Conflicting Info in When to do Timing Belt service

Hi all - I have a 2010 TDI wagon, just turned 110K. Local dealership recommends timing belt at 120K or 10 yrs (in line with VW recommendations). Local independent claims that 120K is too long, and believes that TDI timing belt service should be done at 90K.

I'm inclined to follow VW recommendations - anyone have any other credible information to the contrary?

120k. They will easily go longer, but I would not recommend it, although the later cars they did up it to 130k. I have had them in here with 160k and no issues though.

The independent shop isn't giving you information, that's an opinion. You won't go wrong following VW's maintenance schedule.

oilhammer said:

120k. They will easily go longer, but I would not recommend it, although the later cars they did up it to 130k. I have had them in here with 160k and no issues though.

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Thank you - I will stick with VW recommendations.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

The independent shop isn't giving you information, that's an opinion. You won't go wrong following VW's maintenance schedule.

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Thx - that's what I am opting to do.

Not unusual for recommendations to do it early. But you can stick to the VW recommendations unless you're operating in an extreme environment like constant dust, heat, taxi.

BobnOH said:

Not unusual for recommendations to do it early. But you can stick to the VW recommendations unless you're operating in an extreme environment like constant dust, heat, taxi.

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Nah, I maintain a taxi Jetta TDI by the book too, and it has endured over 400k miles of use, with 120k mile timing belt intervals.

Interesting my car is 120K mile replacement but recently VW UK have started recommending a change after 4 years. I would never do anything like the mileage in 4 years so I have opted to do an annual visual inspection, the belt looks like what we used to call a 100K mile belt, so no worries there, it's only done 30k since the last change, I know I know I shouldn't really have a Diesel but I drive it like I stole it regularly and it seems happy enough. I know it's not fool proof but I am now 2 years past their recommendation and all still looks well. Trouble is if I go to sell the car, I doubt anyone will want it, so I will likely need to get the belt done then anyway.
We also had a 12K mile van which came with free services (3) and they wanted us to do the belt when we were in for the final service, of course we would have had to pay for that, I declined the offer though

I have a Beetle with 188k and no service history. Is it possible to tell if the belt has been changed? Can you tell the brand of the belt by looking at it. If it is not the brand of belt that came with it new then it must have been changed at some point and I should be able to go a little longer. If it has a belt that could have come with it when new it may or may not be the original and I had better change it soon.

What brand of belt is recommended?

Thanks

It isn't just the belt you need the whole kit to do it properly. Everything the belt touches and then some.

Like this for instance:

https://www.idparts.com/bew-timing-belt-kit-p-511.html

Plus the correct tools to do it yourself or find someone who knows what they are doing on the trusted mechanics list.

Here is someone off of the list.

Chad Stoughton
EuroTec Automotive
1107 S West St, Suite H1, Wichita, KS 67209
(316)250-5900
ChadStoughton@att.net
https://www.vcarshops.com/kansas/eurotec

There was another person who posted here that worked from his house or mobile. I don't know if it was this guy or not. Had some good reviews though. You could search for him or I could help look/search if you need me to help.

I would assume it hasn't been changed and should be done immediately. Then general rule is when you don't know, do it now. Huge costly damage if it breaks. There is no way to tell without service history. Looking will tell you nothing. It isn't the belt that is usually the issue. Generally one of the idlers or rollers or tensioner goes bad and takes the belt out.

Also there used to be a small tag on the
TB cover IIRC that had the original timing setting listed on it. Yours is probably long gone or unreadable but I would research this and look at it to see if it is still there. You will need VCDS again to fine tune it back to this number if possible. If not a little trial and adjustment a little at a time may be needed to get to the optimum setting on the PD engines, from my reading. There are posts here about this particular thing.

Member Franko6 has quite a bit of knowledge on these things as well. A call or post might get you some more great info as well, especially if you DIY.

I think 10 years under most circumstances is fine for time. A couple years ago I did a 1998 New Beetle ALH that had an original 17k miles on it, untouched. Its belt *looked* fine, though.

Lightflyer1, that kit you linked to looks like a really good deal.

I replaced the timing belt on the diesel Rabbit that I had back in the day with no issues. I know it's a completely different motor but there are similarities. I need to do more research on the procedure but I am thinking that this is such an important thing I might just have it done by one of the shops recommended here. If I do that I wouldn't have to buy the tools and they would get everything timed right.

As you know my turbo actuator is bad and I have been looking for a used turbo or I might buy that new one that oilhammer linked me to. It's looking better all the time. It also gives me the option to upgrade later down the road if I want to.

I plan to do both repairs at the same time so that it will have to be dialed in only once or is that not a good idea? Should I just do one thing at a time?

I bought my car for $500 because it had these and other issues so I can afford to put some money into it. I plan on keeping it for as long as I can so I want to do it right.

I understand. I had a 2003 Beetle that I also bought low (broken timing belt) and then fixed up very nice at a considerable cost. I wanted to keep it for the long term. But the discounted prices on the left over new dieselgate cars and the long, long warranty and our local trusted mechanics moving out changed my mind to the new 2015 Beetle. If you want to keep it long term, do the job right the first time. If the local trusted mechanic is reasonable I would just use him for the TB job. It is only every 100k and not worth buying the tools and doing it yourself if you aren't racking up the miles or they charge an outrageous price. Good luck with you car! Try and get what you need now new though as a lot of parts are getting to be no longer available. I bought new door cards for mine and they were difficult to find and fairly expensive. But they also wanted a hefty price for old good looking ones as well that would more than likely wear out quickly.