My car is at a Lexus dealership for the 30k service right now. (I actually have 150k) I just got a call from a rep saying the drive belt is cracked and I should change my timing belt too. He said it's an indicator. Of course he also told me about the water pump since they both go at the same time.

Now I bought the car used and I have no idea if the timing belt was changed at 90k. To be honest I had no idea to ask that stuff when I was looking.

My question is does this sound right to you guys? Is a cracking drive belt a sign the timing belt/water pump needs to be changed too?

 

Oh....he also told me my ball joints have "alot of play" and I should pay for those too. I just got Teins installed and I guess I should have had John (Exact) take a look at that stuff for me. (if he even does that)

 

While speaking to a Lexus service advisor this morning, he said ball joint replacements were "typical" in the GS400.

Don't mess around with the 90K service...Most cars have a 90K requirement where changing the TB/WP and other belts are necessary. You can go many, many tens of thousands of miles if you miss the service, though. But then you start playing roulette with your car, both if any of those components fail, and other related maintenance components wearing out. If the car was maintained at a Lexus dealer for any of those services, call your local dealer and ask them to run your VIN, they'll let you know.

 

almost impossible that your timing belt is bad at that mileage.

Drive belt, yeah maybe

Ball joints, yeah maybe

When you do the timing belt somewhere around 100K you should do the water pump and pulleys and tensioner too. Costs more but you don't want to be going 200K on those parts. Figure around 1500 for everything but well worth it.

The dealer likes to do the timing belt only, and then if the pump goes out, they get to do more work again.

Preventative work is where it is at!

 

Thanks guys. Unfortunately Lexus couldn't find anything after running my vin. The thing about it is I went in expecting to spend just under $600 for my service and then I get a call telling me I need $3k in work. Kinda freaked me out.

I bought the car from a non Lexus dealership and I just remembered I bought a bumper to bumper warranty. I have to take a look at my paperwork but I believe the timing belt is one of the things that are covered. (fingers crossed)

Either way I decided I am going to change the timing belt because I don't know if it was ever done on my car. I would rather get it done too early instead of too late. I called around and found a much better price on all the work...timing belt, water pump, and the ball joints. I knew I should have went to Exact to begin with......

 

unfortunately I doubt a timing belt will be covered by any warranty, but good luck!

Also do the thermostat at the same time too

 

DW, I thought the same thing and a few people I talked to told me the same....it makes sense. But I did find my paperwork and I think it might be my lucky day. I will give the company a call tomorrow and see what they have to say. Check out the link.....

http://prcousa.com/power_train_extra.html

 

you can also take your car to a toyota dealership for service....they can do the same job at a much cheaper price!

 

Well, if I understand your original post correctly, you have 150K on your car. How many miles were on the car when you bought it? Your warranty has stipulations based upon the actual mileage at the time of purchase. Wish you the best and I hope you can get things replaced.

 

On that basis, if one of your tailights burns out you should probably replace all the bulbs in your headlights too

Tell the guy to pull the TB cover off and take a look at the belt and see how it looks

Have you seen a drivebelt and a timing belt next to each other?? The drive belt is very thin, the TB is thick. So just because the drive belt is going bad has no relevance on the TB going bad.

However, being that we have an interference motor - if the 90k has not been done then I would go ahead and get it.

jonny

 

Well I have an appointment @ Exact on Friday. I spoke with the company I have my warranty through and they are going to cover the timing belt and ball joints. Sandy said she will talk to them about replacing the water pump too. I don't have much time left on the warranty so I got pretty lucky that this stuff got checked now because it would have been on my dime here shortly. I thought for sure this was going to be a complicated process but so far so good.

 

Try to get as much "pre-approval" as possible. Even as the job is being performed. This keeps the surprises at a minimum.

 

sounds like things are working out for you.

 

Well.........they covered the ball joints. They said the timing belt has to fail in order to be covered....not just be cracking. Oh well. My car is still at Exact Motorsports and I gotta say John and Sandy were a HUGE help today when dealing with the warranty company. Thanks guys!!

I just decided to pay for the timing belt out of my own pocket. Now I can stop worrying about it and I will KNOW I am safe.

Now I am just sitting here waiting for the big brown truck to show up with my new Axis wheels so I can go pick up my car and slap on the new shoes.