I had my 06ls430 and 05 sc430 in at the dealer and decided to bite the bullet. my ls has 87k and my sc has 65k both had original timing belt water pump tensioner, I had everything replaced, the whole enchilada done. I requested my stock parts back..Both belts looked brand new, zero signs of wear, no cracking, no rubbing,no shiny spots. Me thinks I just pissed away $2100 for no reason aside from peace mind...maybe. I think judging from the lack of wear they can go 150-175k no probs.

 

I think we've applied some analogies to this one. There is the flu shot. Has a low efficacy overall, but my doc said 40% is better than 0%. And being knocked out wishing you were **** is what happens when you get the flu (I had food poisoning during the NHL all star game and remember--I had zero interest in watching or even doing anything but sleep). Same thing with human beings. At certain ages, even with insurance, it can cost $1k or even more for some tests. Do people get the test because they reach an age and get upset and say dang I didn't even have cancer? Not usually. Think about it, there are people who pass away never having had cancer, so why would they have been screened at all?

 

Many factors with age and component wear to play in. That said, in the 400 section we've seen TB's come out of 150-200K cars that appear new. OTOH we've also seen shredding ones at those same miles. Can be a gamble, you are in good shape for many-many miles to come after this service.

 

i am at 26k miles on my 2006. my mechanic said dont worry about it.

 

Peace of mind is worth it to some. I changed mine at 79k and it was in great shape. I could have probably run it for another 40k without issue but why risk it on an interference motor? $1200 was worth it in my book...

 

I'm going in for mine next week. the 180k! about same, $1200-1300 at independent shop here, dealer quoted $2400-2500! Going to do tensioners/idler/serpentine belt too so a bit more but worth it while in there I think.

 

 

i don't get it. There is zero evidence that the timing belt needs to be changed at 90k miles or 6 years. Zero.

All we have is an OEM trying to avoid even the slightest customer sat issue, recommending an expensive service so they avoid the heat. That's pretty much it.

 

Is CA much more than elsewhere? Here in the northeast, dealer wants $1,400, $1,800 for the every other (tensioner, idler etc.), and indies want $750 to $900.

Based on what we have seen on the forum, imho, this is a reason why decent dealer maintained got traded in. For example, I bought my car in 10/16 and a dealer said I need almost $6k of work (I didn't). A person who buys this car new, gets the same song and dance year 10, and they don't want to sink $6k so they trade it in. It's like stock. They are pried from weak hands by strong hands and cons.

 

The Aisin OEM timing belt kit can be bought on Amazon for around $180, and my independent mechanic charged me $400 in labor to change the timing belt, idler pulley, water pump, thermostat, and serpentine belt. My 2006 only had 20k miles when I had it changed earlier this year. Keep in mind that from what I've heard it's often not an issue with the belt itself, but more commonly a seized water pump that shreds the belt and kills the engine. Hard to know when a water pump will give out, so it's smart to keep everything fresh every 90k miles or 9 years...

 

2100.00 is a lot of money, but unless you can do the work yourself, that's about the going rate for 2 Timing Belts.

When all is said and done, you do have the peace of mind that the job is done, and good for another 10 years or so...

 

$2100 is robbery. Local Toyota dealer will do it for $400 labour costs with parts extra. You buy the Aisin kit and they'll put it in for $400 plus tax and includes coolant et al.

 

I think that's a super deal. Even if a person can DIY, for $400, they might choose to spend time with the family and drop the car off. I did such with my Maxima, paid $300 labor to have the valve cover gaskets changed. A single person might say I'm gonna save the $300, but a family guy might say I'm gonna spend the $300. I've always heard $750 to $900 in the northeast, so DIY makes sense...

 

i bought the kit from amazon and paid $280 labor.

 

I just did my LS430 2002 67,000 waste of time and money. I have had 7 LS430 and this was the first I had done. I always hear that you should do it, but i have never heard of one breaking and causing damage,
. I just bought another 2002 33,000 miles. I think I will keep this one