Coming from European vehicles, its fairly ubiquitous when changing the timing belt to also change the serpentine, water pump, tensioner, pcv etc.

My local Acura dealer said they generally change the timing belt at ~60K, and only replace the tensioner and water pump after inspection, then for sure at 120K. I trust my dealer, but found it odd. Any thoughts?

 

You should not trust your local dealer. Hondas/Acuras do not require a timing belt change at 60K miles, and your local dealer is stealing money from every customer he does this to.

The other parts *are* generally changed at the same time as the timing belt (generally 105,000 miles); in the case of the water pump, to *avoid* the extra cost of tearing the engine down to get to the pump, when you have done it already to get to the timing belt.

Your dealer is disingenuous. Look in your owner's manual for the particular information on the time to change these items. My RDX is a 2014, and that interval is when the maintenance minder shows a "code 3" in the maintenance sub-item column. For the 2014, that information is found on page 273. Many years of experience tell me that the interval (which includes a reasonable safety margin) is 105,000 miles. If your vehicle hasn't shown this code by that time, it's not a bad idea to change these items. For what it's worth, you cannot tell the state of the timing belt by ordinary inspection; the belts tend to be "all or nothing", i.e. it will look fine until it fails. That failure can be catastrophic, so being attentive and changing the belt preemptively is wise. Doing so at 60,000 miles is not, and this dealer's customers are being robbed.


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
"Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind." - Henri Frederick Amiel

 

My question is why is the timeframe so much shorter now? I remembered my prelude's recommended change period is every 90K and I usually did it at 75K-80K just to be safe, I did change all the tensioners, water pump, thermostat and all that since they're all in the way

 

Indeed, curious as to why the short suggested timeframe. Seeing a master tech Wed and will ask about it (he just opened a shop, so won't get the Dealer sell). New RDX 2.0 turbos do have a "lifetime" timing chain...

 

I believe that there is also a time frame in addition to miles as to when the timing belt and other components should be changed. More specifically, if I recollect correctly the timing belt should be changed at 105,000 or 7 years, whichever comes first. Because we have an interference engine I also agree that a timing belt failure can cause catastrophic damage to the engine and shouldn't be overlooked. More times than not, it's not the timing belt itself that fails, it's usually a pulley or rotating component that seizes up that causes the belt to snap, hence the reason they make timing belt kits that include a water pump and all associated pullies plus thermostat, etc. The timing belt is a great concept in that every 105,000 miles or every seven years the owner gets peace of mind when changing it out with all other related components for another 105,000 miles or 7 years. A relatively inexpensive price to pay for reliability if averaged out over years.

 

Just changed the timing belt on our 2013 at 109,248 miles. There is an actual maintenance code that pops for changing the timing belt. Estimate from local Acura dealer for timing belt package was $1400 ($1200 with coupon). My local shop gave an estimate for same work of $740. Went with my local shop and the actual cost was $709. They changed water pump, timing belt, tensioner, and all accessory drive belts.

 

Looks like you received a good deal. I could be incorrect, but I thought there was some sort of valve adjustment required at this same interval. Did the local shop perform this adjustment?

 

I am sure they did. As I mentioned there is a maintenance code that displays on the dash that includes the timing belt work. The specific code ended in a 4, and it includes a couple different valve adjustments. I always ask them to perform the specific maintenance action indicated. Bringing it in for an A1 this week.

 

so the car does show a code for timing like it's for an oil change?

 

Yes it did. Don’t know why, but it kind of surprised me when it popped up. Whenever I get one, I Google Acura RDX maintenance codes to see what it entails.

 

one more question, do you remember the mileage of the car when it popped?

 

Got the maintenance done at 109,248, so I am guessing 108,500 +/- 250 miles. We were on a 1,000 mile road trip when it popped. What surprised me about the maintenance code was that it was three digits vice the normal two - I believe it was A14. I may be more trusting than some as I believe they have very healthy safety margins built into all of their maintenance intervals.

 

We just replaced the timing belt (and water pump, etc.) on our 2013 RDX. It only had about 60,000 miles on it, but it had been about 8 years (more than the recommended 7 years). I wondered about waiting longer, but the shop said that the tensioner always has tension on it and can cause the belt to fail, whether or not you are driving and racking up miles. We then did our 2014 TL as well, which was 7 years old and had even fewer miles on it.

 

The time factor should apply, and you have done the right thing with both vehicles.


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn. -- J. Wesley

 

+1 on that. It's crazy how people only look at the mileage interval, and completely miss out on the time interval.

 

Actually, had my '14 Tech in today for A13 service, and posed this question to the service tech, as I've only got 88k on the car. He confirmed that time is a real factor and I should consider doing the service sooner rather than later (aargh, I thought I had a couple of years, based on mileage!).

Interesting also that this dealer wanted $1900 (minus a $200 discount) for the full service; I called the only other Acura dealer in Jax, and they quoted $1380, minus a $150 discount. Definitely pays to shop around.

 

You got a good deal but it is also important to know what parts did they use. There are lots of cheap parts that won't last long versus the quality ones that cost more.

 

Likewise, don’t equate cost with quality. I am lucky to have an honest, quality, local garage. Since we moved to the “country” 14 years ago they have flawlessly maintained five vehicles we have owned during that time - an Acura, a Honda, a BMW, and two Mazdas. Not everyone has a place like this they trust, so the dealership becomes the default option.

 

The timing belt code pops up at the 14th oil change. That will vary in miles a bit because the oil life algorithm is real. If you ignore that and never let the oil life
reach 15%, the other codes never show up. Before oil life metering, this engine had a 105k timing belt service interval. If neglected, it is rarely the belt that breaks,
but the tensioner fails taking the belt with it.

It is a very good idea to only use genuine parts, or as a alternative, the Aisin kit. Available at Rock Auto or Summit Racing. Be very wary of buying this stuff from
Amazon or Ebay. Lots of fakes. That goes for the spark plugs as well. Their change interval is also 105k. Real Honda long life coolant should also be sourced.
Even though it has a 120k service interval, you have drain a lot of it anyway when changing the water pump. Some folks also like to change the thermostat as well.
The manual says to adjust the valves, "only if noisy".

 

To clarify, this is on a 2013 RDX with roughly 56,000 miles. Thus it qualifies due to age (8+years), and spending its life in Arizona (high heat situation).

Any thoughts on the Acura service advisor saying they inspect the tensioner and water pump versus simply replacing them? He said you can then typically replace them at the second timing belt service at 120K.

 

It all depends on how quickly you will accumulate mileage on your RDX. If you continue at the same rate, you may be fine as you will replace the timing belt again based on time and not mileage, and the tensioner and water pump will be at 120k miles or less. I don’t know the lifespan of either the tensioner or water pump in miles or time. If you don’t change them now and their lifespan is 120k, you will be locked into changing them at 120k, even if your second timing belt hasn’t hit it’s mileage or time limit yet (this assumes you increase your annual mileage). It seems like you aren’t comfortable not changing the tensioner and water pump. If that’s the case I would change them now with the timing belt.

 

Labor is the majority of the costs associated with this job, parts are cheap, therefore I would replace them for peace of mind.

 

I was always under the assumption that you should always replace the parts when doing the timing belt because if the timing belt needs to be replaced, the other parts will have the same time/mileage on them too.

 

No. The primary reason to replace the associated parts is that if any one of them breaks/goes bad, you have to pay to take a lot of engine apart to replace them. The thinking has always been that since you're paying to take so much of the engine apart to replace the timing belt (which *is* a regular maintenance item, unlike the water pump and the other parts) at 105,000 miles, that it is frugal to replace the other parts, since they *may* fail. The water pump, belt tensioner, etc., are very unlikely to need replacing at 60,000 miles just because the vehicle is 7 years old; they do not deteriorate with time (well, not on that scale, anyway).

As the person above stated, the primary cost is the labor, and that's the reason for changing all the parts.


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
"The most dangerous phrase in the language is, 'We've always done it this way.'" -- Grace Hopper

 

As a rule of thumb, you are absolutely correct. As I mentioned above all it takes is one rotating part to fail or seize which will cause the timing belt to break and then potentially causing catastrophic damage to the RDX interference engine. In the case above where the belt was replaced due to the time frame of 8 years and only had 60,000 miles, it was wise to replace all rotating parts such as the pullies and the water pump since the next requirement for replacement could be 7 years or 165,000 miles (60,000 + 105,000), whichever comes first. Conversely, if the owner knows that they will keep the car and only drive the car 45,000 miles car in the next seven years then it may be reasonable to not change the water pump or pullies. With that said, again labor is the majority of the total cost, therefore, for peace of mind, I would always replace all rotating parts.

 

Just received a quote to replace the timing belt on our 2017 RDX (7 years old): $2,278.00!!!

 

Yowza

 

Lol, it would be more profitable for you to come to me in Delaware so that I can do this job for you

 

Not funny to me. These Acura dealers are screwing us over wirh their high service costs in order to make up for their slowing selling automobile inventory.

 

Their dealers near me are notorious for high maintainence as well. They wanted almost $150 for a full synthetic oil change when I had my RDX and I drove out immediately lmao.

 

I'm guessing that a dealerships revenue stream is probably 90 plus percent from service and very little comes from selling cars. Kind of like computer printers, they could give them away since it’s the OEM ink that ends up being the majority of costs. Of course, this assumes the owner doesn’t buy aftermarket cartridges, though over time it will also easily exceed the price of a mid-level printer.

 

The link below has quite a few repair 'shops' that people have listed as Acura friendly.
Acura Repair Shops & Mechanics in Maryland | AcuShops
If there are any near your location make an inquiry as to their TB & component change charge.
Better yet, ask if they have a problem with you supplying the complete TB component kit and then purchase the kit below & save over their retail markup?
More Information for AISIN TKH002 (rockauto.com)

 

Alltair47 Where is your shop and what do charge? I'm in Elkton, MD

 

Ocean View DE