I took my RDX into the dealer today for an oil change. I was informed that I should consider changing the timing belt....estimated cost $800.
Car is running great, no issues. I do have some mileage.....133K. 90% of my mileage are highway miles. I do 600-700 per week. So, has anyone had to change a timing belt & what were your costs? The dealer explained that belts are good for 7 years or 100K miles. My thinking is that the belt should be good for at least 50K more miles. Opinions/advice greatly appreciated.

 

It is usually 7 years or 100,000 miles; whichever comes first. Did you skip the 105,000 mile service? The timing belt should have been done then along with (but not always needed) spark plugs, engine oil change, coolant, water pump, valve adjustment, serpentine belt kit with tensioner, cabin/engine filter, and maybe brake fluid flush if it has been +3 years.

Is it the timing belt or the serpentine belt? Serpentine belt would be something the dealership might skip over during the 105,000 mile service if the car is 2017.

 

Yes....they want to do all of those items....total estimates for everything $1500.

 

I would only skip the service if you are planning to sell/trade the RDX in a few months from now. I would do the full service if you are going to put another +50,000 miles on the RDX. It is just fluids, filters, and rotations until 210,000 miles after the service.

 

My advice is do it. I know several people who have regretted it on Hondas.

 

Let's see - $800 vs possibility of new engine for $5000. Easy chose, IMHO.

 

Of course it is running great, as long as the belt is fine, but if you have a zero-clearance motor like my Honda CR-V, its a matter of playing Russian Roulette.

I think I changed my belt (and water pump and tensioner) on the CR-V at about 118,000 miles, the belt still looked fine. Its an afternoon job.

 

As others have said, the timing belt will not typically exhibit symptoms before it breaks, and if it breaks, you will have extensive engine damage. If you plan to keep the car, you should have the service done. Those prices sound typical to me, but you may be able to find an independent shop who can do the work a bit cheaper.

 

Hello All.
I have 2014 Acura RDX, 93000 miles, first owner, and it will be required to change timing belt soon. I called several official dealers and got different price for materials and labor. The price varies from 1000-1600$ before tax, and they do it differently (I thought there should be one process based on maintenance bulletin for all dealers). One dealership changes idler and tensioner bearing, another one not. I looked at the parts on rockauto and found that the cost of the parts is much lower than from official dealers. I understand that some applications require a specific brand/type of part to work properly (for example, NGK or Denso spark plugs, but for some applications, any old part will do.

Acura doesn't manufacture their own parts; they're not in the business of fabricating things out of raw materials. Honda and Acura parts are mostly interchangeable.

When it comes to buying parts, I can choose to either buy genuine Acura parts from Acura, or I can buy from aftermarket parts manufacturers. Some of these manufacturers are the same companies that supply Acura with the parts that my car is assembled from, and the parts that Acura sells to me in Acura boxes.

That doesn't mean that all aftermarket parts are made the same. Some parts are exactly the same as Acura OE spec parts, while others are not. Acura OE is not always the best - especially in terms of price:performance/utility/longevity ratio - but in most instances it is, because Acura goes out of their way to source parts that will last so they don't have to deal with comebacks, warranty payout losses, and a reputation for poor quality.

Ideally, when replacing the timing belt, since the job is so labor-intensive, I want to replace timing belt, timing belt hydraulic tensioner, Idler Bearing, Tensioner Bearing, Water Pump Gaskets & O-Rings (and coolant).

All of these parts are available from various aftermarket manufacturers as well as from Acura.

My question is:
Is the price to change timing belt at dealership justified?
Do you think the aftermarket parts below are good replacement?https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...00374&jsn=1459

• AISIN Water Pump
• Hydraulic Tensioner
• Koyo Idler Bearing
• Koyo Tensioner Bearing
• Mitsuboshi Timing Belt
• Water Pump Gaskets & O-Rings

Thank you!

 

It's just my personal choice, but with something like this where I was only doing it every 6 years, I'd put the factory parts in. I'd probably have a local non-Acura shop do it, because I'm familiar with them and don't care for the dealer.

 

IMHO, OEM parts are needed and the dealer should do this work. To me, why put possibly inferior parts, as the labour to change out the poor part is extensive. As for doing the work, do you really want someone who does not do it all the time figuring it out. I have had many done at a dealer with no issues.

Just my 2 cents.

 

You are on the right track. I have been involved with this Honda V-6 for 17 years through 3 Odysseys before my wife got her RDX. The Aisin kit is the best you can buy and certainly the same exact parts as OEM. This engine would not be exotic to anyone who works on Hondas. (in fact, you could price this service at a Honda dealer) If you do use an independent mechanic, I would also make sure to take in real Honda coolant as well. Don't forget the spark plugs, they are darn expensive as well. Beware of fakes on Amazon & Ebay. Reputable sources only.
Here is a discount code for Rock Auto from the Odyclub:

5% Discount Code: 698E1A8E71C746
Expires: August 12, 2020

I have no doubt there will be a new code after the 12th

 

Spark plugs - I was told at Acura dealership that spark plug is 31.99$ each. And I found the same NGK 7751 on roackauto for muuuch less. I just don't understand why dealerships don't want to attract more customers by liberating prices for spare parts.

 

Rock Auto: $9.05

From NGK.com: $12.31

From an online dealer, Bernardi in this case: $26.14 ($31.88 list)

 

How about a 2013 RDX with 43,500 miles? Any thoughts on an older vehicle, but with that low of mileage.

 

I think it kind of depends on where you live. If it's really hot or cold parts a lot, then going by the 7 years part of the 7yr/105k recommendation might be wise.

 

I don't completely understand the reasoning about extreme climate effects on the timing belt. I guess I can see there might be issues where the temps vary a lot from season to season...below zero winters to 100 deg summers but where we live (Phoenix AZ area) it's regularly around 110F in the summer but rarely below the 40s in the winter. So the belt is already 110F when you start the car, how much hotter is it going to get? Another 50 deg or so? It doesn't seem to me that there would be that much of a temperature shock. I can see if it was -20F but it seems to me that a constant high temp wouldn't affect it that much...it's designed to operate in temps like that anyway. Having said that, I understand that they do eventually wear out but like the poster above, ours is a 2014 with right at 40k miles, always garaged. How likely is the timing belt to fail in the next 20k miles? I realize that a failure would be catastrophic but I guess it comes down to 'how lucky do you feel?'

We had it in for A/C service recently (first time it had been in the shop) and that was something the service writer recommended (along with a cabin air filter change for about $50 even tho I had changed it that morning. How well did they really inspect things?) at a cost of around $1k. How lucky do I feel?

 

The truth is, the belts rarely break unless severely neglected. But evidence is mostly based on engines that see more normal 15-20k a year.
So after 120-140k you are really playing with fire (in this case bent valves) I think for really low miles folks, waiting as long as 10 years is probably ok.
Actually, one should be very attuned to sounds as the tensioner is far more often the cause of belt failure.

 

I'm in basically the exact situation you are...2013, 44K miles, AZ. People here continually say "just follow the maintenance reminders". Well, shouldn't the MID have alerted me once 7 years hit earlier this year to change the timing belt? It hasn't. I think I'm going to get it changed at 60K, which should be around 8-9 years...unless the MID recommends it first.

 

The MID is going to set a code for the timing belt the 14th time the oil life got to 15%. It is based on the previous 7500 mile oil change interval. So, on the 4th, it will set codes for the stuff we used to do at 30k.

 

My experience with 4 people who have had crashed engines on Civics is the belts go about 125k.

 

Which may say more about Civic drivers than anything else. But really, anything over105k or 7 years can be considered neglect.

 

They all bought the cars used with the seller claiming the belts had been replaced. No service records, of course. Fortunately, Civics have moved away from belts.

 

What about labor and parts warranty when you change at dealership? Should they all be the same? The reason I am asking is that one dealership said 12mo, another 36mo. I believe all Acura official dealers should have the same warranty terms as they use the same OEM parts and certified labor.

 

It’s rare that the timing belt breaks on its own. However, the water pump bearing can seize, or the belt tensioner or idler pulley can break and any one of these failures will cause the belt to break or fall off. Because it’s an interference engine, once the belt breaks the camshafts are free to turn on their own out of synchronization with the rest of the engine. The valves open so far that when the piston drives up out of time it will collide with the valves causing extensive damage. In summary, it's about the risk profile that someone feels comfortable with in regard to having it changed based on years or miles. As for me, I would not take the risk since this is a very infrequent maintenance task.

On items such as a timing belt kit, sensor, spark plugs, etc., I'll always pay a little extra and purchase OEM. Asin's parent company is Toyota and Honda is one of their clients. I have friends who have had Asin timing belt kits put in their Toyota's with no problems so I assume they are fine. In contrast, there are some repair shops in SoCA that will not use Aisin and only OEM kits for Lexus cars.

As far as having an independent repair shop do the work vs a dealer, it's all about peace of mind. The job is not rocket science but is very important that it be done correctly. So, if something goes wrong who would you feel more comfortable with an independent shop or dealer covering warranty expenses?

 

I also prefer dealers to make the change. Why don’t they all give 36mos warranty on labor and parts? Some do, but not all, some of them give just 12mo.

 

I had the dealer replace my timing belt at 7 years with 68k miles last fall. $850 for belt, tensioner and serpentine belt which is their package deal. They advised against changing the water pump as they wait until the second timing belt change unless they see seepage. I had an Integra timing belt jump a tooth at 106k but by luck it did not damage the engine. That put the fear in me and I won't take a chance again.

 

I replaced the timing belt, tensioner, drive belt, water pump and coolant on my 2013 RDX with about 38,000 miles back in June. I didn't have any issue before the replacement but after the replacement, I noticed some weird noise disappeared when I first start the car in the morning.

 

That noise didn't sorta sound like a galloping horse, did it? Mine does that about 5 seconds after the first start of the day. I always thought it was the AC system.

 

What you're describing sounds like piston slap.