Timing Belt

[cynthiaes300]

I bought a "pre owned" 2000 es 300 2 years ago, The car had 69,000 miles on it.

It now has 103,000 miles. I put 34,000 miles on it. in a little over 2 years. During a routine maintenace check at the dealer , they said that i need a new timing belt, water pump and seals. the package would be $1,300. I live southern california.

A lexus should not need a timing belt. Iknow people that have BMW'S and Cadilliac's with similar mileage and have not had to have this done . WHAT gives?

IS 1300 TOO MUCH FOR THIS SERVICE????

cbes300

[steviej]

sorry to inform you but the ES does have a rubber timing belt and it does need to be changed. Somewhere between 90 and 120k miles depending on year.

Usually when the belt is changed so should the water pump, cam and crank seals and pulleys just as a precaution.

$1300 about the going rate for the entire 90k mile service around here.

two thing to help you:

1. do a search on "timing belt" and limit it to the ES forum. You will have a ton of threads to read through.

2. Check out pricing at your local Toyota dealer, they may be cheaper for labor and use the same parts.

price will always depend on what work is done: ie, not having the water pump replaced, etc.

steviej

[lexus ls430]

usally dealer cost

[lexus ls430]

usally dealer cost

[Shadow]

A lexus should not need a timing belt.  Iknow people that have BMW'S and Cadilliac's with similar mileage  and have not had to have this done .

Perhaps BMW or Caddy would suit you better?

All belts and chains will break at some point. It's the question of when? :D

[GoldenStateSilverSport]

sorry to inform you but the ES does have a rubber timing belt and it does need to be changed.  Somewhere between 90 and 120k miles depending on year.

Usually when the belt is changed so should the water pump, cam and crank seals and pulleys just as a precaution.

$1300 about the going rate for the entire 90k mile service around here.

two thing to help you:

1.  do a search on "timing belt"  and limit it to the ES forum.  You will have a ton of threads to read through.

2.  Check out pricing at your local Toyota dealer, they may be cheaper for labor and use the same parts.

price will always depend on what work is done:  ie, not having the water pump replaced, etc.

steviej

←

Amen to that.. I just had a major tune-up done at a Toyota dealership and it saved me $ for the same service @ almost half the price.

[mburnickas]

Amen to that.. I just had a major tune-up done at a Toyota dealership and it saved me $ for the same service @ almost half the price.

←

Again it depends what region you live in. I live in the N.E. and I paid less then what cynthiaes300 stated at my lexus dealer for the same work done + my drive belts.

I am even willing to bet people down south will be even less.

[BLAZER]

I bought a "pre owned" 2000 es 300 2 years ago,  The car had 69,000 miles on it.

It now has 103,000 miles.  I put 34,000 miles on it. in a little over 2 years. During a routine maintenace check at the dealer , they said that i need a new timing belt, water pump and seals. the package would be $1,300.  I live southern california.

A lexus should not need a timing belt.  Iknow people that have BMW'S and Cadilliac's with similar mileage  and have not had to have this done .  WHAT gives?

IS 1300 TOO MUCH FOR THIS SERVICE????

cbes300

←

Thats pretty close to what I paid for similar service at the Lexus dealership. I know you can have it done for less at other than a Lexus dealer. it just depends on your comfort level with the shop doing it.

[sahtt]

I bought a "pre owned" 2000 es 300 2 years ago, The car had 69,000 miles on it.

It now has 103,000 miles. I put 34,000 miles on it. in a little over 2 years. During a routine maintenace check at the dealer , they said that i need a new timing belt, water pump and seals. the package would be $1,300. I live southern california.

A lexus should not need a timing belt. Iknow people that have BMW'S and Cadilliac's with similar mileage and have not had to have this done . WHAT gives?

IS 1300 TOO MUCH FOR THIS SERVICE????

cbes300

You are due for the timing belt and associated maint. 'A lexus should not need a timing belt'. It has nothing to do with lexus, you just have no idea about the basics of how an engine works, muchless how it is maintained. Lucky for you, we are all here!

Considering your limited knowledge of the subject, do yourself a HUGE favor, and have ALL the seals [cam, crank, etc.] replaced at this time. If not, they will leak in the future and you'll have to do the whole service over again. Your engine is also fairly prone to oil leaks as is anyways. The waterpump can be inspected and may not need to be replaced, some say as high as 90% of the time the waterpump is ok on the first timing belt change.

Your drivetrain is identical to that of a V6 Camry. You are lucky because Toyota can do this procedure for you. I'd say 1300 is a little high, but if they replace the water pump, drive belt, and do all the little associated fluid drains etc. it is probably fair in Socal.

[LexusServiceWriter]

Yes, you DO need to change your timing belt.

What seals did they say needed to be replaced? Cam and crank seals? If so, the timing belt should be replaced with NO labor charge (if I remember correctly).