Forester Timing Belt Replacement

I'm new to the newsgroup and have been lurking a bit, but wanted to tap into the group knowledge base.

I have a 2003 Forester, In January it had it's 60,000 service at a non-Subaru dealer. Yesterday, I had it at one of the Subaru dealers here in Austin for a Moonroof repair, it turned out to be not a big deal just some debris in the roof tracks, which they didn't even charge me for.

However, on the way out I was talking with the service manager and he asked me where I had my 60,000 mile service done and I told him. He asked if they had changed the timing belt out. No, I said the Warranty and Maintenance schedule doesn't call for it until 105,000 miles. He said, "That's written for the people that live in the northern part of the US, here in the south (Texas) they wear out much quicker." Then of course he went on to relate the story of a customer who, with about the same number miles as I have on mine (69,800) had her timing belt break and of course it damaged the engine incurring the dreaded $2,000+ repair.

I asked him if they had done an inspection on my timing belt and he admitted they hadn't.

Any experiences in the group to relate to having to change the timing belt at 60,000 miles instead of the Subaru recommended 105,000?

Thanks for the help,

Glenn Austin, Texas

Reply to
glenn greenwood
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Reply to
Edward Hayes

Only reason I can think of for doing service earlier than the Subaru designated mileage is that you mileage may be low and rubber has a tendency to rot with time. But, your mileage is high so his argument does not hold water.

Reply to
Frank

Isn't the Subaru recommended replacement to be either 100,000 miles OR 5 years, whichever comes first?

Reply to
Bradley Walker

Reply to
Edward Hayes

Around 100k miles is when it should be done. It obviously will not hurt anything to do it now... except your wallet ofcourse.

glenn greenwood wrote:

Reply to
Dmitriy

I have a 1999 Forester and my Warranty and Maintenance Booklet states that the camshaft drive belt should be replaced "every 105 MONTHS or

105,000 miles whichever comes first."

So it would appear that dealers who tell their customers that the drive belt should be replaced every 5 years are either unaware of what their own literature states or they are trying to rip someone off. They wouldn't intentionally do that would they? ;-)

Reply to
AJay

I had a Nissan service manager tell me that routine maintenance should be done at half the manual intervals. He showed me a sheet where he had inked in dots and said if I did not abide, it would adversely affect the warranty. I told him Nissan knew where I lived and would have told me but I would accept his word if he showed me in print. Of course he disappeared.

Same dealership could not find a nail in a tire. Another service manager I knew told me they probably did not even look because they don't make much money on tire repair.

I still have that 13 year old Sentra and it runs like a top. Dealer has not seen it since warranty expired.

Frank

Reply to
Frank

Since October 2003 I have been driving a 96 Impreza Wagon 2.0 GL Automatic (I live in Holland). When I bought it, at 64,000 km (ca. 40,000 m), the (official) dealer changed the timing belt, he said: Do that at 100,000 km (ca. 65,000 m) and your engine will last forever. He did it included in the price. It does cost a bit (don't forget to change the waterpump bearing and the forward main crankshaft oil ring), it's an investment against costly damage. My soobie is worth it, we love the car, we drive on average 10-12,000 miles per year, and I only see the garage once a year for regular maintenance. But that wthout restraints....!

Georg Jørgensen, Holland

glenn greenwood" schreef in bericht news:lXpvg.1929$ snipped-for-privacy@tornado.texas.rr.com...

Reply to
G.J.H. Jørgensen

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