I purchased the car used 2 years ago at 58k. The timing belt had supposedly been replaced by the dealer. The conservative minimum for necessary timing belt replacement is 60k. It is a $500 repair if it DOESN'T break. The timing belt broke at 98k, fully 12k short of a very conservative replacement check. The belt did not look excessively worn. In the process of breaking, the exhaust valves on the cylinder head were all bent. I replaced the cylinder head assembly at a cost of $600 after trading mine in for parts (far above most competitive cars in its class), plus $600 in labor and $400 in additional parts (new water pump is essentially required with the timing belt as it will often leak if not replaced, new head gasket, head bolts, spark plugs, timing belt).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I purchased the car used 2 years ago at 58k. The timing belt had supposedly been replaced by the dealer. The conservative minimum for necessary timing belt replacement is 60k. It is a $500 repair if it DOESN'T break. The timing belt broke at 98k, fully 12k short of a very conservative replacement check. The belt did not look excessively worn. In the process of breaking, the exhaust valves on the cylinder head were all bent. I replaced the cylinder head assembly at a cost of $600 after trading mine in for parts (far above most competitive cars in its class), plus $600 in labor and $400 in additional parts (new water pump is essentially required with the timing belt as it will often leak if not replaced, new head gasket, head bolts, spark plugs, timing belt).
- max86, St. Paul, MN, US