Is the timing belt maintenence covered under warranty?

[zchandran]

I never heard of the free 30K mile inspection or I would have taken the dealer up on it. I'm at 53K miles on a '06 Aveo right now, and after reading the posts on here about the timing belt, am a bit worried.

Is it worth doing a quick inspection myself, and if the belt looks in good shape, putting the replacement off for a year or so? I want to change the water pump at the same time obviously, and this seems low mileage to do that. But if a simple inspection is going to take half as much time as the replacement, I'll just bite the bullet and replace it now.

Also, in response to the initial post, I have never seen the 60K replacement covered by warranty - it has been required maintenance on every single car I have dealt with. One of my friends had their timing belt snap at 65,000 - it wrecked the pistons as well as the valves, but the dealer wouldn't cover the engine work under the powertrain extended warranty since the timing belt had not been replaced as required.

[NorthernAveo]

Best to do the change at the recommended 50k or earlier see the path of this belt around the pullies is rather severe and puts a lot of stress on it.

[AVE0SAM]

i recommend changing the belt early....had mine jump because the belt was missing so many teeth. i think that was around 50,000 mi

[AveoRob]

None of this is covered under warranty. There is an inspection cover that is fairly easily removed that exposed the top portion of the belt. I skipped the inspection at 30K but replaced the belt at 60K. I went to the dealer and it was 300 bucks without the water pump. with water pump was gonna be like 500+. I figured I could risk the pump for another 60K, but not the belt. water pump goes, engine lives another day, timing belt goes and its smashey smashey.

BTW, I think the 04 Honda CR-V is a chain. Also my 02 maxima, but that was a V6

[hooah212002]

Why go to the dealer to have it done? It would be hella cheaper at a private shop, yes? (this has been my experience in the past: dealerships rip you off). Or will GM only cover it if the work was done at the dealer?

[thebluelightbulb]

None of this is covered under warranty. There is an inspection cover that is fairly easily removed that exposed the top portion of the belt. I skipped the inspection at 30K but replaced the belt at 60K. I went to the dealer and it was 300 bucks without the water pump. with water pump was gonna be like 500+. I figured I could risk the pump for another 60K, but not the belt. water pump goes, engine lives another day, timing belt goes and its smashey smashey.

BTW, I think the 04 Honda CR-V is a chain. Also my 02 maxima, but that was a V6

i believe GM recommends a water pump replacement at the same time as the timing belt, just because if the water pump leaks for whatever reason, the coolant could cause the rubber in the belt to break down and cause damage. shop around and see who'll do both for less.

[AveoRob]

Why go to the dealer to have it done? It would be hella cheaper at a private shop, yes? (this has been my experience in the past: dealerships rip you off). Or will GM only cover it if the work was done at the dealer?

How much cheaper than 300 bucks? I think the parts were clse to 100 and the dealer charger 2 hrs labor @115/hr. Since I have a 100K warranty and didn't want to tackle this project to save 200 bucks, I thought it was worth it.

i believe GM recommends a water pump replacement at the same time as the timing belt, just because if the water pump leaks for whatever reason, the coolant could cause the rubber in the belt to break down and cause damage. shop around and see who'll do both for less.

Yes, the dealer wanted to replace the water pump, but like I said it added 200 bucks and frankly I will take my chances at 60K. If I develop a coolant leak, I think I will notice before the coolant breaks the belt down that much.
Like I said I can take a chance with the pump and survive, not with the belt.

I am just letting you know what I did, I have about 15K on replacement so far. Do whatever makes you sleep at night.

[pwf]

My wife and I each have 07' Aveo's. I got my belt changed at just under 60,000 miles. The water pump was never mentioned at the dealership. It cost me $385 with the serpentine belt being changed at the same time. 8 Months later it was time for my wife's timing belt to be replaced. They quoted me $425.00 and I asked them why since I had my other belts replaced there for under $300. They told me to bring in my receipt and they would see what they could do. I also called around. Another dealership wanted to replace the water pump as well at 60,000 and total cost would be over $800, so I went back to my original dealer, and they did the job on both belts for $365, so I didn't complain. I think it's pretty pitiful that a water pump isn't rated for more than 60,000 miles. BTW we never did a 30,000 mile inspection.

[petrified.rabbit]

its not that the water pump is not good after 60k, its that if you need to replace the water pump later you have to take the timing belt back off, and basically pay for another timing belt job, the overlap makes it cost effective to do both at that same time. But the $400 more than just a timing belt job is almost uncalled for..

[trempus]

also the water is good for longer than 60,000 it's the bearing in the drive pulley that is not that good, and the seal maybe let go

but it's easier to replace the whole water pump than it is to rebuild it