so i had my timing belt and the rest of my belts replaced at a dealer about 4 months ago. last week the timing belt shifted on me and i brought it back to the dealer and they told me that the idler pulley screw broke and that i would have to pay them $1500.00 again to get it done again. shouldn't something like this have been checked it out in the first place so this kind of incident would have been prevented?

 

What make and model? It's going to be a hard one since it's already been 4 months. Alot of mechanics are morons.

 

^that.

They charged you 1.5k!? You got screwed.

 

its a 00 honda prelude

 

You paid $1500 to have your timing belt and drive belts replaced?

The timing belt for your car lists at $72.95, and that's the OEM Honda one, drive belts are no more then $15-$20 each.

I get a major tuneup, including valve adjustment, timing belt, new V/C gasket and seals, new drive belt, for $650 at Acura for my 94 Integra, $450 at the shop I now go to.

Whoever installed the belt, [mechanic] over-torqued the "screw" when he locked the idler in place, I would raise one big stink, I would inform Honda corporate. 94

 

last i talked to them, the service advisor said the mechanic never touched the idler when puting the belts backs back on so they gotta charge me again. i think thats bullshit. most likely gonna take your advise and talk to corporate if they wont fix it. $1500.00 for timing job and all drive belts and less then 5000 miles later is breaks down again..something was not done right.

 

Time to take some legal actions.

 

Unless I am gettng confused, you HAVE to touch the pulley to remove and install the timing belt.

I have no experince with a prelude though.

 

I also think that's BS, and if he didn't touch it then he didn't install the T/B properly.

Definitely time to ratchet up the stink, Email corporate with a copy to the dealership, BBB and even the local paper if it has a section for that kind of stuff, I would go as far as putting signage on my car saying how the dealership ripped you off and that they want to do it again, then sent a pix of that along with the copy of the Email and your intent on parking it as close to the dealership as you legally can and that you plan on leaving it there until your car is fixed, or you are reimbursed for having it fixed someplace else. 94

 

dont know too much so this helped out everyone. i will take everyones advice and do what ya said.

 

The dealer needs to make this right, if not, do as FCM said, also, consider talking to a lawyer about your options.

When you talk to the dealer, make sure you talk to a supervisor, not some counter guy.

Also, when you talk to them, do your absolute best to keep the anger/attitude under control. Loosing it will not help you.

 

Courts do not look favorable on the auto industry. The dealer screwed up. Make em fix it or sue em. You have a very high chance of winning. (small claims is relatively cheap , you do not need a lawyer for this.)

 

the prelude timing belt job is much more time consuming than an integra job. so the labor will defiantly be much more...depends on the dealer....but the fact that something failed a short time after it was just worked on is fishy...you should not be paying again for the same job....fight it with them and make them fix it for free.

 

Maybe, but $1500 that's 3 times as much and the engines are not that different, it's still a 4 cylinder DOHC engine, with the H22 having slightly diff. system of timing belt tensioning.
B18- http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/...ystemcomp=List All&vinnoT=&trim=&trans=&view=normal

H22- http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...+-+TIMING+BELT 94

 

Different shops have different rates and parts mark -ups. List price for parts is RARELY the price customers pay in a shop. Our shop would have charged around 1000-1300. Good shops usually charge premium prices, because they can.

 

local honda dealer around here charges 6.5 to 7 hours for a H22 belt replacment...extra 1 to 1.5 for the pump...that close to or over 1000 in labour alone not including taxes.

 

You have to remove the pulley regardless, to get the plastic cover off right?

 

You have to loosen the idler pulley and push to the side and retightened the bolt but i think it is only about 40ft lbs.It only pays like 3 hours of labor to do the timing belt and the regular belts are over lap.I am glad i have been a mechanic for fifteen years so i don't have to pay that nonsense.If any thing contact the better business bureau to see what your options are.Best of luck for you.

 

It is quite possible that the pulley bearing failed.Most of the dealers i work at we would ready the customer for possible pulley and or tensioner replacements prior to service.When i removed the belt and any of the pulleys even had a scratchy feel to them when spun we would recommend replacement at that time as a precaution.

 

The crank pulley, yes. If they said he didn't touch that, I'd slap him.

The tensoner as well, it must be loosened to get the belt off. Either way, the dealer sounds like they're lieing.

 

You better start the legal process and tell them that you are. That has happened at my dealer before and the work was done for free. Their belt was replaced and the customer drove to vegas from socal where it grenaded. Let me just say they didn't pay a thing.

 

the prelude h22 engine uses a finicky automatic tensioner. These commonly fail, especially once they have been reset on a timing belt job. This is likely what happened.

My advice: Lose your mechanic. Research "h23 automatic tensioner conversion". The parts will cost you less than $100 ans will simplify the timing system. Pull out your tools and start taking your timing system apart. You will need to place a jack under the the engine and remove the mount and crank pulley. Inside the covers is the timing system. It sounds confusing but once you get started you will find it is all common sense, and a job you can do in one day.

This car is over 10 years old, and not worth heavy repair bills. $1500 is 5 monthly payments on a nice new car. you must learn to fix old cars, or drive new ones.