Hi all--I have an '07 Fit with 105k mi on it. My dealer told me I need a new timing belt, to the tune of $1200. My father, who is a mechanic on big rigs, checked in with a friend who works on foreign cars who checked with the Honda dealer in their city--said there is a timing chain on my car that does not need to be replaced. That Honda dealer said they do not stock the chains for my model because they replace them rarely (if ever?). Can someone let me know their experience with this? I don't want to destroy my engine (as the CSR at the Honda dealer indicated would happen if I didn't have the service done), but I don't want to cough up $1200 for a service I may not need. Please help!

 

Hi all--I have an '07 Fit with 105k mi on it. My dealer told me I need a new timing belt, to the tune of $1200. My father, who is a mechanic on big rigs, checked in with a friend who works on foreign cars who checked with the Honda dealer in their city--said there is a timing chain on my car that does not need to be replaced. That Honda dealer said they do not stock the chains for my model because they replace them rarely (if ever?). Can someone let me know their experience with this? I don't want to destroy my engine (as the CSR at the Honda dealer indicated would happen if I didn't have the service done), but I don't want to cough up $1200 for a service I may not need. Please help!

Also--My dealership (not where I bought the car, but the closest one since the move) is adament that I need tune-ups every 5k miles or so. Do others do regularly scheduled maintenance? Do you just wait for an indicator light (other than basic fluids or if the car is acting up)? Please advise!! Thank you!

 

Find another shop.

You don't need either of those things, and they are trying to take advantage of you.

Just follow the indicators and the maintainance schedule in the owners manual. You will be fine. If you don't have the owners manual, get a copy of the maintainance schedule from the dealership.

 

I would never return to that dealer again.

Your car uses chains (as indicated), not belts (other than a serpentine belt, which they could've meant, but not for $1200). Coil packs and spark plugs are about all you need for a "tune up" anymore.

 

Thank you both. This is what I suspected. I have been paying for "scheduled maintenance" with the promise of catastrophe if I am a mile late. Yikes. This relieves me greatly!

Thanks!

 

If the timing chain breaks, severe engine damage will occur. The car will not start, and you will have to rebuild the engine.

However, the chain is designed to last--supposedly--for the life of the engine.

My Fit has close to 160K miles on it, and the chain has never been replaced.

However, if there is some damage to your chain, it would be a good idea to have it replaced, since it would cost less money and time than replacing the whole engine later on.

I would get a second opinion, either from a mechanic or from a different dealership.

 

Does a 2011 Fit have a timing chain or a timing belt, and does it need to be changed at some point?

 

As far as I know, all of the Honda L engines (Fit, Jazz, CR-Z, Insight II) use a timing chain which is supposed to last the life of the engine.

 

This makes me mad. Those are the kind of shops that give all mechanics a bad name and to use scare tactics like that is horrible.

You said this is a Honda dealership? It might not do anything at all, but I would contact Honda of America and let them know what that place is up to.

 

Like S&D says - it's a chain.

 

I agree Honda of America needs to know about the practices of this dealer. This gives both Honda and dealerships a negative image.

I just got a voice mail message from Honda of America today asking about the problem with my carpet. (carpet had worn a hole in less than a year and my dealer replaced in back in April) I am going to call them back and let them know details about my problem and tell them about this forum and others who have had similar problems. Who knows-- maybe they will improve the carpet.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm requested a list of scheduled maintenance from the dealer I've been working with in hopes of having some documentation, but they did not provide me with any (they sent me a list of work I'd had done on my car). I will be contacting the parent company. It's so disapointing. Thanks again. Your feedback has been both informative and empowering

 

Getting a printed service schedule might prove difficult. In Europe it's a different story.

Explore this site for info: Maintenance Schedule

 

I wonder what Honda considers a "lifetime" of the engine. Back in the day I had a 89 240sx SOHC that used a timing chain, and they were notorious for breaking around the 200,000km mark. Dealerships were charging about $1500 to do it, so most people were just buying low mileage ka24 engines and swapping them in instead. There also must be some sort of chain tensioner in there to keep it from getting slack...

 

The timing chain is not related to the life of the car. There is a wear limit on the length. It's held in tension by a positioner. When the limit is reached occurs is anyone's guess. Thing is they rarely break.

 

By definition, the lifetime of the engine is exactly how long it takes for the chain to break, since chain breakage = engine rebuild

 

There's a good definition.

 

changed mine at 65k

 

Did you have a problem with your chain that caused you to replace it at 65K?

 

I've been a professional mechanic for more than a decade, and the only time I've ever seen a timing chain SNAP is in heavy-duty racing engines, or when the engine was over-revved (10K+), and at that point, it was a done deal anyway.

Chains, however, do stretch over time. You may hear it as a tapping or ticking that increases (in a non-linear fashion) with RPM- if you hear this, STOP! Or, your timing may be off- power will drop, fuel economy will drop, and the engine will feel like it's down a cylinder, but a compression test will be nearly normal. This means the chain has skipped a tooth. At this point, you need to replace it.

There is no set interval for servicing most timing chains- usually, it's a "replace as needed" listing. However, it is recommended that after 75K on most cars you pull the timing chain cover and inspect it for wear (or missing guides, frozen/broken tensioners, etc.) every so often. Usually, the water pump goes first, and it is recommended that you replace the chain at the same time, as you would a water pump.

It stinks that a dealership would lie to you like that. There is no reason to need to change the timing chain at 105K unless it is actually stretched, which I doubt they verified. There is NO reason to do "tune-ups" every 5K miles- the only regular maintenance this car NEEDS are oil changes, and 5K is VERY early, unless you're racing or driving in a dirt pile all day.

If this is a HOA dealership, report them IMMEDIATELY, and find a new dealership. Contact the BBB, and run away from that dealership, in any case. They are thieves. Tell everyone you know to avoid them at all costs. That's the best way to ensure they stop ripping people off. Where in MA is Fitchburg?

To topbanana, I too, ask- why did you have your chain changed? If the engine was being torn down for some reason, okay, but otherwise, that's very likely unnecessary maintenance- Mark W.