My bet is it looks in excellent shape when you take it out. "This is not your fathers timing belt". Whole different animal than timing belts used to be.
Does that mean you think I may not really need the belt changed just because the vehicle has 110k mileage? Also....wouldn't the belt exhibit some warning signs if it were worn excessively? Appreciate all comments here.
"Bob"- This has been beaten to death and as long as time exists there will be differences of opinion that are at extremes. I changed the TB in my DIL's 99RX at 97k mi, and got after my son for letting it go so long thinking it was in danger of breaking. I was amazed when I removed the belt (original) because it looked like it had no more than 20k mi. I have since read about these belts and how they are made and what they're made of and I understand why they hold up so well. There was a post a year or more ago by a man who said he worked for a company that did testing to determine length of life of different products. He said they would determine normal point of failure and then set the replacement time at half of that. By those standards the belt should last a minimum of 180,000 mi. I have only ever read (on the Lexus forums that I frequent) of 2 people who CLAIMED to have had a belt break in a Toyota/Lexus w/ the 1MFZE engine. One said his belt broke when the water pump froze up and the other stated no reason, only the claim. I questioned both of them concerning details and neither of them ever responded. That's why I say CLAIMED. With what my DIL's looked like at 97k mi, I personally doubt that many would ever break in the average life of the vehicle. I worked with a fellow who drove a Ford Ranger PU. His belt broke one day at (who knows how many miles because the speedometer broke at 180,000 mi, a year or two before). The belt was supposed to be changed at 60,000 yet went WAY over 200,000 mi., and he didn't even know it had a belt on it! These belts are the reason I said "This is not your fathers timing belt". Whole different timing belt these days. I mean the FACTORY timing belt. All bets are off on aftermarket belts. Make your own decision, this is just my experience. I still have the TB off my DIL's RX. If I knew how to post pictures, I'd show you what it looks like, absolutely NO sign of wear or deterioration at 97K mi!!!