Timing belt

[highjumpcoach]

I have a 2002 Jetta TDI automatic. I was told by the dealership that I needed to change the timing belt at 40K, but my book shows that it should be changed at 80K !
Can anyone shed some light on this for me...Do I go ahead and change it now or wait?
Thanks, Laura

 

[daveyracing69]

I would do it at 60k, bad or not bad. 60 is a great happy, medium...

 

[DeafBug]

If you really want some good verification on which mileage you need to change on it. The best way to look at is at the timing belt itself. There is a small but noticable difference between the old and new style belts. The other option is to look at the engine number.

Your car being a 2002 should be 80K. The dealer was thinking the old style belt which is 40K. Probably just wants your money.

 

[tditom]

Laura-

If the manual says 80k, I'd go with that. If you ever run into a warranty issue, you can always point to what the book instructed you to do.

For peace of mind, you can inspect the belt without removing it from the engine. The inspection cover is underneath the main engine cover and is held in place by 2 or 3 clips. The old belt is visibly thinner than the newer one. I don't have the measurement, but maybe someone else does? With this information, you could measure it and know for sure that you have the longer life belt.

GeWilli & I replaced the original timing belt on my Golf a couple of weeks ago. It was made in Brazil in March of '01 and had the new timing belt and tensioner. In my case, the manual says 60 K change out- I have more peace of mind changing it out even though I could have probably gone 80K with no problems. This way I am covered in case of a warranty dispute. You have a better situation than I did in that you can use the 80 K interval and have the documentation to back it up.

-tom