I'm loving my 2007 Pebble Beach. Scheduled for the 70,000 mile service in one week. In reviewing the Lexus service records, the timing belt was done with a water pump change at 29,000 miles almost exactly 10 years ago. How rigorous should I be about the 10 year limit on the belt vs the 90,000 mile limit. Should I get it changed?

Ron

I'll chime in here.... We have an interference engine, so if the timing belt does break, you may have totaled out the car. My 02 was built in January 01 and first sold in April 2001. In February 2011, and @ 56K miles I had the timing belt replaced. For me it was more for peace of mind and following the Mfc recommendations (time vs miles). The belt did have some minor cracking but nothing significant. It may have lasted a few more years. But since I intend to keep the car for quite some time, and the cost was reasonable considering the alternative, I did it. But knowing what I learned from own experience and from what others have posted about their timing belt change experience, I’ll delay the 20 year belt change in 2021. My car will still be under 80k on its 20th birthday.

My question is why would the previous owner changed the belt at 29k miles and when the car was only 3 years old?
If you plan to drive the car at 10k miles a year, I would wait til 90k service, when other components also will be changed.
I changed the TB for my 07 SC in 2019, the old belt had no cracks and was in pretty good shape.

I had my timing belt replaced on my 2007 after 11years, with about 80,000 miles. I asked to see the belt and to the untrained eye it looked brand new. I told my mechanic and he said, take a closer look and he turned it inside out and I could see lots of little cracks at the base of the teeth. I’m so glad that I did not wait.

Apparently, if you are replacing the water pump, most of the labor for the timing belt is done. Makes sense to do them together.

Ron

GmanSC

Maybe the WP was going South?

PS: How's the retirement thing working out?

Dennis

Haven't quite gotten used to not having commitments each day. I wake up wondering what I've got to handle. It will come!

Ron

W.P. replaced same time with TB.
Retirement ís good. I’m currently at the airport boarding to US after 2 months vacation in Viet Nam. Glad I’m back home before the Corona virus breaks out.
Thanks for asking.

My opinion, just like a few others here do it for piece of mind. More than likely you’ll be able to get year and potentially another hundred thousand miles out of it (case and point the SC I just purchased hasn’t had it changed in at least 220k miles and it’s still running) BUT risking a $3-5k engine swap over a $1000 maintenance procedure isn’t worth it in my books

Going for the peace-of-mind. Scheduled for the install next Wednesday.

Ron

Having changed timing belts myself in Toyotas over the years, I recommend waiting until you hit the 90K mark rather than worry about the time (years). Every belt I have replaced, even one with 145K, have looked like new, even upon close inspection. You're likely to need a water pump before the next 90K mark, and it always makes sense to change the timing belt when doing your pump. Toyota puts the service interval on the timing belt at a conservative 90K for several reasons. First, it's a cash cow for their dealers. Too, what's the downside? They avoid unhappy customers who may blow an engine after not adhering to their recommended interval, as it makes it the owners fault, rather than Toyota's. Toyota stakes their reputation on reliability, so there is nothing to gain by recommending a longer interval, such as 120K, but from my experience, this is certainly doable.

I have a 2008 with 56K and it has not had the timing belt changed yet, even though it's now 4 years past the due date. Perhaps the cost of the timing belt job is what prompted the person to sell it to me in 2016 when it was due for the belt. I doubt I will change the belt until it has 90K, but it may be 20 years old by then! My guess is I'll have the water pump go before then, and do it at that time.

BTW...My 85 MR2 is 35 years old and it still has all the original hoses! Toyota makes/specifies great rubber products, including their belts. I've replaced the timing belt twice in the MR2. While it only has 116K, it made sense to do the timing belt twice while doing adjacent work. Any time I need to replace rubber parts on any of my Toyotas, I always pay the extra cost for OEM. Their high quality parts are one of the many reasons their vehicles are the most reliable on the market!