It is a tough decision and I curse the engineers whose design forces such a decision on owners. And I've had friends get to near 200,000 miles without ever changing a single timing belt. I've had friends ruin their engines because of belt failure past the recommended mileage. Also change the tensioner, assuming there is one, as a old tensioner left in with the new belt can also cause a belt failure.Įdits to indicate that the engine IS and interference engine. If your care is interference and has reached the time or mileage limit, I would recommend having an independent mechanic change the timing belt and water pump.
I also believe that Honda recommends replacement at 105K miles or 7 years, which ever comes first. I believe that the 2009 Accord V6 is the 3.5L, which is an interference engine. Had the belt changed a bit early on my 928S if it had broken the car would have been scrap, since the engine repair would likely exceed the value of the car. Had a belt break on my 944 years ago and took out 2 valves, and the repair cost a bit more than a new belt. Also change the tensioner, assuming there is one, as a old tensioner left in with the new belt can also cause a belt failure. BUT I'M NOT SURE, and this should be checked. I believe only the 3.0L and 3.2L engines are interference. I believe that the 2009 Accord V6 is the 3.5L, which is NOT an interference engine. Scott Teresi wrote: IF this is the type of car where a timing belt failure does not ruin the engine (something you have to look up, but someone may have commented on that above), and you're aware of the risk of a failure while driving (loss of power, inconvenience of calling a tow truck, etc.), you could opt to not change it and keep driving it as long as you want! If you are thinking about replacing it with a $22,000 vehicle that you have to pay $24,500 for, you can compare either:ī) Throw away $2,500 on sales tax on different car. It adds zero value to your car and you never get it back. I think about the cost of sales tax when buying a different vehicle as money down the tube. How much would you pay in sales tax on a different vehicle? Obviously there's a lot of factors in play here but I'm trying to wrap my head around the best way to analzye this.
My question is, if I do pay $650 to replace the belt and only keep the car 1 more year would I have been better off having just sold it in the first place and saved the $650? That's obviously an expensive maintenance and I'm trying to weigh the decision of replace the belt and keep the car vs buy a new accord. The dealer price for this maintenance is $650. DonDraper wrote:I own a 2009 Accord(71k miles) and I'm approaching the recommended time to replace the timing belt/water pump.