Kodiaq cam belt replacement: required or advisory?

[tckirby]

I’m buying a petrol 1.4 Kodiaq and am actively talking to 2 different authorised Skoda dealers. 

Dealer A says the cambelt needs changing every 60k miles or 5 years. Dealer B says this is merely advisory and not needed on petrol Skodas. 

Both offer 1yr warranty. Both cars around 55k miles and little to choose between them other than location and B is £1k cheaper than A and several hundred miles nearer where I live. 

 

Who should I believe?

[Yogi-Bear]

Dealer A.

 

Dealer B is talking out of his arse. Of course, you don’t have to do it… but you don’t really want it to break on you. And the 1 year warranty won’t cover the cam belt breaking if it hasn’t been replaced as per Skoda’s schedule.

 

See also:

 

 

[skomaz]

Dealer B is correct in relation to the official workshop manual...   the 1.4TSi engine has no mileage or time limit shown and is 'supposed' to be a 'lifetime' belt.

 

 

Dealer A is quoting the 'recommendation' that Skoda UK apply in the UK but goes against the official workshop manual and advice for the rest of the world.

 

The above info posted by Yogi appears incorrect anyway as the water pump is not driven by the timing belt but by an auxilliary belt on the other side of the engine.

 

Now make of that what you will - it will be your vehicle and your choice.  Many on here will tell you to replace it as a precaution against failure of it and the tensioner but Skoda don't seem to think it is necessary and neither do VW or Audi in other countries.

[Yogi-Bear]

Meh. Shows what I Skoda know 🙂.

 

If Dealer B is willing to put it in writing that the belt doesn't need to be done, go for it. If they put in writing that it will be covered by the warranty if it fails, then bonus, but I wouldn't count on them doing that as it will still be considered a 'consumable' even if it doesn't have a recommended interval for changing.

[tckirby]

Thanks both. I think I'll buy the cheaper car but have the belt replaced myself as I can't stand the thought of it breaking. They refused to take off the cost of a new cam belt from the price of the car, but at least they were good enough to knock off £250 "as a gesture of goodwill"...

[silver1011]

Be aware that if you choose to get your cambelt changed at a Skoda main dealer, it now costs a whopping £780 for the 1.4 TSI.

 

I phoned around three of my nearest dealers, they all quoted the same (or very similar), all blaming Skoda UK’s new ‘menu pricing’.

 

It’s a long story so I won’t bore you, but I booked it in at a local VAG specialist instead (£450), but they rang me up halfway through telling me they couldn’t change it, their alignment tool wouldn’t fit. This is despite them changing more than 8 cambelts on the 1.4 TSI this year already without issue. Seems my Kodiaq timing is unique!

 

Reluctantly I’ve booked it in at Skoda, after they offered me a whopping £40 discount. Even more galling is the fact that it’s only us in the UK that have to change it at 5 years.

[silver1011]

On 01/06/2023 at 15:08, skomaz said:

The above info posted by Yogi appears incorrect anyway as the water pump is not driven by the timing belt but by an auxilliary belt on the other side of the engine.

That was my post, and whilst the advice on the water pump is indeed incorrect, the UK’s 5 year or 135,000 miles interval for (my) 1.4 TSI was also confirmed more recently by my local dealer.

[Ootohere]

With the Kodiaq as with other models and TSI's when asking for quotes or booking in you really need to be sure that Service Desk staff know if it is a 1.4 TSI, (or 1.4 TSI ACT with cars with those or 1.5 or 1.5 TSI's. )

Prices and quotes are all over the place. 

[silver1011]

I read some of your other posts on the issues with cambelt changes on the 1.5 TSI ACT, they were very helpful thank you toot.

 

My 2018 1.4 TSI is also ACT, I wonder if this is the reason my local VAG specialist struggled.

[tckirby]

It’s a ‘lifetime part’ but they don’t cover its failure under warranty… odd. 
 

Thanks for the various helpful responses. 

[Ootohere]

The belt lasts it's lifetime.   be that a 5,10, 15 or 20 year lifetime.  Maybe it would be the time the queen lived.

 

The tensioners, bearings etc also last a lifetime, but that might be many years less than the belt.

 

They will cover the parts (& labour) for 2 years.

 

Edited 3 June, 2023 by toot

[skomaz]

1 hour ago, silver1011 said:

Even more galling is the fact that it’s only us in the UK that have to change it at 5 years.

 

So what does that tell you?

 

 That the same engine made in the same factory but sold elsewhere doesn't need a change at 5 years...   And that Skoda UK are taking UK owners for a ride by telling them something is needed that isn't?

 

Thats what it tells me. 

 

Even their own workshop manual says it isn't needed. 

 

And yes George is right that other associated parts could fail.  That's a risk but the workshop manual would then have that noted wouldn't it...   Just like it has time and mileage limits for other parts. 

Edited 3 June, 2023 by skomaz

[tckirby]

All very well, but if the workshop manual says it doesn’t need replacing, why doesn’t the car’s warranty (either new or 1-year second hand from an approved dealer) cover it? Particularly considering how badly it will screw up the rest of the engine if it breaks at full power?

[silver1011]

Presumably because the warranty terms, conditions and duration are also set by Skoda UK (essentially an importer), unlike the workshop manual which isn’t.

 

Skoda UK can hoodwink their customers, but have limited influence over Skoda themselves?

[silver1011]

9 hours ago, skomaz said:

So what does that tell you?

It tells me the same. But then this isn’t new, even before Skoda UK upped their blanket time interval from 4 to 5 years they were insisting cambelts be changed where the workshop manuals didn’t.

 

But back then a cambelt was around £400, and for that I deemed it acceptable preventative maintenance. At twice the price they’re simply profiteering now.

 

If a local garage can quote for genuine parts and the labour time as well as offering a courtesy car, then Skoda UK are seemingly using the cambelt myth as an alternative to the “your brakes are 80% worn” yarn.

 

Still, what are the alternatives? I guess it depends on an individuals perception of risk. Don’t change it and accept if it does fail it’s going to be an expensive repair, or change it and sleep easier for two years.

 

I have Skoda’s All-In warranty which has just agreed to replace a leaking water pump, which as it happens usually costs around £400. A condition of that warranty is that I follow the manufacturers service and maintenance schedule. Now, is that Skoda’s schedule, or Skoda UK’s!? 😂

[Ootohere]

If the Warranty T&C,s say to the Manufacturers Schedule or Specifications then good.

 

They said Guidelines or Recommendation in the past and more recently they said Specification.    Ask at a Main Dealer and they seem to not know  the actual Schedule or Specifications at the Service Desk.

Actually are all Skoda / VW approved cars at 5 years serviced with a FMDSH getting a Cam Belt replaced? 

 

 

SKODA_Warranty_Terms_November_2021 (1).pdf VWFS_11815379_SKODA_AUW_Booklet_0922E.pdf

Edited 4 June, 2023 by toot