srovai

I was traveling on the freeway last week when I noticed my engine light came on and then suddenly the car lost power. I put it into neutral and coasted to the side of the rode. I then noticed that steam was coming from the driver’s side of the hood. When I pulled over I got out and lifted the hood and saw that the small hose off the neck of the radiator had been blown off. The small plastic piece on the neck of the radiator just below the cap was in strips and the small hose that leads to the reservoir was detached. I had it towed to my mechanic and he thought it just needed a new radiator. He started working on it the next morning and wanted to check the compression in the engine. He thought it might have jumped time and with further investigation he found that the timing belt broke and it had bent some valves. Unbelievable! This is a '06 SC430 with just under 100,000 miles. I have never seen anything like this. I think the computer shut the engine down while I was driving and caused this engine damage.

Has anyone ever experienced anything close to this?

deathstar

not surprising at all, timing belt should have been replaced at 90K miles

husker741

This^

Lexus will tell you the exact same thing.

mandyfig

JM2C, I would be wary of the timing belt breaking. Get a 2nd opinion. This is an 06.

Harold57

So sorry to hear about the problems. Unfortunately, if the timing belt did break, major damage will occur to your engine. Yes, they do recommend for the '06 to have the belt replaced after 90kmi or 9 years (I believe) but I find it hard to believe that a timing belt would break after only 10kmi over the recommended replacement point but it also isn't beyond comprehension.

Best of luck and let us know how it comes out.

Matthias

getting up there in the miles too. Very sorry about this. How much do i have to budget for a new timing belt?

Habious

Matthias,

If you're taking it to a Lexus dealership, I think you should budget around $1,200.00 or so to do JUST the timing belt.

However, it's one of those things that, since you're already in there, and you already have things torn apart, it just makes sense to replace the water pump at the same time.

I had my 2003 in for the 90K service not long ago - the timing belt, water pump, the other "90K service" items and a few other odds-and-ends set me back about $2,200.00.

Yes

I had mine done last year. First, I got a quote from Lexus (about $900 if I remember right). Then I got a quote from Toyota, which was about $600. Then I called Lexus and asked them to match the price. At first they said no. Then they called back a couple hours later and offered to meet me half way. Said I would think about it but would probably go to Toyota. Then they called the next morning and essentially matched the price. $20 more, but I got a loaner for the day. So it all worked out.

Matthias

Thanks, very helpful as usual

SlvBullet

iTrader: (8)

Reading this thread made me sensitive to the timing belt so I read more about it. I needed to get some other service done and the shop I used (not Lexus) emphasized that belts and fluids don't only wear and degrade with miles but also with time. Timing belt manufacturers cite the car's mileage recommendation but also recommend you change the belts after about 6 year of life.

Engine oil, brake, steering, transmission fluids also have time recommendations. My SC is 8 years old but only 55k miles but I decided to go ahead and do some early preventive maintenance. I drive her about 5k/yr so it would take another 6 years to hit 90k miles and then the car would be 14 years old.

So with a 55k service I just had the timing belt and serpentine belts changed along with the water pump, and the valve seats were inspected. I will go to a road track in Nov. so I also flushed and changed the brake and steering fluids, transmission fluids and had the differential serviced. Those system had never been flushed and fluids changed. I dont know if the tensioners and thermostat were changed. The coolant was changed not too long ago.

The timing belt, sepentine and water pump change was $1500 and everything else was another $900. Ouch! But I also bought peace of mind and now have the car running on all new fluids and clean systems so it is in better shape now for the track too.

Options2k

Can someone please post lexus recommended schedule (mileage and time) to change the timing belt on 2006 sc. Mine only has 46k miles but i need to prepared.

Thanks.

Yes

You'll find the complete schedule for all maintenance on Lexus's website.

stasis3131

iTrader: (4)

I swore I read some where that the sc430 motor has one of the strongest belts you can put on a car. Not saying it is indestructible but I thought it could go a bit past the schedule. My buddy bought his at 85k drove it to 195k in 3 years then changed his belts and water pump and his belt was still intact but worn.

Gonna check my Lexus vin to see what services where done before I got it. I was told the belt and pump was changed 8k ago but never verified it. I better check to be safe

def300s

Good idea to use the VIN and lookup. Exactly how / where can we do that?

barncat

I just looked up my car's service history and it's easy. Go to the Lexus web-site, go to Owner's resources and click on "My Lexus" . Register your car using the VIN and then clink on "Service History". If the car was serviced by Lexus dealer, all info will be there. You can also add service history from non-Lexus garages into the history to maintain complete record for the car. I was happy to see that the previous owner had the belt and water pump replaced at 38000 miles due to the age ('03) of the car just before I purchased the vehicle in 2012.