I took fright andrecently had my 2011 Octavia 1.6tdi belt replaced at 100.000 miles....My mechanic used a full 'Gates' kit belt and waterpump and charged all in £400.....Skoda price is curentl £600.