Santa Fe timing belt replacement?

Took my SUV in for 100k service at a local dealer. Service guy said, "Ya
got the timing belt replaced yet?" I asked if that was included in any of
the previous services I had gotten. He said, "Nope, but it will completely
destroy your engine if it breaks." How much does it cost, I asked. "$500
" Is there any way you can check to see if it needs replacing? "NO" So
why should I pay $500 for something I'm not even sure is worn/old/about to
break. "Because I can show you a junkyard full of Santa Fe's from this
problem"

So far, I haven't seen a lot of activity online about this. Any
recomendations? I'm assuming when someone tries to hard-sell me
something, that it's a scam, though with cars, it's always hard to tell.

Help.

 

Should have been done at 60K (your on borrowed time). The Hyundai
engine is an "interference" engine and most likely WILL bend a valve
at the minimum when (not if) it fails

 

It's not a scam. Replacing the timing belt at 60K is a very common
manufacturer recommendation. Replace it before you lose your engine.

 

My question then is, if you are in for 100k service, why wasn't it done at
60k? If you don't get it done at 60k, you mine as well say goodbye to your
warranty if it does go. You may have gotten lucky not to get it done at
60k, but like others have said, it would be in your best interest to replace
it even it looks brand new.

 

The timing belt is not covered under warranty and replacing it late
should not affect the warranty on any other engine parts, since the
timing belt is not a problem unless it breaks.

I've seen timing belts go 125K miles without problems, particularly in
engines that haven't developed any oil leaks that would oil the belt.
I'm not suggesting that it's a good idea to let them go that long, but
it's not necessarily a case of being on borrowed time, either.

 

It should be replaced, but $500 sounds awfully expensive. Check with
other dealers and reputable independent garages. This does not have to
be done by a Hyundai dealer. In fact, you can do it yourself and still
maintain your warranty.

 

A timing belt is tricky to get right. You can damage your engine if
you do it wrong. You'd better have someone who knows what they are
doing handle it.

$500 is not out of line, from what I have seen. I have had 2 belts
replaced in the past.

 

I didn't say it was covered. I said why wasn't it done at 60k, when Hyundai
recommends you do it. And if you don't do it then, and it breaks, you are
screwed because you didn't follow Hyundai's recommendations. If it does
break, after having it replaced at 60k, then it would be covered under
warranty should any thing happen.

Thank you.

 

I just had mine done a few months ago when I hit 60K. Done at the dealer and
$500 is not too bad. There is a lot of labor to move things around thanks to
the Hyundai engine layout. I wouldn't even dream of trying this myself and
is actually one thing I would recommend you have the dealer do.

Kevin

 

Not only is the timing belt covered by the factory warranty, it's part of
the powertrain warranty which covers components for 10 years or 100k miles
for the original owner. As long as the belt is replaced with a factory
belt every 4 years or 60k miles, whichever comes first, Hyundai will stand
behind the belt and any damage its breakage causes while you are within the
warranty. If your belt is more than 4 years or 60k miles old and it breaks
due to the fault of the belt, then Hyundai will not repair any damage
caused by the breakage of the belt.

 

Actually, you should probably replace the hydraulic tensioner also. This
can fail and cause the belt to slip and result in damage to the engine.
What's worse, the tensioner is only covered by the 5/60 warranty, so if it
fails, Hyundai won't pay for any repairs to damage it caused. They
shouldn't charge you any additional labor to install it when replacing the
timing belt, but at my place of employment it's about $95 for the part.

 

Although it will depend somewhat on the car, timing belt replacement is
more labor intensive than difficult or "tricky". I've done a few on
other cars and the belt removal and installation itself was actually
quite easy. It just took a fair amount of time to remove everything
necessary to access the belt, then to replace everything after the belt
was installed. It's nothing that a reasonably skilled "shadetree
mechanic" can't handle.

 

"Took my SUV in for 100k service at a local dealer. Service guy said,
"Ya
got the timing belt replaced yet?" I asked if that was included in any
of
the previous services I had gotten. He said, "Nope, but it will
completely
destroy your engine if it breaks." How much does it cost, I asked.
"$500
" Is there any way you can check to see if it needs replacing? "NO" So
why should I pay $500 for something I'm not even sure is worn/old/about
to
break. "Because I can show you a junkyard full of Santa Fe's from this
problem"

You should have the belt changed every 60,000 miles. I would have this
job done immediately, however $500 sounds a little steep to me. If
you're a mechanically inclined person I can tell you it's not very
hard to do this job, takes maybe 3 or 4 hours at the most for a
first-timer. The biggest obstacle is removing the nut from the
crankshaft pulley. If you have access to an impact wrench(I think even
an electric one could probably knock that nut off) you can do the rest
with regular hand tools.

Chris