2001 TL Timing Belt

Where are you and what is your mileage? Did you mean minus 29°C? I think there is also an age consideration - can anyone confirm or dispute? MZ

You're right, it's -29C. In Quebec, we get maybe 5 days below 30 in the year. And I don't necessarily go out every one of those day. As a matter of fact, I drove less then 5,000km since last year!

I encountered this same question with a '95 300ZX I owned. Owner's and shop manual had the same mileage specifications you are quoting. I finally decided to replace the belt at 95,000 miles, just to be safe. The Nissan mechanic who did the work at the dealership said the belt look like new. I would think that Nissan/Honda/Toyota/etc. are all conservative in this recommendation. Additionally there seems to be a lot of confusion between miles and kilometers for some people, but I would hope a dealership would know the difference. 100,000 miles before replacement seems to be a very common "lifetime" for timing belts. Don't be sucked in by this scam of 100,000 km (62,138 mi).

But be aware that if they don't look like new they are seriously overdue for change. It is never safe to go by appearance in deciding whether to change a timing belt on an interference engine.

Mike

You're absolutely right, but hey, it could be worse, you could be driving something like a Hyundai or Kia where there are even lesser guarantees.

It does sound like a scam, doesn't it? I also noticed that the dealer recommends 3000km service intervals, while the book says 6000km under severe conditions.