How often should the timing belt be replaced?

I have Passat GLX, that was bought in March 2001. The car now has 34K
miles on it. The dealer said that I should replace the timing belt
every four years. I checked the manual and it is not very clear to me;
it only suggests the replacement for TDI engines, no mention of the
gasoline V6 engines.

So when should I have it replaced? In March 2005, during my 40K
service? Or should I wait until 60K?

Kagan Gokbayrak wrote:
> I have Passat GLX, that was bought in March 2001. The car now has 34K
> miles on it. The dealer said that I should replace the timing belt
> every four years. I checked the manual and it is not very clear to me;
> it only suggests the replacement for TDI engines, no mention of the
> gasoline V6 engines.
>
> So when should I have it replaced? In March 2005, during my 40K
> service? Or should I wait until 60K?

I would tend to go along with a minimum time of 5-6 years. Belts both
wear and age. So if you are a low mileage driver, you may need to replace
sooner than the mileage indicated in the manual.

I don't know, but if the GLX is a non-interference engine, then you can
afford to push it a little further than you would want to push a
interference engine.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

Kagan Gokbayrak wrote:
> I have Passat GLX, that was bought in March 2001. The car now has 34K
> miles on it. The dealer said that I should replace the timing belt
> every four years. I checked the manual and it is not very clear to me;
> it only suggests the replacement for TDI engines, no mention of the
> gasoline V6 engines.
>
> So when should I have it replaced? In March 2005, during my 40K
> service? Or should I wait until 60K?

I would tend to go along with a minimum time of 5-6 years. Belts both
wear and age. So if you are a low mileage driver, you may need to replace
sooner than the mileage indicated in the manual.

I don't know, but if the GLX is a non-interference engine, then you can
afford to push it a little further than you would want to push a
interference engine.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

My manual for the 2001 says to replace the timing belt and tensioner at
105,000 miles. (page 22 of booklet 1.1 "Maintenance", only reference I
could find.)
John
"Kagan Gokbayrak" > wrote in message
m...
>I have Passat GLX, that was bought in March 2001. The car now has 34K
> miles on it. The dealer said that I should replace the timing belt
> every four years. I checked the manual and it is not very clear to me;
> it only suggests the replacement for TDI engines, no mention of the
> gasoline V6 engines.
>
> So when should I have it replaced? In March 2005, during my 40K
> service? Or should I wait until 60K?

My manual for the 2001 says to replace the timing belt and tensioner at
105,000 miles. (page 22 of booklet 1.1 "Maintenance", only reference I
could find.)
John
"Kagan Gokbayrak" > wrote in message
m...
>I have Passat GLX, that was bought in March 2001. The car now has 34K
> miles on it. The dealer said that I should replace the timing belt
> every four years. I checked the manual and it is not very clear to me;
> it only suggests the replacement for TDI engines, no mention of the
> gasoline V6 engines.
>
> So when should I have it replaced? In March 2005, during my 40K
> service? Or should I wait until 60K?

On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 13:41:44 GMT, "John H" > wrote:

>My manual for the 2001 says to replace the timing belt and tensioner at
>105,000 miles. (page 22 of booklet 1.1 "Maintenance", only reference I
>could find.)
>John
Same recommendation in my 2000 manual.
Jack

On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 13:41:44 GMT, "John H" > wrote:

>My manual for the 2001 says to replace the timing belt and tensioner at
>105,000 miles. (page 22 of booklet 1.1 "Maintenance", only reference I
>could find.)
>John
Same recommendation in my 2000 manual.
Jack

Same in Bentley - 105,000 miles ... Of course Bentley also states that "Volkswagen does not specify a replacement interval for the
timing belt on gasoline engines. However the publisher recommends the belt be replaced at least every 90k miles or 5 years."
(Maintenance section page 21.)

And if you're talking about a VR6 ... then it's chain driven so there is no belt to replace.

Anybody confused yet?


> wrote in message ...
> On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 13:41:44 GMT, "John H" > wrote:
>
>>My manual for the 2001 says to replace the timing belt and tensioner at
>>105,000 miles. (page 22 of booklet 1.1 "Maintenance", only reference I
>>could find.)
>>John
> Same recommendation in my 2000 manual.
> Jack
>

Same in Bentley - 105,000 miles ... Of course Bentley also states that "Volkswagen does not specify a replacement interval for the
timing belt on gasoline engines. However the publisher recommends the belt be replaced at least every 90k miles or 5 years."
(Maintenance section page 21.)

And if you're talking about a VR6 ... then it's chain driven so there is no belt to replace.

Anybody confused yet?


> wrote in message ...
> On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 13:41:44 GMT, "John H" > wrote:
>
>>My manual for the 2001 says to replace the timing belt and tensioner at
>>105,000 miles. (page 22 of booklet 1.1 "Maintenance", only reference I
>>could find.)
>>John
> Same recommendation in my 2000 manual.
> Jack
>

You may want to check out http://www.automotiveforums.com/t166774.html

Some timing belts have lasted for more than 105K and some failed at
52K. This site is for 1.8T though, I do not know if it would be the
same for the V6 engine. People talk about a powertrain warranty which
would cover the engine damage, that I can't trust...

Erik Dillenkofer wrote:
> Same in Bentley - 105,000 miles ... Of course Bentley also states
that "Volkswagen does not specify a replacement interval for the
> timing belt on gasoline engines. However the publisher recommends the
belt be replaced at least every 90k miles or 5 years."
> (Maintenance section page 21.)
>
> And if you're talking about a VR6 ... then it's chain driven so there
is no belt to replace.
>
> Anybody confused yet?
>
>
> > wrote in message
...
> > On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 13:41:44 GMT, "John H" > wrote:
> >
> >>My manual for the 2001 says to replace the timing belt and
tensioner at
> >>105,000 miles. (page 22 of booklet 1.1 "Maintenance", only
reference I
> >>could find.)
> >>John
> > Same recommendation in my 2000 manual.
> > Jack
> >