Cam belt and water pump,

[Leeky]

Should I get this changed? Cali is 5 years old and done 16,000 miles

 

[TripleBee]

Not again. There are too many threads about this already.
UK says 4 years or something miles.
Other countries is about 210000km without time.
Mine is on 145000 km and over 10 years.
What does your service booklet say?

Do as you please.

Sorry if this comes over as quite rude, but you can use the search function on this forum.
Click the magnifying glass in the upper right corner.

 

[Leeky]

Very sorry, just thought would ask for opinion as 16k miles is very low,

 

[larrylamb]

Yes @Leeky, every 4years unfortunately.

 

[clarinetbcn]

After checking with VW Germany, where it is 210,000km without time, and VW Spain, where it is 210,000km or 10 years, this appears to be a cash cow limited to VWUK.

 

[Alan Andrews]

Consideration is any warranty you have on the vehicle.

Many extended warranty contracts will require that the vehicle is maintained in accordance with manufacturers guidelines.

 

[soulstyledevon]

After checking with VW Germany, where it is 210,000km without time, and VW Spain, where it is 210,000km or 10 years, this appears to be a cash cow limited to VWUK.

Yes Agree.
If its Ok for German Californias to pass 10 years and 130miles, it will be fine for UK vehicles too.

IMO I would wait a couple of years until you've racked up some higher mileage, unless, you want piece of mind its been changed...

 

[clarinetbcn]

Consideration is any warranty you have on the vehicle.

Many extended warranty contracts will require that the vehicle is maintained in accordance with manufacturers guidelines.

True, but in this case it seems to be not the manufacturer but VWCS, the importer, allowing individual dealers to set their own rules, which is why we see widely varying rules depending on which UK dealer you ask. In Europe VW Nutzfahrzeuge's (VW Germany Commercial Vehicles) recommendation for 210,000km seems to be fairly consistent, stating in the service manual that the belt should be inspected at each service before then. Naturally it's easier, and more profitable, for a UK dealer to skip the inspection and make everybody change at 4 years, instead of doing the regular inspections that you would get included in an official service in, for example, Germany.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Someone on the German TX.de forum has scanned the German maintenance manual with the Cam belt service recommendation. I'll see if I can find it. Meanwhile, here's the discussion thread about cam belt change (in German).

T5.2 California - wann den Zahnriemen wechseln?

Guten Morgen, habe mir die sache mit dem Ölverlust mal angesehen. Bin mir nicht sicher ab wann man im kritischen Bereich ist. Etwas Ölverlust kann ich schon feststellen, die Frage ist ab wann ist es bedenklich? Gibt es hier eine Faustformel? Ich meine ich hätte neulich mal nachgefüllt, etwa...

tx-board.de

 

[clarinetbcn]

And here's the Spanish service schedule, which I posted a while back:

CAM Belt Water Pump Replacement

Hi Everyone Could anyone please shed some light on the correct timescales for the CAM belt replacement. Everywhere I have read offers different answers and I have contacted two VW dealers and neither offered the same advice. My Cali is a 64 plate with 30000 miles. Greenp did give me the heads...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[GSX1300R]

Not again. There are too many threads about this already.
UK says 4 years or something miles.
Other countries is about 210000km without time.
Mine is on 145000 km and over 10 years.
What does your service booklet say?

Do as you please.

Sorry if this comes over as quite rude, but you can use the search function on this forum.
Click the magnifying glass in the upper right corner.

Not everyone spends 24/7 on here so they are unaware what has been posted previously.. Sometimes it’s easier just to answer the question..

 

[GSX1300R]

Should I get this changed? Cali is 5 years old and done 16,000 miles

I had mine done after 4 years and 19000 miles..No need to take it to VW and pay a fortune..I had mine done at a good local garage for £325 for everything.Waterpump cambelt all rollers and ancillary belt..All top quality parts and full guarantee.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Not everyone spends 24/7 on here so they are unaware what has been posted previously.. Sometimes it’s easier just to answer the question..

The easiest would be to do a search for "Cam belt change" on the Forum's excellent search function before asking, but it seems a lot of newer members don't know it's there. Fortunately there are a number of members who are willing to answer over and over the same questions about some popular topics each time they spring up every couple of months. This forum is such an incredible resource that if you have a question, it's more than likely that someone has taken the time to share in depth research, often with accompanying how-to videos, and all this work goes to waste because someone hasn't typed three words to do a search. It can be frustrating, but since it's the reason for the existence of the forum, patience wins out.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Not everyone spends 24/7 on here so they are unaware what has been posted previously.. Sometimes it’s easier just to answer the question..

I've posted the above links to documents about VW AG's service recommendations about cam belt change at least three times in the last few months, and @TripleBee many times before that, because it's informative and because it is in direct contradiction to what VWUK is selling to it's customers. I continue to repost because I think UK owners should have some knowledge and context about an important expense which is part of being a California owner, but just once I would like to get a message from someone who has had the initiative to find it themselves here in plain sight.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Not everyone spends 24/7 on here

I wondered why you would post such a rude comment, and suddenly I realized that you may not know about the search function. Enjoy!

 

[Pete Roberts]

I wondered why you would post such a rude comment, and suddenly I realized that you may not know about the search function. Enjoy!

Just think about what you just said... Some people do other things with their lives..and a VW camper is just one of them.

 

[Big Ron]

I did post this on another thread just a week/so back but I can’t find it....my 2014 180 DSG, service schedule supplied new from VW in UK says 6 years or 140,000 miles, and this is also on Service paperwork from JCT600, Sheffield in 2018.
JCT600 are now saying it’s 4/5 years and 50k miles and the lady was so nice when talking to me I didn’t press too hard on ‘how can you just change your mind’.
That’s the cam belt/water pump part of this post done....
But the wider ‘whinge’ here from me is over why companies like VW can’t see how things like this destroy consumer confidence in them. Admittedly they have been on startling form with emissions scandal and rusty roofs anyway but.....it’s just another ‘boot to the groin’ of the customer in my view.
Anyway, soap box being put away under the stairs now.....

 

[ArunAlec]

I did post this on another thread just a week/so back but I can’t find it....my 2014 180 DSG, service schedule supplied new from VW in UK says 6 years or 140,000 miles, and this is also on Service paperwork from JCT600, Sheffield in 2018.
JCT600 are now saying it’s 4/5 years and 50k miles and the lady was so nice when talking to me I didn’t press too hard on ‘how can you just change your mind’.
That’s the cam belt/water pump part of this post done....
But the wider ‘whinge’ here from me is over why companies like VW can’t see how things like this destroy consumer confidence in them. Admittedly they have been on startling form with emissions scandal and rusty roofs anyway but.....it’s just another ‘boot to the groin’ of the customer in my view.
Anyway, soap box being put away under the stairs now.....

And we still buy their products!

 

[westfalia]

Just think about what you just said... Some people do other things with their lives..and a VW camper is just one of them.

See... there's 2 of you...

 

[clarinetbcn]

Just think about what you just said... Some people do other things with their lives..and a VW camper is just one of them.

@Pete Roberts , @Peter Roberts
Doppelgänger?

 

[westfalia]

@Pete Roberts , @Peter Roberts
Dopelgänger?

I like it, he can argue with himself and no-one is offended.

 

[clarinetbcn]

I did post this on another thread just a week/so back but I can’t find it....my 2014 180 DSG, service schedule supplied new from VW in UK says 6 years or 140,000 miles, and this is also on Service paperwork from JCT600, Sheffield in 2018.
JCT600 are now saying it’s 4/5 years and 50k miles and the lady was so nice when talking to me I didn’t press too hard on ‘how can you just change your mind’.

This would be worrying if VW has found a design fault and is trying to cover it up with a change in service
schedule, but this doesn't seem to be the case since it's only happening in the UK. On the other hand I can't believe I just wrote VW and cover-up in the same post.

 

[Legin]

Hands up anyone that knows of a cali cambelt failure not related to a fitting error. Theres your answer.

 

[T6 CFO]

Hands up anyone that knows of a cali cambelt failure not related to a fitting error. Theres your answer.

My thoughts exactly. More chance of something going awry with a pointless cam belt change. I’ll live life on the edge and with my mileage go beyond the 4years.


Mike

 

[Legin]

More likely to fail due to bathtub than old age. Also the environmental impact of waste coolant, pump and belt. Almost xertainly twice as frequent as it needs to be.