semar

01 ls
timing belt was changed at 130k km (80k miles) in 2007
present mileage reading 210k km (ca 130k miles)

car VERY seldom sees 3000rpm in moderate climate.

Change necessary or good until next year?
yearly average 6k miles

Johnhav430

I would say good, though by the book I believe is change in 9 years. The odds are with you that if you were to wait until next year, you'll be just fine. Mine was 11 y.o. when it came out of the car and it was just fine. It had I believe 86k on it.

semar

thank you for the suggestion. I had others say the same (non forum)

2KHarrier

I'm going to swap out the belt on my 2005 next week. Original belt with 52K miles on the car.. Should be interesting to see what I find, but I suspect all components will look new, or fairly new..

Johnhav430

Please let us know how the job goes, I'd love to be able to DIY this one in the future. I just don't think I have the room to spread out, and the LS is a daily driver....

2KHarrier

I'll take a bunch of photos, but honestly, I'm not looking forward to this job.. I just can't justify paying someone to do what I'm capable of doing... Maybe someday when I'm independently wealthy, I can pay some clown to fix my cars...

Johnhav430

haha I believe that to many extents....for example, brake flushing....it's a bang for buck job since fluid is cheap. I am pretty certain that from our own cars, only BMW actually bled each caliper. I pulled the GM shop manual and it states to bleed RR, LR, RF, LF, when something has been removed (hose, master cyl.). So this is not the procedure for a normal flush. So I feel I have to DIY this and I don't really enjoy it.

BMW ABS was simply paying someone else wasn't an option. Yet in this entire world, only one person has the procedure on YouTube--he can't even imagine how many people he helped, thank goodness for people who do that (again over $4k job, DIY < $300).

When you say clown, nothing is worse than paying top dollar, and things aren't done right. The Japanese indie I've found, at least with one tech, I swear he treats your car the way you would treat it, so I don't feel as bad paying them...

SilkTie

I have a 2006 with 51k. I am curious as to what the condition of your belt is. I know I should do mine due to age, but need a little push to do it.

Johnhav430

This thread has pics of what my parts looked like when changed at just under 87k. Car was 11 y.o.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ub-at-87k.html

SilkTie

Thank you. I know I should do it, but at the same time I only want to have work done on this vehicle at Lexus so the service records are complete. This vehicle has never been touched by anyone but the local dealership. That is a decent chunk of change to throw at something that could very well wait another year or two at the 5k a year we drive it.

Johnhav430

I would highly recommend an indie, not the dealership. I think the indies do a better job--you're a real person to them, and they absolutely care about their reputation. The type of place I am talking about would be able to quickly answer, if you asked, "When's the last time you did a 3UZ?" They might joke and say they've done so many they do them in their sleep. If they don't know what you're talking about, they are probably not the right shop. One shop I called said, "We don't see too many cars like yours." Not a good answer from a Japanese specialist. The one I settled upon said, "We've done so many cars just like yours, but I've done 3 of my Tundras myself." Also, they should be ignoring insurance regs and letting you get under your car with them, while they point everything out.

There shouldn't be any mention of police when you take it upon yourself to walk back and see that the **** they're doing! lol (happened to me at Nissan)

p.s. not to mention an indie gets about $850, while Lexus gets $1800, to do the tensioner and idler and pulley

SilkTie

I would much rather go to an indie, but I am also thinking of selling this vehicle soon and Most people (like the people on this forum) prefer the maintenance records all showing the dealership not an indie. I work for a dealership ( another brand) and you would not believe how many people this is a real issue for. The car only has 51k and has always been garage kept. Just want to maximize my return. So if by selling it without the service nets me more money than selling it with it done then I will skip the service. I keep telling myself to sell this car because having 4 vehicles (including my demo) is two too many. On the other hand every time I think about selling it I never follow through.

Needless to say I am conflicted.

Johnhav430

The really weird thing, and I don't understand it myself, is that my two paid visits to Lexus for service, are not on the CarFax, but they are on the lexus drivers. even a Toyota state inspection is on lexus drivers. Also, my BMW has NO service whatsoever on CarFax, and it has been extensively serviced at the dealer (why not it was free for 4 years). So I don't put that much stock into CarFax...but if you mean lexus drivers, you are correct....but for me, if I were to sell to anyone here, I would scan the indie's receipt.....

I even wondered, since my wife's GM car only had oil changes 3X at the dealer, the rest by me, would that ever be a question? Apparently not because we just had an extended warranty claim on Monday, nobody has ever denied anything. I used to also want dealer records...so I understand...

SilkTie

The last part is kind of in my area of expertise. A Manufacturer cannot deny a warranty claim on the basis of not having service work done at the dealership. The most they can do is to request proof of services. I always advise my customers if they are not planning to service their vehicle at the dealership to keep a receipt for the purchase of the parts (oil and filter) of any work they do themselves.

Johnhav430

I have a spreadsheet of all the oil changes, and I took pics of the odometer and the oil life before and after. I swear someone had all that and had some claim denied after a catastrophic failure under warranty. But I won't worry we'll be done in 5 mos. anyway. I just thought the person on the web was getting shafted as if he made up all the oil changes...that would be the hard part and maybe if I ever buy a new car...the receipts....filters easy, rock auto, but oil, random...in reality, there's no way to prove the oil went into the car, people could have 4 cars so who knows where the oil that they purchased went...