Cambelt change

[PaulBishop]

I've just had my Cali in the local VW garage for a replacement door sensor. On collection they advised me that I'm due to have the cam-belt changed within the next 6 months.

The van is 4 years old this month and has done 27,000 miles. Is this correct? What experience have other owners of this replacement time.

I know how serious a cam-belt failure can be but does it need replacement after time (4yrs) or mileage (27K).

Any advise or experience would be welcome.

Paul

 

[calikev]

Mine is the same age and milage as your and when I rang my local dealer to book it in I was told VW have changed to 5 years I asked her to double check she then did.when you look on their website it say vehicles after 59 plate 5 years. Still not 100 % sure but decided to leave mine until next year as it can't be to different from the touran.

 

[snowy55]

Hi there

When my Kombi was coming up to 4 years old I rang the 3 nearest VW dealers and got 3 different answers.
I still don't know which was correct, but have now sold the vehicle.

 

[Andy]

I would rather do it sooner than later. Horrendous damage & bills if it breaks !!

 

[Topcatbuggy]

Our 2010 Cali was booked into the vw garage for its service in 2 weeks time & we have been advised to get the cam belt changed due to the fact that the van is 4 years old. Nothing to do with the mileage which is just 30,000. Apparently there have been instances of the cam belt perishing after 4 years. We now feel compelled to get it done for the bargain price of £460
Obviously we're not too happy about this. Does anyone know what the official line really is?

 

[BerndRos]

Check if they advise the water pump change as well....as it cost only a little more to do at the same time ......I had both mine done on my 2010 Cali

 

[sebking]

Having read this thread popped off to look in my service book. Nothing about 4 years but there is mileage one. Just called dealer and they advised on a 2010 t5.1 it is age or distance, whichever is reached first!!!

Have booked in for a rather late cam belt change. Annoying thing with these long life service schedules is that age related stuff can be missed and there's no reminder of what needs doing!.

Cambelt and Water pump £510 inclusive.

Seb

 

[Andy]

Having read this thread popped off to look in my service book. Nothing about 4 years but there is mileage one. Just called dealer and they advised on a 2010 t5.1 it is age or distance, whichever is reached first!!!

Have booked in for a rather late cam belt change. Annoying thing with these long life service schedules is that age related stuff can be missed and there's no reminder of what needs doing!.

Cambelt and Water pump £510 inclusive.

Seb

So what mileage ?

 

[cozmo1589]

Having read this thread popped off to look in my service book. Nothing about 4 years but there is mileage one. Just called dealer and they advised on a 2010 t5.1 it is age or distance, whichever is reached first!!!

Have booked in for a rather late cam belt change. Annoying thing with these long life service schedules is that age related stuff can be missed and there's no reminder of what needs doing!.

Cambelt and Water pump £510 inclusive.

Seb

So what mileage ?

Yes do tell ;-)

 

[burko73]

Somehow I thought the t5.1 180 didn't have a cam belt but a chain or cog system... Why did I think that?

 

[ChrisandPenney52]

Two litre has a belt. The old five cylinder is the one that had the cog system

 

[Andy]

So still none the wiser as to the mileage that this should be done ??

 

[sebking]

140,000 miles or 4 years whichever comes sooner.
For high dust countries the 140,0000 is reduced to 80,000
There's no visual check on the list except in high dust countries (25,000 and every two years)

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

Fixed prices that ALL VW Commercial dealers should be charging is:

£335 + VAT for cambelt kit only
£425 + VAT for cambelt kit and water pump

cheers

 

[sebking]

Yup, + the VAT as per the Fully Fitted Parts Pricing. And TBH with the 2yr warranty and a proper VW tech + parts it's not bad compared to a specialist or local garage.

 

[jts46]

I don't think this is a bad price, not when you consider my T4 belt broke and it cost me £1500 + VAT. had to have a new cylinder head.
If the vehicle is standing and not doing miles the belt will deterioate same as tyres do, the expected life of tyres is only 5 years, so i think 4 years is ok.
Besides if you have spent £45k on a vehicle you should look after it mechanically or sell it!!

John

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

Ok so to add my tupennorth worth, I've just been on the phone with Heritage Westbury and they've said categorically that there is no age limit, just a 120k mileage change requirement.

To confuse further, I'd contacted them to do this only because I'd had a letter from Carrs Exeter suggesting this needed to be done @4 years and my Cali is currently in with Heritage for the roof warranty work, so I figured it may kill 2 birds.

I spoke with Rhys there and he was quite adamant that the change is very recent and that all facelift 59-on plates don't suffer from age-related degradation. He said that there are a lot of standard-blurb type letters still circulating in error. I'm still a tad nervous as it's a serious issue if it goes wrong, but happy to not spend £500!

Can anyone else corroborate this?

 

[calikev]

I would ring customer services and quote your chassis no
I was told 5 years by a dealer and double checked with vwuk and was told 4 years. I did manage to get a discount after making a fuss about their mistake

 

[Martin]

Same as Kev, I had exactly the same problem and you need to call VWCS, the dealer ended up giving me money off because of all the hassle. Maybe give Pete a call at Carrs as he will look after you if you mention the club.

 

[marshian70]

VWCS told me 4 years even though van only done 29k. This was also what the local VW van centre said. I'm booked in next Monday so interested to know if I've been misinformed.

 

[Andy]

Looks like my service in May will be an expensive one then with cam belt & recommended water pump as well !!

 

[greenfintry]

Going in for belt and pump end of month..... Bit late due to UK shortage of water pumps...... 4 y old and 22 k on clock....

 

[marshian70]

Looks like my service in May will be an expensive one then with cam belt & recommended water pump as well !!

Yep make sure they have a water pump in stock though. There is a shortage in the UK!

 

[cozmo1589]

Yep make sure they have a water pump in stock though. There is a shortage in the UK!

Had my cam belt and water pump done at Breeze Poole on Friday and no problem with availability of any parts. My 2010 180bhp dsg7 California is a 2010 with 29k on the clock.

 

[AlanC]

VWCS told me 4 years even though van only done 29k. This was also what the local VW van centre said. I'm booked in next Monday so interested to know if I've been misinformed.

Are you including the water pump in this job? It is usually recommended, but according to Breeze in Southampton there are none to be had in the UK at the moment. Ours has been booked in since January but still not done.

Alan