I change my timing belt at 72+ lexus thinking. Belt looked new. My sisters Honda has 180+ no belt changed just check it looks good no cracks ect.. How many people do you know blow their engine because of a timing belt? I guess we just want to be safe. dealer told ( notacarguy ) looked fine and that the dealer.

 

Never heard of it in a Lexus, but I broke one many many years ago in a Dodge Daytona Turbo. Luckily it wasn't an interference engine. I also had a belt jump a tooth in a Dodge Stealth because of a failed tensioner.

 

There have been a couple of reports of folks that said that their belt looked pretty worn after changing it out and they weren't extreme mileage folks either.

 

Haven't heard of one in a Lexus - could be because people who buy these cars follow the maintenance schedule more than lower priced cars or could be because the belts don't break.

As they age and get lower in price, we may see more people who bought the car cheaply and start to cross the 180K mile mark where they should replace it the 2nd time - once a lot of them hit 250K or so we'll have an answer if it's the parts quality that's the reason or the maintenance.

It's all a question of how much you can afford to lose. You can spend $500ish (d-i-y) replacing the belt and not have to worry about it. Or you can save the $500 now and risk spending $5,000 when it breaks and craters the engine. Most people are taking nearly 10 years to hit the 90K mileage mark so the $500 is cheap amortized over the miles. $5,000 will almost always hurt :-)

 

The cost of the engine is only part of the equation unless you are doing a DYI operation.

 

I see engines on ebay under 50k for 2500

 

Even as a DIY. Not like it would just break in the driveway with a couple of small little clatters & bent rods. Most likely you're driving down the road and the engine starts spewing parts through the head which bounce off stuff in the engine compartment and the bottom of the hood. So now you're at the side of the road, need a tow and looking at a bunch of broken things under the hood (and a hood dented from the underneath). Take it to the garage & you pay diagnosis & another tow. Take it straight home and you still have all the collateral damage & the engine. Gotta get (or rent) an engine hoist unless you do this kind of thing a lot. Pull out all the bad stuff, get the engine (& pay for shipping unless you can find a local source and pick it up). Time, effort, fluids, belts, plugs, etc. etc. etc. At the end of the day that $2,000 engine costs a lot more.

My Benz blew a u-joint. No biggie right? Cheap and easy to get at. Except it was caught between the bottom of the tranny and the aero panel under the car that make the air smooth. And it's a 4Matic so the other u-joint was fine so the other driveshaft started smacking into things. Tore through the steering rack, ripped the hoses and a few other things under there. First guy thought it banged a hole in the tranny. Towed the 2nd time to a specialty shop. No tranny damage but $3000 later I got my car back.

Simple stuff is never simple when money & Murphy are involved

 

So true!!! When Murphy comes for a visit, he usually goes all out!