FYI, I just repalced my timing belt on my 2004 ES330 @ 110k miles, just wanted everyone to know the belt looked great, i think i could have gone another 50k. I also replaced the water pump that also looked good. Dealer says replace at 90k, that's BS, unless you Hot Rod it around. I paid my local mechanic D&L Auto Corona CA $742, that included: Front Brakes-Fan Belts-Timing Belt and Water pump. Lexus dealer wanted $1400 for the same job.

 

And your thinking is what leads to parts breaking and then complaining about how the car crapped out. There is a routine schedual for that stuff for a reason. My car can run 30k miles on the same oil/filter. Does that mean it is good?

 

that's because they are supposed to be replaced before they break... that's why it's called preventative maintenance.

 

What? do you guys work for the dealer or what, i'm just stating the dealer recommends you to change it way to early. And that's a bad analogy with the oil change, oil gets dirty and leaves deposits that can harm the engine, the timing belt does not. My timing belt looked brand new after 100k miles, just trying to save people money, they can wait a bit longer.

 

Again, like ishino said, that is why it's called PREVENTATIVE maintenance. The oil analogy works fine because you change it at regular intervals to prevent deposits, sludge, etc. You change oil before it gets too dirty, as you should change your timing belt before it gets too weak.

The timing belt looks fine at 100k as it should; wait until it looks like it needs replacing and chances are that it is much weaker and is much more likely to break and cause much more problems.

That is also like waiting until your tires are completely bald before you replace them, as opposed to 2/32 as recommended. Sure, they can still drive fine, but you get reduced grip and traction.

 

Changing the Timing belt at 90K is like changing your oil after only 1000 miles, is it good to do, Yes, is it necessary NO.

 

Its purely preventative....
I've seen 1mz engines go 200+k without having the T-belt replaced...I'm a toyota tech and i can tell you first hand that the belt doesn't necessarily need to be replaced at 90k...like i said its preventive maintenance, and they generally go by the worst conditions for wear/tear that can occur...the 1mz/3mz engines are not known for breaking the timing belt, it was usually the old 5sfe 2.2L 4cyl that would break the T-belt...if you didnt change those at 60k they would break soon after...the 1mz/3mz has a very strong and durable belt and it seems to hold up very well. Im gonna wait till over 100k to replace mine. (@ 85k now)

 

Thank you "03 ES" nicely put. Finally a voice of reason.

 

Sure, you don't have to replace it at 90k. Hell, I have 130k, and I'm not doing mine yet. But having studied belt failures, I can tell you that a belt can look brand new, and be almost ready to break. Small cracks may develop on the edges of sync nodes that you can't see. Or it could become fatigued from heat or heat cycling. Or it could stretch. Just because it looks nice doesn't mean it's going to last. There's a ton of shredded belts in our lab that look brand new, but they're over 10 years old. Just because they haven't gotten dirty doesn't mean they're okay to use.

A good comparison would be tires. a 10 year old tire can look brand new, but it's subject to failure due to dry rotting and other things. Belts have a shelf life too - and it's unwise to test it.

The reason they have you do it that early is so that you're replacing it when it's not near the end of it's life. They know people will wait till the last minute, and then blame Toyota when it actually does fail. If they said "replace it at 200k," people might wait till 220k and, conditions permitting, that might be when theirs fails.

Plus - would you rather pay a hundred bucks and replace it now, or have to buy new pistons and valves, and possibly have to replace or re-surface your heads?

 

Good point about the age of the belt, if your pushing 10 years old then it should be replaced no matter what the miles are. You say "pay hundred bucks to replace" ?? Maybe in 1950, its more like 400 - 600 bucks, unless you do it yourself.

 

I have a 1998 ES300 with 50K miles. Are you saying because of age I should replace it now?

 

^ I sure as hell would!

And btw, I didn't follow this procedure to the 'T', i had mine done on my 01 ES300 at around ~100k miles, purely from an age/mileage point of view.

Also this is a subjective topic pertaining to specific cars. On one of my local boards, a member had his t-belt snap on his 2001 VW Jetta. Simply because instead of doing it at 100k km's he choose to delay it and it broke around ~115k km's.

5000$ later the car is on the road again.

 

Ummmm, ES300s have non interference engines....meaning, if the belt were to break, the pistons would not hit the valves...

and I wouldn't be so hard on Target08. He's only giving his opinion based on exp. In the end, it's up to the owner to decide when to change the belt but don't hate on someone because they're only trying to save you money.

 

My Nana's '95 Corolla (She JUST gave it to me) has 20,500 miles. I replaced the T-Belt in January. Why? Age. Rubber goes bad with age as stated earlier. I do most of my own work, and do preventative maintmence. I even do stuff BEFORE it;s recommended.

NO ONE, including my dealer can understand how the with the way I drive my car, it;s still on the original Trany and Engine. I know it;s just a matter of time, but it;s funny how no one can believe it;s still running, and that I STILL get better mpg then almost anyone else with the same car, when mine is modded and thiers is stock.

 

Interesting, didn't realize that. Still, getting that cam timing re-set up sure would be annoying.