ajahearn

My concern is with the timing belt replacement, which schedule A says is at 60k and B says its at 90k. We got our 96 with very low mileage (40k) - literally driven by an old lady in Lady Jolla who drove it rarely on and off during the first 14 years of its life. I could not confirm with Lexus that the car had the tune-up done ever so at 51k we had it done in 2011. Now are at 114k, which is past the schedule A 60-k. The car is mostly driven short distances a few times a day, roughly 9k miles/year. So is it reasonable to wait for the 90k pint? The car is showing signs of age - interior and exterior could certainly be in better shapes, front seats need to be covered, more importantly the power steering rack has a small leak which we have chosen not to replace. Still passes smog. Thanks in advance.

Superfast1

If it hasn't been done & you plan on keeping the car for a long time then you should do it now, the sooner the better. I have a 97 bought it a year old & have always changed mine at 100K miles interval. I've recently acquired a pristine, like new 2000 w/ only 46K miles. I plan on keeping it for a long time so I went ahead & replaced the serpentine belt, timing belt, water pump, thermostat & spark plugs. The serpentine belt had lots of small cracks underneath, however the timing belt was like brand new. I felt great that I've replaced them as it's a peace of mind so I can sleep better at night. Just do it.

ajahearn

Thanks for the quick response.

dicer

You just said your at 114K I'd say you went way past your 90K point!!!!!!!
So why do you ask if its okay to wait till 90K. Nothing is making much sense to me.

And then you say 114k is past the 60K point??????????????? I'm so confused by the whole post sorry.

ajahearn

Sorry when I said "so at 51k we had it done in 2011", by done I meant we had the timing belt (and other parts) replaced so that would mean we are at +63k miles. But based on the owner's manual, the timing belt needs to be replaced every 90k miles. I must have seen a Gen1 maintenance record which had the two schedules. So I'm going to wait another 20k miles, around 135k, before I do the next belt change. Sorry for any confusion I caused.

Losiracer2

If you used a quality belt like the Mitsuboshi one found in Aisin Tbelt kits then I would not hesitate to go 100k. If you used a crappy Gates or Dayco kit then do it every 60k. I don't trust those American belts, same as American made tires like Goodyear. The quality of the rubber and the length of time that it lasts is far superior with Japanese rubber which includes: Belts, Tires and Motor mounts/bushings.