Our 59 plate 42k miles Seat Altea 2.0 diesel recently had a main dealer service where they said the cambelt needed changing as the car is now 4 years old.

Not chuffed every car I have owned has been 6 years +.

Booked in at independent VAG dealer as much cheaper, due to have it done tomorrow. They have just phoned saying it doesn’t need doing as the latest info from the Seat servicing schedule says 120k miles.

Confused I just rang Seat UK and they said its every 4 years 60k miles (recommend).

So do you change or wait? I’m more concerned about resale as we hope to sell within the next year, and don’t want it to reduce resale value. Also if the cambelt does go it would be very very costly.

Confused, what to do?

whats the question ?

i think your seat dealers at it as cambelts have always had a time based and a milage based recomended life – which ever is reached first.

i do mine in the van every 3 years – let me guess have your older cars been petrol ?

I’d go with having it changed based on age rather than mileage. Cost of cambelt change is much less than the damage it will cause when it goes.

4 year intervals by the looks of it.

http://www.mytimingbelt.com/Results.aspx?ModelId=95

I just had my golf belt changed at 36k. Will do again at 100k or 3 years.

I have run both a petrol Peugeot and a diesel Fiat for 15 years without changing the cam belt. Check out your model on car forums and make a judgement based on the replies. If you owned a Metro 6R4 I’d suggest every 500km and expect to hear it had broken prematurely at less than that.

The UK isn’t especially hot, cold or dusty.

Mrs BigJohn has a V reg Golf and our local independent garage who we’ve been with for years, and always point us to the cheaper option, made a big fuss about the cambelt change after it had gone over 4 years. Even though the mileage was really low they said it really really really had to be done. Apparently if you use the VW belt & pulley kit that gives you a 4 year warranty.

newish car high value i would do it
old banger i would risk 6 years- actually i would probably wait till it broke and get another car

your choice

Pretty sure we’re just about due on our 2.0 VAG diesel at nearly 6 years and seem to remember doing it on the old Golf before we sold it so less than 5 years.

Get it done in my opinion. If it breaks it will be expensive!

Usually the interval is x miles or x years whichever comes sooner.

Cheers

Danny B

No point in getting it done before the manufacturer recommendation. You just need to establish what that is. I’d be surprised if it is as low as 42k miles. There are two wear mechanisms with rubber timing belts so you have to observe the time related limit also – whichever comes first. Having said that my old Focus was 100k miles with no time limitation. I chickened out at 90k miles and circa 6 yrs.

i guess you have CR Tdi engine, then yes its either 4 years or 120k miles whichever comes first. Older PD engines were from 60-80k miles or 3 years.

My Audi petrol is every 5 years and I felt badly done by when I changed it at 5 years and only 35k on the clock. Sounds like I was wrong in my assessment, another reason for me never to consider a diesel by the look of it.

I would get it done on a four year old car, it is not that expensive, or is it on an oil burner?

Had the same with a Seat dealer. Rang Seat uk who told me another two years…

Funny that. A privately owned franchised garage drumming up business..

10year and 150,000 ! I’m not sure the turbo will last that long.

I don’t think mine has a cam belt.

Engage “smug mode”

8)

The only reason I would see to change a cambelt before 100k miles is resale value. A big con to be changing earlier.

Do what’s recommended by the manufacturer – as above double check and don’t take dealers word for it.

FWIW our diesel (Audi) was 6 years for cambelt from memory, our other petrol car has 2yr service intervals. Point being things vary a quite a lot. So check up and do what’s recommended eecially if you want to sell on next year.

Every 40k on our 1.9 TDi Gal-Shambra.

I’m about to get mine done on my car at just over 5 years old, and I’m not normally one to get things like this done earlier than I have to. Mind you, the recommended mileage interval is 125k and it’s just gone past that 😉

The only reason I would see to change a cambelt before 100k miles is resale value. A big con to be changing earlier.

On some (many?) diesels the cambelt drives the injector pump. Since it does more work it needs doing earlier. 60k on my Passat.

depends on cost as well … my vans every 3 years but only costs 60 quid fitted inc tensioners. Did the water pump this time as well with genuine peugeot and was still only 250.

i did a 1995 escort on 42k miles at 10 years old – it was thread bare are ready to snap.

Thanks for input. I did check with Seat UK and they said every 4 years.

Independent were quoting £370.

Odly now going to get it done at main dealer as £30 cheaper and courtesy car!

Just got rid of a Mondeo diesel that had done 120k and had never needed doing as chain driven.

There is a risk to changing your cam belt – that the person doing it doesn’t tension it correctly (suffering a cambelt failure immediately following a belt change is not unheard of, not common by any stretch, but does happen), and that you have issues with your water pump after disturbing it (leaking or bearing failure). Errors introduced through maintenance action is the most common cause of unreliability, so why risk it by changing ahead of the manufacturers recommendation when it is completely unnecessary.

With most if not all Seat’s it’s recommended every 4 years or 40,000 miles.

My brother is a VW Tech and has told me it’s best to stick to the recommendation as my Seat Ibiza is due it’s first 4 year change (i’m having it done this weekend in fact).

Due to Seat’s being practically identical under the bonnet to Volkswagen i’m pretty inclined to listen to him. At the end of the day I trust his judgement as he’s not selling it to me, just advising me.

the only risk is when you dont have a competent garage you trust.

cambelts are not rocket science – if i can do it(and im not a trained mech) then id goddam hope a garage can.

there is an issue finding a skilled mechanic these days though.

dont be fooled into thinking a chain cam is risk free- only thing a chain guarantees is that itll be very expensive when something gives – See BMW chain driven engines 😉

I’d go with having it changed based on age rather than mileage.

I wouldn’t. It’s perfectly possible to rack up 60k in a year. That means the belt would have done 240k in four years!!

Mileage every time for me. Better safe than sorry.

Whichever comes first. Which is what the instructions say..!

hehe coming from owning Alfas there is absolutely no question, ALWAYS change the cam belt, at the first available opportunity 🙂