Routine Cambelt Change

[VECali]

i'm confused by contradictory advice and hoping someone can help. Had my Cali serviced in July and had an advisory note to change my cambelt (my van is 61 plate and only 26k miles). However, following an MOT today at the same VW dealership the notes indicated that my vehicle has a drive train. When I queried this they told me my van doesn't have a cambelt so doesn't need changing and that the previous notice was a system error. So which is correct?......as I'm fully aware of the ramifications of cam belt failure.

Any advise much appreciated

 

[Digger]

You don't specify model. If early T5 with 2.5L engine it is direct drive with no belt.

 

[calikev]

A 61 plate cali will.have a cambelt

 

[VECali]

Thanks calikev.....long time no speak and hope you are well.
Should get it changed then as 26k seems low and some threads on here suggest higher mileage ok

 

[RoB5urf]

Cambelts changes are usually based on age + miles. I don't think 5 years is that unusual. Better safe than sorry IMHO

 

[Bigted]

I believe VW recommended change time is 4 years as you will not get to the distance limit.

 

[calikev]

Yes 4 years is the limit I would get it changed along with the water pump
For piece of mind

 

[sidepod]

https://vwpress.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/ssp-305-e.pdf

Gear driven cam.
Interesting piece in here about offset gudgeon pins and piston forces.

Is this the same engine that burns oil?

 

[2into1]

It used to be just a mileage based renewal, but the time element has recently been introduced.... Although trying to tie vw down to an exact time interval is difficult.

 

[Loz]

https://vwpress.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/ssp-305-e.pdf

Gear driven cam.
Interesting piece in here about offset gudgeon pins and piston forces.

Is this the same engine that burns oil?

Same engine as the early Touareg, can suffer premature cam lobe wear if the incorrect oil is used must have 506.1 not 507.

 

[WelshGas]

https://vwpress.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/ssp-305-e.pdf

Gear driven cam.
Interesting piece in here about offset gudgeon pins and piston forces.

Is this the same engine that burns oil?

If you are talking about the 2010/2011 180 BiTurbo then No - different engine.

 

[briwy]

It's entirely engine type dependent.
Our 2014 180 is due four years or 155k whereas our 61 plate Yeti with a 140 engine is five years or 140k

 

[calicasas]

Yes 4 years is the limit I would get it changed along with the water pump
For piece of mind

Just been to an official VW dealership in northern Spain to get a glass replacement for my 2011 Cali SE - they were truly surprised at uk cam belt changes. VW instructions for all Californias from 2010 onwards are 210k km or 10 years, whichever is the earliest. Same in France..

 

[Elmo3]

Just been to an official VW dealership in northern Spain to get a glass replacement for my 2011 Cali SE - they were truly surprised at uk cam belt changes. VW instructions for all Californias from 2010 onwards are 210k km or 10 years, whichever is the earliest. Same in France..

Interesting. Another UK scam then? Has anyone on here ever had a cambelt snap on their Cali?

 

[jts46]

Had one snap on my old 2.4 , T4 cost me £1600

 

[Elmo3]

Had one snap on my old 2.4 , T4 cost me £1600

What was the age / mileage at the time out of interest?

 

[jts46]

7yrs I think and about 100,000 miles, water pump impeller collapsed

 

[Elmo3]

In fairness, you were probably pushing your luck a bit there!

 

[jts46]

It had been replaced 3yrs before, when I bought it. So no I was not pushing my luck as you say, as I said impeller collapsed in water pump

 

[Traveller1977]

So we have a 2011 T5 Cali, back in 2015 the Cambelt was done at Cowfold (on the Service it notes 29,213 km but it had done 29,213 miles)
The Toothed belt, Toothed belt and tensioning roller were ticked as being replaced (not sure why so early on) Unless it's this "every 2 years or 4 years statement" people are mentioning
We recently took this to a Service centre and they were not sure why it was done so early, and do not know to which interval it should be done because it is conflicting -

In the Service manual it states -
Camshaft drive belt and tensioner roller replaced Every 210,000 km for a T5
And it is checked every 2 years

Lots of people discussing if it's 2 years, 4 years, 90,000 km, 120,000 km

If you could please let me know, we now have 69,000 miles on the clock, so I believe we should be good for a few more years given that the Service manual states from new, every 210,000 km.

thanks for any assistance.

 

[clarinetbcn]

UK is the only market with the 4 year rule, a decision made by VWCV UK. The rest of Europe, starting with Germany of course, is 210,000km without time limit and inspections at every service, except Spain, which is the same but with 10 year limit.

A forum member is currently engaged with a fairly rousing email exchange about this with VWCV UK as I write this. I’ll post the link.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Cam Belt Query

This is incredible. In the first response, they claimed it was a factory decision: "The 4 years in the UK market is a recommendation set by the factory in Germany. It is not a requirement for the cam belt to be changed at 4 years. The factory have set this as a recommendation just like they set...

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