First Question: My 1995 Honda Accord is well past due for another timing belt change. It currently has 230,000 miles on it. As I was told by the previous owner, it was done originally at 130,000 miles.

My normal Honda shop has given me a quote of $800. This includes the timing belt, water pump, and something else he recommended when you have the timing belt changed for the second time, but I can't remember what it was. (Any ideas?)

The second quote came from a very well reviewed auto mechanic on Yelp, who said it would cost $300 for the timing belt and an additional $100 for the water pump.

Clearly these are vastly different. My normal Honda mechanic has always been trustworthy, reasonably priced, and only recommended repairs if I really needed it. Do these vastly different prices come across as odd?

Second Question: The interior of my windshield collects a lot of dust, but the odd thing is that it's not only dusty, but it has a coloration to it, almost like a very faint rainbow color to it in patches. The 1995 Honda Accord doesn't have an air cabin filter. Any ideas what it is?

 

First question. 800 dollars for a timing belt replacement is a bit on the absurd side. A reputable Honda shop that even charges a lot shoudlnt' charge more than 600. On the low side you can get a place to do it for about 300. These include water pump changes. I would just roll with the 400 dollar shop. Make sure to request your old parts back.

Second question, you could have a water hose leaking in the engine and the vapor is getting into the cabin via the heater vents. A worst case scenario is your water heater itself is leaking.

 

Honda shop is going to quote at least $90 per hour plus parts. $800 sounds overpriced. Regarding the dust, where do you live?

 

I live in Los Angeles. I suppose my main concern is that I'm breathing in some type of toxic fumes from the engine. My imagination going wild?

 

Have you been losing coolant lately ?

 

Thats what i was thinking, heater core leak. but you should smell it(Sweet coolant smell). If thats not the case, then perhaps you have a rats nest inside youre hvac system? I have seen that before.

As far as thet iming belt, $800 sounds a little high. It isnt a terribly difficult job, especially if it is a shop that has done it alot. i would say $300-400 is a good quote. This would include timing and balance belt, a new water pump and a flush of your coolant system.

 

I bought a heater core for my accord cause I was smelling coolant fumes. I guess I kinda expected the worst. At some point I was in the back of my car when I realized I had a pin size leak in my heater valve hose. When I replaced that the fumes stopped coming in. Luckily I was still within the 30 day period to return my heater core.