What is with the lousy timing belts?
 

I recently bought a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe. It has 150K miles on it and I have no idea when the timing belt was changed (if ever). I checked around and was told the price of a tune up and belt change would be around $2k. :eek: I only paid $3K for the car so I figure I will drive it till it explodes and then get a decent car that doesn't require being torn down every 60K miles.

Why the lousy timing belts? Couldn't they have found something that doesn't cost $1K every 60K miles? Hyundai should have looked into either gear drive or timing chain... Sure doesn't make this a very economical vehicle...:mad:

If you drive 12k mile per year then it would take five years to go 60k.
$1000 dollars divide by five years is $200 dollars each year.
Or break it down some more and it turns out to be about $17 per month
Putting away $20 bucks a month to keep your engine running isn't too much??
Is it?? Consider the convenience??

Also, timing chains also need to be serviced. Yeah, it may be a longer period of time between service.

Hmm Yeah that is true. I am just used to vehicles that you don't have to start worrying about the timing chain until well over 200K to 300K as long as you take care of the motor.

First, $1k is way too much. I never spent more than about $500 for a timing belt and that was on a V6.

And most if not all of the newer Hyundai engines have chains now.

I took my Hyundai 2005 Santa Fe in to the local authorised Hyundai dealer to have the oil changed, the transmission serviced...oh yes...and the timing belt replaced (even if it WAS replaced at the specified 60K internal...the car now has 92K on it). That was 5 days ago. Should I really have to wait 5-6 days to get my car back, or am I being conned by the dealer's service department? I was quoted about US$ 700 for the timing belt replacement, which is probably about right at taday's shop labor rates, but 5-6 days wait? That seems MORE than unreasonable. This is, by the way, the ONLY Sacramento CA authorised dealer (on Florin Road).

After checking around for YELP-type reviews of all the area Hyundai authorised repair & service shops (Sacramento Hyundai, Roseville Hyundai, Folsom Hyundai) in this part of the central california State, I was appalled by all the negative reviews of them by customers who were totally unsatisfied with the work done (none of them got more 2.5 stars out of 5!). This suggests to me (aside from the assuming...for arguments sake... that most 'average' customers are not necessarily astute in their assessments) that although Hyundai clearly makes an excellent product, their North American authorised repair & service network is among of the worst in the nation. You'd think that Hyundai's home office (in Korea) would be more concerned about providing their customers with the highest quality service & repair experience, but apparently they are not. I've heard some awful stories about customer experiences trying to get their Hyundais satisfactorily worked upon at supposedly 'authorised' Hyundai dealers.

Any others have any experience along these lines that may bear on the quality of dealer service? Thanks. (I own a 1996 Hyundai Elantra GLS wagon and a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe 3.5 liter FWD, both of which I have been VERY happy with).

PS: I understand that all new Hyundai cars (2008 and onwards) now use timing chains instead of belts, which to me is a step forward for the better.

Yeah, timing belts are a pain in the ...
But, put it on an interference engine just makes it even worse
If one was able to drive the car until the belt failed then replaced the belt with no worries
It would make a world of difference.
Failing to replace these belts after a period of time means that one risk the entire engine failing
This just makes the car not worth the price when maintenance cost are so high