I have a 2010 TL with 68,000 miles. Car is always garaged. Manual says to replace timing belt at 105,000 miles. I have read that it should be done between 7-10 years due to rubber rot.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks in advance.

 

Its been 16 years man..

 

Rubber degrades with age so it's best to do it ASAP to prevent damage to the engine. I would also recommend while they replace the timing belt that they reseal the oil pump, and replace valve cover gaskets as they tend to leak with age.

Make sure you are getting an oil change 1x a year also minimum!

 

The Honda timing belts are over-engineered, but you are flirting with disaster as you are 2x+ beyond recommended maintenance interval. Definitely need to get it done ASAP...

 

So, do timing belt retailers (Honda/Acura Dealers, independent parts distributors, etc.) throw away timing belt inventories after 7-10 years of being on the shelf awaiting sale?? I seriously doubt that. Heat and cooldown cycles plus stress cycles due to motor milage are the contributors to timing belt wear. You can inspect the condition of your timing belt by removing the front bank timing belt cover and inspecting it. The whole belt can be inspected by rotating the crank pulley 360 degrees twice slowly while inspecting the belt as it rotates around the front bank cam pulley looking for cracks or fraying. If there is a study where shelf life of timing belt material is an issue, I'd like to see it.

 

Sounds like changing out the TB now would be good if you are planning to keep the TL longer. You can get another 10-16 years after the change. My Acura dealership just raised their labor rates to $200 per hour. It is just going to be more expensive to change it out later AND you have a higher potential of engine damage with the old +16 year old TB.

 

Just curious, are you the original owner?
If so, during regular service intervals, if any, did the maintenance provider bring the need of an eventual timing belt replacement to your attention during the past 16years?

Interesting perspective & rationale.
First, I'm thinking vendor inventory levels are not maintained in such huge quantities to have said timing belt components potentially sit for more than 7-10 years?

Secondly, even though the OP's 68K mileage is low the fact still remains that the timing belt components have been sitting in the position(s) below longer than being in use over 16 years?
A rubber timing belt and the bearings of the pullies & water pump are constantly 'tensioned' as shown below with heat & cold cycles as mentioned.


Take that comparison looking at the TB components while idly sitting in a box on a shelf.

Finally, speaking from similar personal experience as the OP, I purchased a 51K mile driveway queen 2003 SC'd CL-S in Oct 2019 with 17 y/o factory timing belt components. Owner confirmed he had never had the timing belt replaced, since it was one of the first questions I asked, before purchase, and was worth a $500 price reduction to me, lol. Upon delivery of the car, aside from removing the SC'er components for eventual sale here in the Black Market, a new timing belt kit was installed promptly. Inspection of the factory TB components surprisingly revealed good condition; however, they were not worth the further gamble with TIME.

 

Yes I am the original owner.
I inspected the belt yesterday and it looks almost new. I removed the forward upper plastic cover and I rotated the crankshaft and using an inspection mirror and flashlight grabbed it, squeezed it and I decided to just keep it. I believe that this is all a hype just like 3,000 mile oil changes.
Thanks to all of you for the input.

 

The belt is not the only failure point, it's the tensioner that usually fails way before the belt does.

 

Sounds like you are unconvincingly entrenched in your faulty reasoning.
As a result reasonable critical thinking skill analysis is not going to sway you either way; therefore, best of luck to you.
BTW, Since you don't indicate what engine you have in that pristine 68K mile TL of yours, I have included examples of both the 3.5L & 3.7L V6's below to give an idea of the cost of a 'new' used engine should yours sh!t the bed due to TB failure @ 16 years+.
3.5L:


3.7L:

. Enjoy!

 

thoiboi right: if you don't want to mess with the belt, at least replace the TB tensioner. Replacing it takes no more than an hour of labor.

 

So long as you are prepared for the consequences when the tensioner and/or the belt snaps - you are in good shape. Other folks may be more risk averse than you seem to be but at least you have made an informed decision.

 

Interesting how the cost of a replacement engine is almost up there with what the dealerships are charging for the A124 service. I was quoted $1800 by Price Acura in DE for timing belt, water pump and plugs on my 2013.

 

I agree; replacing such an engine at an independent shop in our part of Delaware ranges from $2,000 to $2,500—though you will still need to perform the A124 service on the new engine as well.