tgrip

Went to my local Acura dealership today and they told me it is time to have the timing belt changed on my 2004 TL. It has 105,000 miles on it and that is when they recommend it be changed.

The only problem with that is they want $1,143.00

So what is the reality here? Would you have it done? or would you drive it for 30-50k more miles and then worry about it?

Just a lot of jack to fork over just because they recommend it.

gbc_yoyo

if your belt pops then its gona cost you way more than 1k to fix the car....I was in your situation about a year ago regarding my VW and the dealer told me the same thing....I asked the mechanic to open the the plastic cover in order for me to get a visual on the belt. What I saw was horrific. The belt was cracked everywhere! I am no mechanic guru, but I am smart enough to know if the belt pops while you are driving its basically GG 5k minimum repairs.

IMO you should replace the belt if you are due.

Brettg

Yes, if the belt breaks, all the valves are trash, sometimes the pistons and rods, heads, so the entire motor is trash.

105,000 miles is a lot, you used to have to replace timing belts every 60,000, I guess belts have gotten a LOT better.

Depending on the engine design, most places replace everything, water pump, rollers, tensioner, as the labor to get at things is the big expense.

I just did the rav 4 timing belt, about $150.00 for parts, but a lot of work in a tight space....not real fun.

Brett

tgrip

Thanks guys,

I think I am going to get it changed next week.

I wish there was some way to inspect it with out having to take everything off and spend $1100. But oh well....

RACINGHART03

iTrader: (2)

If you have 105k you dont need to inspect it. You need to replace it.

DMZ

105,000 miles is the point where you're supposed to do a FULL tune up .... timing belt, tensioner, rollers, water pump, cooling system flush, spark plugs, fuel filter, PCV valve, etc.

The majority of that $1,143 is labor. Just the thought of getting to the rear spark plugs makes me go .

Doing all this stuff was 10X easier on my '89 4cyl Accord.

NE14RoxCJ

Whats wrong with the rear plugs? I just changed mine (a little early) and it was surprisingly simple. I had to remove the coolant tank to get one of the front coils out of the head, but the rears were easy after some plastic was removed.

Also, I just do what my car tells me to do. If it says to change the water pump (which it won't), I'd do it. A honda tech told me that the 3.2's are not prone to water pump failure so if it wasn't dripping or had a loose shaft, they left it in there. If you're worried about the cost to get to the pump, then go ahead.

Our cars (3G TL) don't have fuel filters, do they? I think they could benefit from the intake plenum being removed and cleaned. Especially the EGR and idle passages.

Mine is rapidly approaching that dreaded maintenance minder message @ 105k miles, so I've been planning when I can start getting more intimate with the inner workings of my engine bay.

I hate cars

The water pump is a good idea. I've learned that when the unit is in service for a long time and you change a belt and take tension off the bearings, I've had alternator and water pump bearings go out shortly after replacing a belt.

IMO, knowing how Acura pushes maintenance as far as practical, the 105,000 mile timing belt service probably doesn't have a lot of "cushion" built into it. I'm going to push mine all the way to the recommended limit but I rarely go above 3,000rpm and most of my miles are freeway driving. If mine were accumulated around town and at high rpms I would do the belt sooner than 105K but I'm pretty OCD.

ARX-01b

iTrader: (1)

Just do it yourself. It's not real hard, just time consuming

gbc_yoyo

If you dont know anything about mechanics, I would strongly suggest you let a professional change your timming belt. This is not like changing a tire! if you screw up, your engine is garbage after that.

tgrip

Have no fear YoYo, I am not going to touch it. I don't have the time to mess with it. It is going in the shop today to have the timing belt, pulleys, and the water pump replaced.

gbc_yoyo

It would hurt me inside to know that a TL went through extensive heart surgery

Tripnbeats

its def not an easy task.....i did mine at 80k and most of it was under warranty because a few parts were broken that werent supposed to be.....i had a leaking belt tensioner and bad pulley. and the tech told me that the tensioner and pulleys ALWAYS go bad so 1100 should be slightly cut down i paid about 400 for parts and 200 for labor.

kela123

hey all, just got my 05 tl last month , w/60K teh service light was on and the oil level at 0%. I changed the oil but the light would not shutoff so i took it to acura of brrooklyn to get everything checked out. here is the verdikt :

Tuneup - 589.00
Transmission service/timignbelt - 1200.00

do i need to go through w this?!! it's mad mnoney that i aint got and the car does not haver 100k on it yet

plz advise

Will Y.

That's a ridiculous upsell! :shakehead
There is no "60K mile" service- it might be a B3 per the MID code display, but the B3 does not require a "tune-up" unless you have noisy/misadjusted valves.
The "transmission service" is a change of the transmission fluid, and the timing belt is not due until 105K miles.

At this point, you should get the brake and transmission fluids changed (preferably at an independent Honda/Acura mechanic instead of that dealership), along with the other work listed in the manual for the B3 service. I can't see that running more than $400, unless you have noisy lifters/valves.

Welcome to AZ.

DMZ

Those 2 numbers combined are an outright SCAM! Unless of course they're including your unlimited use of an escort service while your car is laid up giving you the opportunity to get screwed in 2 ways.

Acura of Brooklyn and Paragon in Queens are known for being the 2 BIGGEST RIP OFF Acura dealers in the United States.

That type of major service is due at 105,000 miles. You might want to try Acura of Valley Stream or Rallye Acura in Roslyn.

kela123

DMZ good looking out!, i got the car back yesterday they did the brakes and recalls along with the service very cheap teh timing belt i will definatly leave for later.

Legend2TL

No at 105K miles you're at the recommended service limit for the TB. I agree with others and also replace the water pump, if the tensioner looks good I would not replace it.

The timing belt will eventually break, time and mileage will weaken them to the point when it will fail. When they do a interference motor, the valves and pistons will collide and create alot of damage.

The prices seems slightly higher than what others have seen on here for a TB/water pump replacement, if it includes new plugs for the 105K mile tuneup, it's probably in the pricerange.

lars161

The tensioner, adjuster pulley and idler pulleys don't really need to be replaced. I do lots of timing belts and I never replace them unless they seem bad. Why waste more of the customer's money?? I did some a little while ago on a 01, but that had a leaking crank seal with oil on everything. So in the almost 7 years working on acuras and doing hundreds of timing belts i had one with a bad tensioner come back 80k later

tgrip

I had an independent, highly recommended mechanic do all my work last week.

He replaced the timing belt, the pulleys, tensioner, serpentine belt, replaced the spark plugs with iridium plugs, cleaned the injectors and did the full tune up on it for $785.

It runs so much better, quieter, and is already getting better fuel milage.

DMZ

What about the water pump and cooling system flush?

dclink

Hello, I am new here. I hope to be an Acura owner tomorrow! I neglected to change my daughter's Daewoo belt and it broke- so I changed the belt and the motor. A much bigger deal! Can anyone point me to a procedure manual to change the timing belt? The Daewoo was not too tough. I don't want to make the same mistake again.

tgrip

Yep, I just left it out. Brand new water pump and flushed the entire system. Runs like it was brand new. I am real happy with the work and how the car is running.

Brettg

If it was me, I would replace everything that the timing belt turns, as the big expense is getting to the parts.

I would do the work myself, and order parts on line, and could likely do the entire job for under $300.00, new belt, water pump, rollers, tensioner, coolant, thermostat (if its hard to get at).

I would NOT want some roller I did not replace because it cost $50.00 to fail 20,000 miles after doing all the work.
210,000 miles is a lot to ask for a timing belt roller to last!

Now, if you want to stick it to someone else, you might just replace the belt if you plan on selling the car before long, but you will have very bad karma...
Brett