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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / General Car Topics / May 2005Questions about Toyota timing-belt repair
Hello. I have a 1998 Toyota Camry LE. The engine is a 2.2-L, 4-cylinder engine. The car is, obviously, about 7 years old. However, the car has only 28000 miles on it. Recently, a Toyota dealership performed an oil change. As part of the oil change, the dealership performed a routine inspection of the car. The mechanics at the dealership said that they examined the car's timing belt and that the timing belt was cracked. The mechanics said that the timing belt needs to be replaced. The mechanics will charge a little over $300 for the job. The mechanics said that the belt is cracked because the car is aging. I am very skeptical about all of this. From what I have read, people replace a timing belt every 60000 miles. Also, the mechanics said that my car has an oil-pan leak. The fix for that will also be a little over $300. I will probably get a second opinion from another shop. However, I would like some input from the people in this newsgroup. Is it common to have a cracked timing belt on a car that is 7 years old and that has only 28000 miles on it? Is it common to have an oil-pan leak on a car that is 7 years old and that has only 28000 miles on it? Thanks for any information. Regards, Alex K. Yes absolutely. 1998 was a very bad era for Toyota. Everything listed above is absolutely true. Make sure to change your oil every 2,000 miles. Toyota specified something ridiculous like 7,000 or every 8,000 miles. Just ignore it! You will damage the engine. The engine in your car is known to "oil sludge", so it's critical that you change the oil every 2,000 miles. Change the timing belt every 15,000 miles. Your year of car is known to break their timing belts early and a broken belt means you will have to talk and pay for a heafty fee for a tow and not to mention the repairs for Toyota's which will cost you an arm and a leg. > Yes absolutely. 1998 was a very bad era for Toyota. Everything listed > above is absolutely true. Make sure to change your oil every 2,000 [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > to talk and pay for a heafty fee for a tow and not to mention the > repairs for Toyota's which will cost you an arm and a leg. I called a different repair shop and asked about inspecting the timing belt. The guy told me that inspecting the timing belt would take three hours. Since I knew that the original shop did not have my car for three hours, I wondered how much the original shop had actually examined my car. So, I called the original shop. It turns out that the mechanics had loosened the timing cover and had ONLY taken a peek inside using a flashlight. The mechanics were not actually able to see any cracks. However, they saw my car's drive belt and saw that the drive belt was cracked. Since the drive belt and the timing belt are the same age, the mechanics assumed that the timing belt was also cracked. So, is this assumption reasonable? If the drive belt is cracked, does it necessarily mean that the timing belt is cracked as well? Regards, Alex K. Yes, it's cracked. Listen here, do you really want to take any chances on this timing belt? Reading your post is like me watching a child playing with his fathers gun -- and me trying to get the gun away from him and trying my best to explain to him why guns are so dangerout and how he could have gotten both him and others in the line of the projectile hurt at the very least, or killed at the very most. If your timing belt brakes there is a chance that you will totall your car as replacing the whole engine would cost more than the car itself. It's not just the price of the engine that's the problem, it's the price of the LABOR fees on top of that. What if you're on the freeway and your timing belt breaks causing your car to stop dead in it's tracks? Picture an 18 wheeler smashing into the back of your car because the truck driver couldn't stop in time since stopping distances are so long for such trucks. Bad enough if you died in that accident, but what if you took 2 young sons and 3 daughters and your wife with you? Bottom line: Neglecting your timing belt is NOT worth it!!! > What if you're on the freeway and your timing belt breaks causing your > car to stop dead in it's tracks? Picture an 18 wheeler smashing into [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Bottom line: Neglecting your timing belt is NOT worth it!!! Well, folks, I have some news. I went to a second shop for a second opinion. The second opinion is that my drive belt has NO CRACKS and no problems in it. Thus, the shop assumes that my timing belt is also very good. The mechanic told me to come back when my car has 50000 miles on it. As for my oil-pan leak, the "leak" is really a small seep. The mechanic does not recommend any oil-pan repairs at this time. So, what do I do about the original dealership? Do I call them and yell at them? Do I report them to the Better Business Bureau? I live in Chicago, and, years ago, the Illinois Attorney General sued this dealership for false advertising in relation to the delership's car sales. The case was settled. So, the dealership does have a history of shady behavior. Anyway, thanks for the advice that all of you have given. Regards, Alex K. >> What if you're on the freeway and your timing belt breaks causing >your [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > >Alex K. My experience with complaining about car dealers and auto repair places is that it's just a big waste of your time. It seems that there is no level of lying that is considered "too high" and no level of competence that's "too low" for them to get their wrist slapped. You are better off using your time just getting a second opinion (as you did) whenever a shop tells you that an expensive repair is needed.
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