I discovered to my horror recently that my 1.5TSI  Superb Estate is fitted with a wet belt engine.  Skoda don't give a service interval for this wet belt and besides its an astronomic cost (£1100 quoted) to replace it.  Given that Ford and Peugeot are having horrendous problems with their wet belts, what are the chances of failure?  I cannot see how anything other than a catastrophic failure can be detected to allow proper preventative maintenance.  If the belt fails, either the teeth will strip, screwing up the valve timing or the belt will fail entirely, both of which will cause catastrophic engine damage.  Also, if the faults with the Ford/Peugeot wet belts are indicative, then rubber dust from the belt wearing will mix with the oil and clog the oil pick-up pipe.  As Skoda don't fit an oil pressure gauge there is no hope of assessing low oil pressure without damage already having occurred.

 

It beggars belief that VAG engineers thought that running a rubber timing belt in oil was a good idea, its simply bad engineering.  But then to say that there is no service interval means that we just have to sit and await the inevitable.  At least with a steel timing chain a rattle after many, many miles is indicative of wear and the need for replacement, a belt is silent until the engine goes BANG!   

Best go do more research.  

Try the threads on this forum.

 

Edited 13 January, 20251 yr by Ootohere

40 minutes ago, evilC said:

I discovered to my horror recently that my 1.5TSI  Superb Estate is fitted with a wet belt engine.  Skoda don't give a service interval for this wet belt and besides its an astronomic cost (£1100 quoted) to replace it.  Given that Ford and Peugeot are having horrendous problems with their wet belts, what are the chances of failure?  I cannot see how anything other than a catastrophic failure can be detected to allow proper preventative maintenance.  If the belt fails, either the teeth will strip, screwing up the valve timing or the belt will fail entirely, both of which will cause catastrophic engine damage.  Also, if the faults with the Ford/Peugeot wet belts are indicative, then rubber dust from the belt wearing will mix with the oil and clog the oil pick-up pipe.  As Skoda don't fit an oil pressure gauge there is no hope of assessing low oil pressure without damage already having occurred.

 

It beggars belief that VAG engineers thought that running a rubber timing belt in oil was a good idea, its simply bad engineering.  But then to say that there is no service interval means that we just have to sit and await the inevitable.  At least with a steel timing chain a rattle after many, many miles is indicative of wear and the need for replacement, a belt is silent until the engine goes BANG!   

 

As noted above you ned to do some more reseach...   the EA211 1.5 TSI does NOT have a wet timing belt.

 

And it also has an extended life design that Skode UK have finally caught up with by removing the 5 yearly replacement schedule - bringing the UK into line with the rest of the world.

Interesting to read this. I hadn't thought this might have been an issue on my car. In order to put this concern to bed, what would be the best way to confirm whether a wet belt is present? 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/521596-vw-engine-wet-belts-are-there-any

 

Brilliant, thanks.

1 hour ago, george_d said:

Interesting to read this. I hadn't thought this might have been an issue on my car. In order to put this concern to bed, what would be the best way to confirm whether a wet belt is present? 

 

I'm pretty certain there are NO wet belt cam belts in any VW Group passenger vehicle EXCEPT the latest Transporter that I believe has one option that uses a Ford wet belt engine...

Edited 13 January, 20251 yr by skomaz

5 hours ago, skomaz said:

 

As noted above you ned to do some more reseach...   the EA211 1.5 TSI does NOT have a wet timing belt.

 

And it also has an extended life design that Skode UK have finally caught up with by removing the 5 yearly replacement schedule - bringing the UK into line with the rest of the world.

That is not what I was led to believe and confirmed by Listers Skoda.  If the timing belt is dry then why does it cost £1100 as quoted, to do a belt change that involves a partial strip down of the engine?  I also appreciate that Skoda, presumably along with the other VAG manufacturers have extended the service life of the belt to 180,000mls or 15 years, which makes me suspicious.  Extended service intervals are now being shown to have a deleterious effect on the engines with build up of contaminants causing failures.    

Independents £750 -£900. 

 Dealers, £850-£1,200 and charging for 6.5 hours. Some want the car for 2 days. 

Get it done if you so wish. 

 

 

 

 

You maybe need to speak to one of their technicians who actually does the job and knows the engine-

presumably its the service desk that “confirmed” to you it had a wet belt?  

Maybe they just confirmed what you told them- without knowing ?

Edited 13 January, 20251 yr by Shuggyboatsuperb

1.5TSI EA211 & EA211evo cambelt is definitely a dry belt.

The change, when specified, is more expensive than the 1.4 (also a dry belt) because there is apparently more work involved with this engine. 

Edited 13 January, 20251 yr by Warrior193
added information

There are different prices 1.4 TSI or 1.4 TSI ACT,   1.5 TSI or 1.5 TSI ACT.  There are places that price by the different kits used, pattern or OEM. 

Edited 13 January, 20251 yr by Ootohere

4 hours ago, evilC said:

That is not what I was led to believe and confirmed by Listers Skoda.  If the timing belt is dry then why does it cost £1100 as quoted, to do a belt change that involves a partial strip down of the engine?  I also appreciate that Skoda, presumably along with the other VAG manufacturers have extended the service life of the belt to 180,000mls or 15 years, which makes me suspicious.  Extended service intervals are now being shown to have a deleterious effect on the engines with build up of contaminants causing failures.    

 

Whoever you spoke to at Listers was talking out of thier arse...   IT IS NOT A WET CAM BELT.

 

It is expensive because the timing adjustment is complex and has to be done very precisely due to the fact that the engine has cylinder deactivation and thus requires specialist equipment to do so.  Dealers also generally tend to do it over two days due to its complexity, so the labour costs are very high.

On 13/01/2025 at 13:01, evilC said:

I discovered to my horror recently that my 1.5TSI  Superb Estate is fitted with a wet belt engine. 

Skoda don't give a service interval for this wet belt and besides its an astronomic cost (£1100 quoted) to replace it. 

 

what is your mileage

 

belt is from special material stronger than kevlar that lasts more than 200 000 miles without issue

 

service interval is to check the status first at 130 000 miles and then every 20 000 miles, replace only if needed

 

Any idea on replacement intervals on a superb 2.0 diesel 2023 ? Do these need specific tools as well like spoken about above ( post ) ?

5 hours ago, MP74 said:

Any idea on replacement intervals on a superb 2.0 diesel 2023 ? Do these need specific tools as well like spoken about above ( post ) ?

AFAIK, it's Every 210000km w/o time limit. The required tools, are quite standard tools for dry belts.

On 13/01/2025 at 13:06, george_d said:

Interesting to read this. I hadn't thought this might have been an issue on my car. In order to put this concern to bed, what would be the best way to confirm whether a wet belt is present? 

 

The EA211 only has a wet belt if you have an oil leak!

 

The belt change is more expensive on Active Cylinder Technology cars - but replacement intervals are long at 15 years or 180,000 miles .

 

Edited 15 January, 20251 yr by bigjohn

The new February edition of “Car Mechanics” magazine includes a “how to” guide for timing belt renewal on the 1.5 TSI evo engine, with lots of pictures and the special toolset needed, for anyone interested.

I believe there is a wet belt on the oil pump drive in the 2.0 litre diesel, maybe that is what he was on about.  These are also prone to failing over time.

You'd be correct. Oil pump is wet belt driven.