OK, I was talking to one of my co-workers who drives a 2001 V8 Toyota Sequoia with 160k miles on it. I asked him if he had the timing belt replaced at 90k miles per the manual; the answer was no and he has no intention of having it done. I am the proud papa to a 2004 LS430 and will change my timing belt very soon.

So my question to the board is - are there any LS430 drivers who have not changed the timing belt and continue to drive their car since 90k miles?

 

As one who ground to a stop in the dead of winter with a broken timing belt from a seized water pump in a perfectly maintained Lexus LS after 75,000 miles and about five years after I literally drove it off the showroom floor, I wonder why people keep asking these types of questions.

 

There certainly are people who keep rolling past 90k I read somewhere on the forums one guy had 170k on the timing belt to the point teeth were stripping on the belt. I'm sure the Lexus recommendation is conservative, think of the unhappy customers that would result from belts breaking at 80k. I'm guessing that the belt is certainly good to 110k to 140k (so about 50% above recommendation) before the belt becomes critical.

However, remember that on the 430 engine the valves will hit the pistons if failure occurs so basically the top half of your engine will be destroyed. The head will have to be pulled and valves replaced at a minimum, so you are talking big $$$$$. Much better to change at 90k and have peace of mind. I plan on doing mine myself for about $400 in parts, I think I can tackle the job I've done it on other cars.

 

There isn't a formula for this .. I have seen cars run even farther on original belts. The climate has a factor too and age of the belt.

For the damage it can cause versus the cost it is better to get it done.

 

Yes, I'm sure these belts can go far beyond 90K and many owners who observe their belts after removal claim that most look relatively new. However, how many want to chance both the breakdown and expense? Is it worth it to be a hero with 150,000 miles on an original belt? Unfortunately, the one survey that has not be done is "How many miles past 100,000 do you have on your original timing belt"? Anything else is congecture.

 

I was paranoid about this too, even though I've never heard from anyone who's timing belt broke (not just on a Lexus, but also Honda or Toyota). I found most people won't replace it at 90k, many people never replace it. When I was shopping for a LS most cars past 90k didn't have it done despite the car being maintained by the Lexus dealer. When I asked the owner about it they had no idea what I was talking about and told me that the dealer never said anything. I've heard this from several people so I believe them. One dealer told me that their recommendation is replacing it at 125k miles and even then it often is in pristine condition.

You also have to factor in the climate conditions, the car's age, driving style, and whether it is garaged. If you plan on keeping the car, might as well do it now. They'll also replace the water pump which often starts leaking.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Honda for example recommends replacing it at 105k miles (which most people will still ignore). Once you hit 100k I'd start thinking about it.

 

did it destroy the engine?

 

People keep asking because their are ALOT of different experiences out there that people have & different points of view...as you can see from the current responses.

I would start to give it serious tought once I got to 100-110k just because I think the dealer recommedations are a bit early

 

i had my belt change at 100k. After inspecting the belt i notice some of the teeths on the belt were wearing off and the belt has cracks on it. So to be safe i wouldnt pass 100k on the oem belt.

 

I fully understand the need for changing the timing belt based on mileage but what about age? My wife's car is an '02 (bought new) but only has about 65,000 miles - much less than the recommended mileage replacement point but well past the time intervale recommendation. At what point should it be replaced?

 

the recommendation for your year is 6 years, on the newer models (i think 04-06) the time limit was raised to 9 years. Again probably conservative, if not in severe conditions I would think the belt could go 10 years without much problem if the miles are low. However, 10 years is quite a while for any rubber-based component, I would plan on replacing your 02's belt this year or next at the latest.

 

No, this was on an LS400 I bought new in early 1990 -- it had a non-interference engine and no damage was done. I was even lucky enough to coast into a convenience store parking lot where I then had to wait for hours for a tow truck to make it through the snow/ice storm to get my car. If the belt had broken 5,000 miles earlier, replacement would have been covered under the 70,000 mile power train warranty.

Since a broken timing belt did not cause engine damage on the early, generation 1 LS, I waited an extra 15,000 miles (until 180,000 miles) before I had the timing belt replaced again shortly before I sold the car to a coworker.

I've gotten to know a few repair shop owners pretty well over the years and they have told me that they have never seen a Lexus timing belt break due to belt wear and that the cause of belt failure has always been another part failing -- idler, tensioner, water pump, etc.

I know people who have had timing belts break on Honda and Toyota vehicles too. A coworker's Honda timing belt breakage was particularly nasty/expensive due to the extent it trashed the engine valves.

I understand that people have "different points of view" but I don't understand the resistance of following a car manufacturer's maintenance recommendations -- particularly on an expensive car where the cost of a timing belt replacement is a "nit" compared to the cost of the car.

I've always suspected that the reason we seem to have had fewer problems with cars, boats, houses, etc. than many others is that we do not defer maintenance. We are not "penny wise, pound foolish". And although we have purchased only one used car since the 1970's (2000 LS400 at 38,000 miles in 2003), we would never in our wildest dreams buy any car, including a Lexus, that has had any maintenance deferred.

 

We bought my wife a 2005 Toyota Sequoia today. That bad boy is fully loaded but has 82k miles on the clock. We will be getting the timing belt done by 90k.

My friend still will not budge on changing the timing belt on his Sequoia. Maybe he will come to his senses soon...

 

Unfortunately, what seems like a minimum investment to keep the car running might very well be a burden for many in these economically stressed times. Yes it's important, but especially for those driving the older LS430s, they might just try to milk it that much longer due to the relative expense. $700-$1,000 is not considered a small investment. It's the sign of the times.

 

Wait, so your friend is NEVER getting the belt done? So he's either selling the car now, or he's just going to drive until the belt snaps. Keep us update on when the belt snaps, so we'll get a good idea of when one of these things will go up to.