Did my mom get ripped off on the timing belt change?
 

I was wondering if any of you have had your timing belt changed on the 99-03 TL by an Acura dealership and what was the cost? My mom ended up paying almost $1,700.00. There was a charge of $1373 for the timing belt install with labor. Then there was a $290.00 charge for "adjusting valves back to factory specs". How much did you all pay, and is anybody familiar with the "adjusting valves" charge?

Thanks,

B.

way too much for the belt change - make sure nothing else was done? I paid around $750 total. but the $290 for the valve adjustment is not too bad. this isnt a "must" do but is recommended after 105k miles

Well, the service ticket says the belt was changed, drive belt, water pump, tensioners, idlers, and coolant. The Labor was $840 and the parts were $533. So was is the labor cost reasonable? I called another dealership today and received a quote for $1125 which is almost $200 less than what my mom paid for the same services (before the valve adjustment).

All seems a tad high, but close to what it should be, sounds like about 8hrs of labor. I think it should be near 6 but eh... Just remember if anything fails within the warranty you're good.
Little hole in the wall shops may not have a good warranty like Acura does.

i just got a quote from acura here in canada for 1000 bucks parts and everything in and 99 bucks for the valve adjustment once they are in their

It depends on how thorough the work was. If they replaced the A/C tensioner and everything else in there, then it's not too bad. Still, that's a really expensive T-belt job.

However, the valve adjustment they gave you was really cheap. Expect to pay ~1k for T-belt job, and ~600 for the valve adjustments.

In the end, the total price is just a 100-200 bucks over. From now on, you should review the parts pricing and ask them to match online dealers. You can save a lot that way.

the valve adjustment is a very good idea, especially with the years we have on the engine now..returning them to spec,,
uh-huh,,thats what you do , inspect each one with a feeler guage and the ones not on spec get adjusted
Its not 600 labor for that
there is some minor crossover of labor with timing belt but seperate jobs

I would have added egr port and passage cleaning of the intake manifold-
its removed to get to the valve covers to remove them,,to adjust valves

the total was within reason of most dealers- labor rate varies by area
and this is the slowest time of year for auto repair,,you are going to get jacked if you dont know what you are doing

if it was done right, a few hundred $$ isnt as important as it being safe for mom to drive!
did they include spark plugs?
tensioners and idler pullies?

If she got good service, felt good about the process, and the car was repaired properly then that is a fine price.

Could it have been done cheaper? Yes, but you may have had to trade off on the experience/reliability.

What HEAVY_RL said.

Eh, I was told by an Acura tech that it's typically a 3hr job for them to do the belt, pump, tensioner job. $150 is what a valve adjustment costs around my way at the Import shop I go to if I don't feel capable or I'm too lazy to do my own work. Are you sure there were not any seals replaced on the motor or any other work done?

dealer labor can run $125 to 150 maybe 160++! in some places--per hour !

compare to local shops $80-100-125 and they get to charge 6+ hours on the job
depending on which `labor quote guide book` they choose from (the one with more time)

Our megamoderator fsttyms1 can do the tbelt/wp ---- in less than 1 hour. (done it several times on his and others)
thats the same speed as any good dealer tech- with all the correct hand and air tools set out, knows where every bolt is, and can do it all by memory.

First time you and a ziner buddy, or shop with no experience on TL doing it- yes takes all day

valve adjust SHOULD In My Opinion, include cleaning the egr ports and passage of intake manifold,
but I doubt many shops include that,, or even know the TL needs that done (not in book)
dealer would know of the clogging problem and may include--worth asking them about.

Service Writers job is to explain everything at car pickup, until customer is happy/understands what was installed, needed soon, any questions
Customer should--can/will put all 10s on the survey card from their experience,
Dont let them leave the dealership with car until all 10s are assured
(less than 10s is a fail in corps mind and gets right back to the service manager)

just the manifold remove clean and reinstall is 2 hours at a casual diy pace,
add adjust valves another 1.5 hours for noobs
still have to remove their covers, may have to clean and replace cover seals,
sometimes only a few valves need adjustment, sometimes all of them do,
but you have to do the entire procedure= to line up the next cylinder and ck the clearance, adjust if needed, reck after tightening hold down nut, readjust if needed rotate engine to next valve thats fully closed and ck clearance..adjust

then re'ck every single one after they are all done once- to be sure they are exactly where you want them,,it does time actual time to perform this job- once its accessed

I move in slow motion...it takes me an hr just to rotate my tires:tomato:

It cost me $350 done by a certified Acura mechanic that worked on the car since day 1 =]

That the dealer stealer price for you.. when I had my Odyssey tranny replaced at the dealer, they want to charge me labor the front motor mount as it already out during the tranny replace. So additional labor for the part they have to take out anyway?? I told them no, lol, so they install back the old mount. I later changed the mount myself.

timing belt change
 

Had my 2000 rl timing belt changed at the dealer, it was around $800. 2years ago

Had my 2000 rl timing belt done at the dealer, it was around $800. 2 years ago

Holy cow, you guys are getting good prices on valve adjustments. My Acura dealer charges $600, and my Honda dealer charges $500.

Karanx7

Acura of Tempe wont hook you up. They always took way way good care of me

I go to Acura of Peoria (AcuraOEMParts.com). They match their website price, so I get cheapest parts with no shipping charge.

Maybe I will call Acura of Tempe to get better quotes on service.

Here in Nj (planethonda22) they charge $825 but they have a special going for $389 which is great. And it's at Honda of Hamilton

Honda has published man-hours it takes to perform certain tasks.

I have no doubt the timing belt has a published work effort. The service adviser is supposed to use this information as a way to cost out the work beforehand. Most reputable dealers will stand by those estimates even if it ends up taking more time. Most dealers are flat-rate shops that "sell" the job to the tech for a specific price and the tech can only charge more if there was work beyond the original scope.

If it were me, I'd research what Honda officially estimates the work hours required, compare that what you were charged and then book an appointment with the Service Manager with this information.

Its an unfortunate sad fact that when Service Advisers see a woman, the costs tend to rise dramatically.

I'm glad a thread like this already exists.

Here's the list for my TL:
Head is blown
Water pump leak, with another leak apparently related to the pump
A leak the shop couldn't identify
One cooling fan not operational
Hoses all stock, and just now starting to show signs of deterior
Timing belt and drive belt needing to be changed

The shop quoted me at $1675, depending on the leak they couldn't identify. Timing belt and water pump alone count for about 900. This means that labor SHOULD account for about 540, leaving the rest of the parts to cost about 275.

Based on some of the other posts I've seen, this seems fair. What do you guys think? I do plan on calling Acura of Portland to see what their quote will be though.

+1 and for that price they replace the water pump too. Linky http://www.hamiltonhonda.net/specials/service.htm