Any advice on a broken timing belt that had under 12,000 miles on it?
Hi, This past weekend my 2004 Chevy Aveo hatchback’s timing belt snapped just after 11,830 miles of usage. I was wondering if anyone might have any suggestions on how I can deal with this situation.
While driving, I heard a rattle in the engine compartment and the car stopped. I had the car towed to a Chevy dealership to have it checked out. They told me the timing belt snapped and the Aveo will need the standard work associated with a broken timing belt. And it's very expensive. I told them that I’d just had the timing belt changed recently. It was changed on 6/24/09 as preventative maintenance and installed at 59,744 miles. The work was done by GM certified mechanics at a different Chevrolet dealership. The mileage on this car as of this weekend is 71,574 miles, so the new timing belt I had installed had a life of 22 months and 11,830 miles.
As far as I'm concerned this is unacceptable. My original timing belt lasted 60,000 miles until I replaced it as required preventative maintenance. It's even suggested by the manufacturer that the timing belt be inspected every 30,000 miles. My new timing belt didn't last even half of that time.
I called the dealership that had changed my timing belt, told them what happened, and asked if there was anything they could do. They apologized and said no because they have a 12 month/12,000 mile service warranty and it has been over 12 months.
I called Chevrolet's customer care and informed them of my problems and asked for their help in this situation. After a couple of rounds of phone calls with the dealerships dealing with my car, the Chevy representative told me there was nothing he could do because the belt is "wear and tear". I do not accept this as an excuse for why my timing belt only lasted 11,830 miles. I asked to speak to his supervisor. The Chevy rep apologized and said he’d pass my case up to someone else. I'm now waiting for a phone call from a district specialist.
Does anyone out there have any advice?
Also, if I have the repair done on this car, should I be concerned about the engine giving me endless problems from here on in? The repair consists of a new timing belt, new cylinder head, pulleys and water pump.
Thanks, ChevyAveoOwner11830
