BonnieR

My dealership recommended I do a timing belt and water pump et al replacement on my 2006 MV, and I am wondering if this recommendation is appropriate for this car. From reading this forum and others, I see that the belt may not need to be replaced until over 100k miles but that duration and environment are to be considered. Therefore, I am looking for your quality advice.

The particular car has under 58k miles, resides in MA which has relatively wet cold winters (10 degrees & snow) and relatively hot summers (90 and humid) , is garaged and is most often used for long trips, but has had times when it was used daily for quite trips to and from school.

We've had no major issues with the car, and the dealer has recommended the timing belt change at a cost of approx $900 and the bearings?(was that it) on the sliding side door at a cost of $300/each.

0go-part

You can either give it an inspection yourself or get another opinion from a different mechanic.

http://car-tuning-performance.knoji....n-timing-belt/
http://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair...ty-timing-belt
https://honda-tech.com/forums/tech-misc-15/odyssey-recommended-timing-belt-replacement-3000654/
http://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-200...ater-pump.html

EK FLY

very simple 105 or 7 years , dont matter where you live , we have had many cars with 29k 30k or even 19k with broken tbelts ,

BonnieR

Thank you for your responses. On the one hand, the car is definitely 7 years old. On the other hand, acceleration is good and there are no unusual sounds or smells.
FWIW, the dealership recommendation was based upon a computer output, not a visual inspection.
@go-part, would you agree that a visual inspection would be useful?
@ek-fly, would you soften on your 7 year opinion if a visual inspection found the belt to appear reliable?

EK FLY

is not my opinion is what the people/years of research/years of experience , studies , engineer/ scientific at honda ... recommend

look this is the way i look at it

u are in the 7 year with that tbelt , 7 years is what the people/engineers who put your car together actually recomend , so if you are going to pay someone 3 hours ( what the book says ) to actually remove your belt and inspect it the way its suppose to be ( because u will need to remove the belt in order to inspect it properly and actually inspect pulleys and tensioners ) dont you think it actually make sence to just go with a tbelt job ?

now that you have the belt removed and lets say it pass the inspection , now my question is would you put that 7 year old tbelt in your 10k honda van ? would you let $800 become a $10.000 problem ?


dont let a backyard/gas station shop gesstimate when you need your belt follow what honda says

DELuth

Don't freak out. Yes, the RECOMMENDATION is 105k or 7 years, whichever comes first. That doesn't mean that the belt is going to come flying off at 7 years one month.

There is no warning when a t-belt goes. No sounds, smells, or running issues. One second it runs perfectly, the next you are stranded on the side of the road with bent valves that will require MAJOR engine work to repair. Not $10,000 worth of damage, probably closer to $2000. Nobody removes a t-belt to inspect them, that is a dumb waste of time and money. Just plan on replacing it within the next year or so. You have some time to get your money lined out. It isn't going to break next week or anything crazy like that.


$300 each for center rollers? Holy **** that is highway robbery! That is about double what it should be. The part is less than $60 and labor should be an hour (or less) per door. Honda's flat rate is 7 tenths of an hour per door. Ask them how they can justify such a high labor cost. The cost of the t-belt is about right depending on what is included. Make SURE they replace the t-belt tensioner. They are usually shot by the time you need a belt on those engines.

jlk16188

I work with a former Honda test engineer. Unless you tow 2000 lbs, live in death valley and drive the car as fast as you can for 100,000 miles, then you dont need to replace your timing belt yet.

Honda makes these recommendations because in SEVERE and I'm talking SEVERE driving conditions, timing belts have been seen to break at 100,000 + miles.

I can guarantee you if you remove your timing belt, it will look and feel just like a new one. Your only real concern would be the life left in the bearings of the pulleys and the water pump.

If your car sits for long periods of time or has seen very short trips without long drives in between (im talking about only driving 1 mile then shutting the car off, then driving back home). then your bearings could be suspect for change.

Honda timing belts do not need replaced at 100,000 miles unless after inspection it looks bad. Take your timing covers off and inspect the belt. Id would wait until at least 100,000 miles to even consider changing the belt, pulleys and water pump.

Remember my exHonda engineer friend? he just changed his 05 Odyssey timing belt for the first time at 180,000 miles and it looked identical to the new belt minus the greasy finger prints on it from removing the belt.

GoLowDrew

Just to add a ditto. Wait for 100K to even think about it. I waited 110K and 120K before I replaced mine before.

And the thing was, I sold the car not long after.

If you are planning to sell your car in the future, people who know Hondas (cars) generally will ask this question. Most would shy away if there is no documented history that this was done.

I'm not saying a timing belt job will add value. More like your car will sell faster (at a higher price) if it was done.

If selling your car is in the plans, you may want to factor that in.

EK FLY

At 180 k is when they actually snap , if u miss you 7 years or 105k, I didnt have honda engineer friend tell me this , my 12 yeas experience in honda tells me

jonshonda

If it were me, I would change it. Just had our 06 pilot done at 113k. Feels good to have the plugs done(op should check to make sure tight), valve adjustment done, timing belt and wp done, and trans fluid done. Should be good for a while now.

94EG8

A lot of the time even when they break the belt looks fine except where it's broken.

If it's only got 58k on it I'm guessing it either sits a lot or makes very short trips. Having a belt sit in one place is not doing it any favors (having a vehicle sit in general is not doing it any favors)

Personally I would replace it along with the tensioner and waterpump. Only replace the waterpump with a genuine Honda unit unless you feel like doing it all over again in another 30 - 50k. I'll usually do the cam and crank seals while I'm at it as well, they're cheap and hard to get to otherwise.