Low mileage cambelt

[Detailer dave]

Hello to you all.

My a3 2.0 tdi is seven year old this year we collected the car new in December 2014

The car has a lot of sentimental value to us its a dry run weekend summer car with 1,450 mile on it from new it has also been garaged from new in a temperature controlled garage and gets a oil and filter change every six months (castrol edge oil and audi filters) and a full service every year and is run on shell v-power diesel.

Audi uk say cambelt was due at 5 year mark but service book and audi germany say no time limit to inspect on service.

I have decided to leave belt a bit longer due to low mileage low wear and tear and the fact the car is garaged and not subject to extreme difference in temperature and i would imagine todays belts are a lot better made than years ago.

I just wondered what fellow owners thoughts were on this.

 

[AlS3BE]

Think audi uk keeps changing their mind on the timing belt schedule. Went from 7 to 5 years and now i think it’s different again.

The extreme conditions the belt is under is the heat from the engine and rubber perishes with age, the oil in the rubber dries and the belt can be crack and break.
I’m old school so I would change it at 5 years or 50k.
It’s a cost benefit type analysis. That belt going is an engine rebuild of some sort. Timing belt job at Indy is £2-300, rebuild will be £1k if you are lucky maybe £2-3k.
Just my tuppence worth though.

 

[dantdi]

Have i read this right? Your car only done 1,450miles in total?
Your clearly hot on maintenance and want to keep it at it's best. I'd defantly get it done.

As AlS3BE already said.
If cambelt was to go, think you would popbably have highest maintained cared for mint condition a3's going but with knackered engine.

 

[NHN]

1500 in 7 years, well only concern would be dryness of belts, so check for any cracking, but should be fine on that mileage lol

 

[dantdi]

Thinking about it that's a new oil filter and oil every 240ish miles!

 

[A3SLine2014]

Have had this recently. The German forums say different to what Audi UK say. Originally my belt was lifetime as stated by Audi AG. The Germans say just inspect at 240kms. Audi UK say change at 60k miles or 5 years....

 

[Dubjam]

I have no intention of my doing my belt this year at the 5 year mark, its done 28K.

Audi UK make huge money in servicing from 're-writing' the service schedules that the manufacturer actually posed for the vehicle. It's all a con basically...Marketing...and like all good marketing, it puts 'something' inside the punters mind, in this case, fear, that their engine will pop if they don't replace it in five years. I've never known a 5 year old belt go in all my life of playing with cars..and I have built a few engines in my time. Our last Golf GTI was on its original belt at 120k.

We don't have adverse weather conditions in the UK, and we are far milder than Germany in winter, and far cooler in the summer. If we say had a climate similar to Mongolia or Canada, then I could understand a variant of the service schedule, but we don't, and Audi UK have never offered any scientific evidence for published their service schedule.

Ford for example state 10 years/150,000 miles (approx) on their schedule. I hazard a guess that they probably even use the same belt manufacturer as Audi, or at least the same raw materials.

Here is the true A3 service schedule.

 

[A3SLine2014]

I agree and contacted Audi AG directly a few months back then was redirected with a nonsense reply from Audi UK about weather conditions this and that. I asked why it was originally deemed a lifetime belt and now audi UK say to replace and basically got the same response about weather conditions

 

[Mikeso51]

My own car has the EA211 1.4tfsi engine, and it’s interesting to read what VAG said regarding cam belts when they introduced this engine back in 2012.

One example from a release on the official VW site:

“Take the example of overhead camshafts (DOHC): the camshafts are not driven by chain here, rather by a single-stage, low-friction toothed belt design with a 20 mm wide belt and load-reducing profiled belt wheels. Thanks to its high-end material specification, this toothed belt's service life reliably spans the entire life of the vehicle.”

The cam belt change recommendation given by Audi (and VAG) Germany, i.e. no time limit and 133k mileage limit, Is consistent with this. The only European subsidiary who doesn’t follow this recommendation is VAG (UK).

So one might reasonably ask where Audi(UK) gets a 5 year belt change interval from? As far as I am aware they have never provided any credible technical justification. I do however recall that when they were pressed very hard on this a while back by a forum member they reluctantly backtracked and said that a belt change at 5 years was not mandatory. It was acceptable, they said, to simply check the belt condition after 5 years (and annually thereafter), and only change it “if necessary”. Despite this their printed information continues to be ambiguous, stating “check and change”, and dealers still insist a change Is mandatory.

 

[Dubjam]

The OP was asking about this a year ago

Cambelt change

Ok guys i have a question regarding cambelt replacment. I have a 2014 a3 2.0 tdi the mileage is 1,600 miles as of today the car is a dry run weekend car and its garaged audi uk say the belt is due replacment at 120,000 miles or 5 years. Audi germany say 144,000 miles with no time limit and its...

www.audi-sport.net

 

[AlS3BE]

The thing is your car will likely be out of warranty by the time it needs a belt and if it snaps you are on your own. Audi isn’t gonna help you even if it had snapped within the 5 or 7 year or whatever they decide this week. They aren’t warranting the belt will last X amount of years/miles, they are just recommending a specific service schedule for it.
It’s more preventative maintenance changing the belt. It’s no different to an oil change. Most oil will last more than 20k and the filters also but we still change it every year/2years or 10/20k.

 

[Dubjam]

The thing is your car will likely be out of warranty by the time it needs a belt and if it snaps you are on your own. Audi isn’t gonna help you even if it had snapped within the 5 or 7 year or whatever they decide this week. They aren’t warranting the belt will last X amount of years/miles, they are just recommending a specific service schedule for it.
It’s more preventative maintenance changing the belt. It’s no different to an oil change. Most oil will last more than 20k and the filters also but we still change it every year/2years or 10/20k.

I personally feel this viewpoint is just a way to burn money into the marketing team at Audi UK. Sure if you have pound notes growing on a tree I can see why this option would be usable but to many, spending money on what is essentially a marketing teams ploy to gain workshop profit for their shareholders isn’t going to be at the forefront of their expenditure list, at least I don’t think it would be. It certainly isn’t mine. When the actual manufacturer of a product and their marketing team has decided their tolerance thresholds based on science, they are the ones that hold the biggest risk in terms of market confidence and warranty etc, so I trust them over what is essentially a franchise. But thats just me. We already know the diabolically low level of customer service in Audi UK anyway!

You could also be changing a perfect belt for one that say has a defect in its composition...

I think if this was ever legally challenged with Audi UK they would be stepping down very quickly for sure.

Do you have any evidence of cambelt snapping in the UK after five years under m? Ive trawled the internet and not really found any.

 

[Georgeinabz]

I personally feel this viewpoint is just a way to burn money into the marketing team at Audi UK. Sure if you have pound notes growing on a tree I can see why this option would be usable but to many, spending money on what is essentially a marketing teams ploy to gain workshop profit for their shareholders isn’t going to be at the forefront of their expenditure list, at least I don’t think it would be. It certainly isn’t mine. When the actual manufacturer of a product and their marketing team has decided their tolerance thresholds based on science, they are the ones that hold the biggest risk in terms of market confidence and warranty etc, so I trust them over what is essentially a franchise. But thats just me. We already know the diabolically low level of customer service in Audi UK anyway!

You could also be changing a perfect belt for one that say has a defect in its composition...

I think if this was ever legally challenged with Audi UK they would be stepping down very quickly for sure.

Do you have any evidence of cambelt snapping in the UK after five years under m? Ive trawled the internet and not really found any.

Yip I've seen plenty of cam belts fail , the problem is a short block is £7k , a good indy can half the labour bill , my Ducati ST had you changing the belts every 2 years regardless of mileage , however a failure would write off the bike.

 

[Dubjam]

Yip I've seen plenty of cam belts fail , the problem is a short block is £7k , a good indy can half the labour bill , my Ducati ST had you changing the belts every 2 years regardless of mileage , however a failure would write off the bike.

I would have thought VAG forums worldwide would have had various threads with cambelt failures if Audi ones were breaking within Audi UKs self manufactured 5 year threshold but I havent seen any really.

i’ve seen one belt failure myself in my almost forty years which was on a Mk2 8v Golf GTI that was on its original belt at years old and 189k.

The reality is Audi state they do not need to be changed at 5 years unless a certain mileage is reached as show. On the service schedule above or there is a visible reason after inspection. Only a franchise, Audi UK do, with no evidence or fact based rhetoric, to warrant this.

 

[A3SLine2014]

I would have thought VAG forums worldwide would have had various threads with cambelt failures if Audi ones were breaking within Audi UKs self manufactured 5 year threshold but I havent seen any really.

i’ve seen one belt failure myself in my almost forty years which was on a Mk2 8v Golf GTI that was on its original belt at years old and 189k.

The reality is Audi state they do not need to be changed at 5 years unless a certain mileage is reached as show. On the service schedule above or there is a visible reason after inspection. Only a franchise, Audi UK do, with no evidence or fact based rhetoric, to warrant this.

I've been on the german forums. They say don't bother but change at 240kms if concerned. Can inspect the belt if needed, on the SEAT forum there's a sheet showing how to remove the top plastic cover

 

[AlS3BE]

I personally feel this viewpoint is just a way to burn money into the marketing team at Audi UK. Sure if you have pound notes growing on a tree I can see why this option would be usable but to many, spending money on what is essentially a marketing teams ploy to gain workshop profit for their shareholders isn’t going to be at the forefront of their expenditure list, at least I don’t think it would be. It certainly isn’t mine. When the actual manufacturer of a product and their marketing team has decided their tolerance thresholds based on science, they are the ones that hold the biggest risk in terms of market confidence and warranty etc, so I trust them over what is essentially a franchise. But thats just me. We already know the diabolically low level of customer service in Audi UK anyway!

You could also be changing a perfect belt for one that say has a defect in its composition...

I think if this was ever legally challenged with Audi UK they would be stepping down very quickly for sure.

Do you have any evidence of cambelt snapping in the UK after five years under m? Ive trawled the internet and not really found any.

I’ve had a cam belt tensioner go on me and found the belt had split in 2 down the middle. Luckily the belt didn’t snap. This was a non vag car.
Similar issues with water pumps failures(VAG), pulleys etc
To be fair the belt in all cases would have been fine just all the other bits attached affecting the belt. Think that’s why it’s important to at least check but the way they design these cars is it’s not an easy check like checking your oil so by the time you paid the labour you might as well pay a bit more and get it done for peace of mind.

 

[Dubjam]

I’ve had a cam belt tensioner go on me and found the belt had split in 2 down the middle. Luckily the belt didn’t snap. This was a non vag car.
Similar issues with water pumps failures(VAG), pulleys etc
To be fair the belt in all cases would have been fine just all the other bits attached affecting the belt. Think that’s why it’s important to at least check but the way they design these cars is it’s not an easy check like checking your oil so by the time you paid the labour you might as well pay a bit more and get it done for peace of mind.

A cambelt for mine is £595 according to Audi UK's website. That's a considerable cost, and I may be replacing a perfectly fine part with one with a problematic one, and the manufacturer themselves state it does not need to be done at this stage.

I guess for me me, it makes little sense because my peace of mind is with the manufacturer, not the franchisee who makes an unsubstantiated claims. I get what you are saying regarding inspection costs - it's not something I've ever asked for a breakdown of costs in - how much have you been charged to 'inspect the cam belt'?

 

[AlS3BE]

how much have you been charged to 'inspect the cam belt'?

Never had a belt inspected, I just go and change the belt. I would assume 2-3 hours labour by the time you remove bits, covers and other stuff to get a good look at the belt and other parts attached like tensioner etc.
Last belt I had changed was around £200-250 all in with genuine vw parts. That included water pump, pulleys etc at an indy not dealer. This was a good few years back as my last few cars had timing chains.

 

[8YARWY]

Never had a belt inspected, I just go and change the belt. I would assume 2-3 hours labour by the time you remove bits, covers and other stuff to get a good look at the belt and other parts attached like tensioner etc.
Last belt I had changed was around £200-250 all in with genuine vw parts. That included water pump, pulleys etc at an indy not dealer. This was a good few years back as my last few cars had timing chains.

When I Did the wife’s GTD the parts were £250.

Worth doing for piece of mind, quite a lot of parts to remove though to get to it.

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[AlS3BE]

When I Did the wife’s GTD the parts were £250.

Worth doing for piece of mind, quite a lot of parts to remove though to get to it.

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Last belt I did was a pd130 about 10+ years ago. Water pump failed so did the whole lot. Does help my mate owned the garage so cheap labour ;-) think parts was around £100-150 from TPS.

 

[Dubjam]

When I Did the wife’s GTD the parts were £250.

Worth doing for piece of mind, quite a lot of parts to remove though to get to it.

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Do you replace it every year every year or every weekend?

I'm still baffled by the 'peace of mind' thing tbh... where does the peace of mind come from? Doing it once a month, once a year? once every two year? its seems to me like some are essentially making up when they feel at peace with the mileage it has done, (ignoring the millions spent in RD and testing done by the manufacturer to discover the life of the product). So really, its down to personal preference or by using The Force?

 

[8YARWY]

Do you replace it every year every year or every weekend?

I'm still baffled by the 'peace of mind' thing tbh... where does the peace of mind come from? Doing it once a month, once a year? once every two year? its seems to me like some are essentially making up when they feel at peace with the mileage it has done, (ignoring the millions spent in RD and testing done by the manufacturer to discover the life of the product). So really, its down to personal preference or by using The Force?

What the frig are you talking about ?


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[Dubjam]

What the frig are you talking about ?


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Its pretty simple if you read the thread.

You and other posters have mentioned 'peace of mind' in doing your cambelt massively early over when Audi themselves state it needs doing (240,000km), so I am asking when is it when you deem the time for it to be done to give you 'peace of mind'? As you are basically making up your own 'time frame' for this, so do you do it monthly, yearly etc?

 

[8YARWY]

Its pretty simple if you read the thread.

You and other posters have mentioned 'peace of mind' in doing your cambelt massively early over when Audi themselves state it needs doing (240,000km), so I am asking when is it when you deem the time for it to be done to give you 'peace of mind'? As you are basically making up your own 'time frame' for this, so do you do it monthly, yearly etc?

Was done as per VW service interval.

Car was 5 years old and after several phone calls from VW about getting it done I did it myself.
As a side note if you don’t agree with it then fair enough, just keep your opinion on whether I should or shouldn’t have changed it to yourself.


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[Dubjam]

Was done as per VW service interval.

Car was 5 years old and after several phone calls from VW about getting it done I did it myself.
As a side note if you don’t agree with it then fair enough, just keep your opinion on whether I should or shouldn’t have changed it to yourself.


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The forum is generally a free place for anyone to give their opinion on a subject in a non offensive /non abusive manner.

I personally don't know why you would do it early myself, but if you enjoy doing it and can warrant spending the money thats entirely your prerogative.

My point was to the OP, that the time line given by Audi UK is BS and is merely a way to increase parts and servicing revenue. It's an atypical psychological technique in marketing to instil a 'condition' through suggestion, in this case, 'fear' , that something bad will happen if something isn't done by a certain time, thus creating that feeling of a 'peace of mind' once it is done even though it was likely not to be required.

Audi as the manufacturer give the time when it 'needs' to be changed, this was probably at the point their RD told them to do so, so anything before that is generally out of choice but is simply not required.

 

[glospete]

Not knowing that Audi in Europe recommends a different schedule for cambelt replacement, I had Audi Exeter replace mine on my A3 1.4TFSI in 2019 on its 5th birthday. They quoted (and I paid) £575 which I checked was the same price being quoted by other Audi dealerships. However to sweeten the pill they did give me free MOTs for as long as I own the car, so as I have no plans to sell it then I may have got a good deal. I am shocked that the service intervals for cars in Audi Europe are different to that for Audi UK. Certainly smacks of profiteering and cannot be justified on any technical level.

 

[6EGA3]

So, back in Oct 2019 I posted the following on this forum. Might add a bit more to the conversation:

So, I have been emailing back and forth to Audi UK to see what they have to say about the whole issue. Below is the thread - it's quite clear they are still trying to justify this change of policy between the UK and Europe:

Hi,

I have a MY2015 A3 1.6 TDi with a rubber cambelt. According to the manual that came with the vehicle, it is to be replaced every 133,000 miles, with no time limit.

Audi UK have told me that this has now been superseded by new advice which says that the cambelt must be changed after 5 years unless reaching the 133,000 miles first (although some are quoting 140,000 miles).

I recently contacted Audi Germany and asked what the recommendation was there. I was told that it remains the same as the details printed in the manual, i.e. no time limit and 133,000 miles (210,000 km). In fact, it appears that throughout Europe this is pretty much standard.

Can I ask then why the discrepancy? The climate is fairly similar in both Germany and the UK if you ignore the extremes of the German Alps or the Scottish Highlands. The roads may be somewhat better in Germany but not markedly so. The cars come from the same factory with precisely the same engines. In fact, the only real difference is the position of the steering wheel.

Why then does Audi consider the cambelt more likely to fail in the UK after 5 years but not in the rest of Europe?


Dear 6EGA3,

Thank you for providing your vehicle registration as requested.

The importing company sets the interval at which the cambelt should be changed. In this case, this is Audi UK, who recommends every five years or 133,000 miles, whichever comes first.

I do hope this answers your query and please contact me again on the details below if you require any further assistance.


Dear Mr. Xxxxx,
Thank you for your reply. However you have not answered my query, merely told me that Audi UK has set the interval. I am obviously aware of this otherwise I would net have needed to contact you in the first instance.
So, can you now please answer my original query? This is what was asked:

"Can I ask then why the discrepancy? The climate is fairly similar in both Germany and the UK if you ignore the extremes of the German Alps or the Scottish Highlands. The roads may be somewhat better in Germany but not markedly so. The cars come from the same factory with precisely the same engines. In fact, the only real difference is the position of the steering wheel.

Why then does Audi consider the cambelt more likely to fail in the UK after 5 years but not in the rest of Europe?”

I look forward to a more detailed and considered reply and will need to escalate this if one is not forthcoming.


Dear 6EGA3,

Thank you for your recent email, I was sorry to learn that you were unhappy with my initial response.

As I am sure you can appreciate, the cambelt is one of the hardest-working parts in the engine and any component working this hard will eventually show signs of fatigue. A worn or damaged belt could become slack or even snap, often causing severe engine damage which is a costly repair. The rate of wear can be influenced by a number of factors including time, mileage and various sources of contamination.

As previously stated, the mileage replacement recommended by AUDI AG is not always relevant to conditions experienced by Audi customers in the UK which is why we also have a time-based recommendation. Stop-start journeys on congested roads may cause additional wear on parts compared to the optimum conditions experienced in some parts of Europe. The recommendation ensures consistency and protects customers with very low-mileage cars from cambelt failure. Cambelts are rubber-based components that can deteriorate over time and it could be many years before these customers reach the recommended mileage interval changes.

Full functionality of this component must be guaranteed as much as possible in all driving situations throughout its entire service life, recommending a time and distance interval helps us do this.

I hope this offers further clarity on the points you have raised, however, should you have any further queries please contact me on the details below.

So.......
How on earth is driving in say, London, Birmingham or a crowded part of the Cotswolds any different to the stop-start driving one might do in Berlin, Paris or Dusseldorf??

A couple more emails back and forth and I have finally been told to ****** off by Audi UK:

Dear Mr. Xxxxx,
I appreciate the more detailed email. Your answer though raises more questions than it answers, which I’ll explain here:

You say - probably quite correctly - that "Stop-start journeys on congested roads may cause additional wear on parts compared to the optimum conditions experienced in some parts of Europe.” I would have thought that in making any decisions in Germany, Audi AG would have taken into consideration the journeys that their customers make in crowded cities like Berlin, as well as those who may live in more relaxed areas of the country where long journeys on Autobahns are a major part of the car’s life. Not all conditions in Europe are ‘optimum’.

You also state that, "The recommendation ensures consistency and protects customers with very low-mileage cars from cambelt failure. Cambelts are rubber-based components that can deteriorate over time and it could be many years before these customers reach the recommended mileage interval changes.” I would say that it is highly likely that there are low-mileage drivers in Germany as well as the UK. Audi AG would have to take that factor into consideration too.

The point I am trying to make is that for any car manufacturer to come up with a set of guidelines for parts replacement and inspection, it must take a view on what works best for drivers of those vehicles in the wide variety of conditions that vehicle may be used. Therefore a driver in the congested streets of Berlin or Frankfurt is going to be covered by the same requirements from Audi AG as a driver in the rural areas. So it therefore stands to reason that those conditions met by a UK driver in a city environment will not be unlike those in German built-up areas.

The same argument can be said for low-mileage drivers who may take many years to reach the mileage required for a cam-belt change. That doesn’t change from Germany to the UK.

Therefore I am still puzzled by the differences in servicing requirements of Audi AG v Audi UK. Please don’t think I am doing this to be difficult. But as you may see from my point of view, here I am driving exactly the same vehicle in what would be conditions not unfamiliar to German drivers. The parent company recommends X and the UK importer says it’s Y. Vehicles and conditions are close enough to be identical and yet I am still trying to understand the UK’s requirements versus those throughout the rest of Europe.

I really would appreciate a replay that properly explains and supports the UK’s reasoning behind this.


Dear 6EGA3,

Thank you for allowing me time to investigate your case further.

Whilst I understand your points regarding the difference in guidelines between Audi UK and Audi AG , we can not comment on Audi AG guidelines. As previously stated in my emails, the importer sets these guidelines on components. Although there may be similarities between the two countries, there are also differences.

Audi UK recommends you get your cambelt checked for any wear and tear on this component every 133,000 miles or 5 years, this can be done when getting a service in one of our centres. The centres will advise you if there is any play or wear on the cambelt. We cannot confirm if your vehicle would require a cambelt change at 5 years or 133,000 miles as the vehicle is currently 57 months old.

Whilst we will acknowledge your response , this is our final response on the matter from Audi UK.

 

[Dubjam]

Lol, this is very similar to the type of empty brained script reading responses I got when my Sat Nav update wasn't showing up in MyAudi...

But to be fair, they can't exactly just admit that they made it up.

I'd hazard guess that a cambelt would be under much severe conditions in Berlin in the winter than anywhere in the UK at any point in the year...

 

[Detailer dave]

I've been on the german forums. They say don't bother but change at 240kms if concerned. Can inspect the belt if needed, on the SEAT forum there's a sheet showing how to remove the top plastic cover

Have you a link to the sheet mate

 

[Detailer dave]

I guess im safe for a little while yet looking at the responses

 

[Wibbly]

To me it's like the oil change argument, but in reverse. Perversely, Audi UK support the 2 year change interval if you want to run with that plan, but some folk here choose do it even more frequently than yearly, based on their belief that it will extend engine longevity. So in all cases it's about FUD/risk and reward/your view of paying to 'insure' against a possible future problem etc.

For what it's worth, my 1.4TFSI has done 37K, coming up for 6 years old. It's on a two year oil change plan, but I do it in the intermediate years myself, once, so it gets a change one a year. I refused a cambelt change at 5 years. May have it done at 7.

 

[A3SLine2014]

Have you a link to the sheet mate

Timing Belt Replacement Interval

My Leon FR 1.4 TSI is four and half years old with with 52k on the clock. I've heard timing belt replacement intervals of four years or 60k, whichever is sooner. Is this correct? Cheers.

www.seatcupra.net

 

[A3SLine2014]

Timing Belt Replacement Interval

My Leon FR 1.4 TSI is four and half years old with with 52k on the clock. I've heard timing belt replacement intervals of four years or 60k, whichever is sooner. Is this correct? Cheers.

www.seatcupra.net

Its on that page if you scroll down

 

[Jcbmally]

I have no intention of my doing my belt this year at the 5 year mark, its done 28K.

Audi UK make huge money in servicing from 're-writing' the service schedules that the manufacturer actually posed for the vehicle. It's all a con basically...Marketing...and like all good marketing, it puts 'something' inside the punters mind, in this case, fear, that their engine will pop if they don't replace it in five years. I've never known a 5 year old belt go in all my life of playing with cars..and I have built a few engines in my time. Our last Golf GTI was on its original belt at 120k.

We don't have adverse weather conditions in the UK, and we are far milder than Germany in winter, and far cooler in the summer. If we say had a climate similar to Mongolia or Canada, then I could understand a variant of the service schedule, but we don't, and Audi UK have never offered any scientific evidence for published their service schedule.

Ford for example state 10 years/150,000 miles (approx) on their schedule. I hazard a guess that they probably even use the same belt manufacturer as Audi, or at least the same raw materials.
Here is the true A3 service schedule.

View attachment 236112

My own car has the EA211 1.4tfsi engine, and it’s interesting to read what VAG said regarding cam belts when they introduced this engine back in 2012.

One example from a release on the official VW site:

“Take the example of overhead camshafts (DOHC): the camshafts are not driven by chain here, rather by a single-stage, low-friction toothed belt design with a 20 mm wide belt and load-reducing profiled belt wheels. Thanks to its high-end material specification, this toothed belt's service life reliably spans the entire life of the vehicle.”

The cam belt change recommendation given by Audi (and VAG) Germany, i.e. no time limit and 133k mileage limit, Is consistent with this. The only European subsidiary who doesn’t follow this recommendation is VAG (UK).

So one might reasonably ask where Audi(UK) gets a 5 year belt change interval from? As far as I am aware they have never provided any credible technical justification. I do however recall that when they were pressed very hard on this a while back by a forum member they reluctantly backtracked and said that a belt change at 5 years was not mandatory. It was acceptable, they said, to simply check the belt condition after 5 years (and annually thereafter), and only change it “if necessary”. Despite this their printed information continues to be ambiguous, stating “check and change”, and dealers still insist a change Is mandatory.

Interesting conversation would be; "my belt has snapped at 48k miles and its is 4yrs and 2 months old, as your manual/service interval states 5yr or 133k please change it at your expense Mr Audi, you'll probably be just told to f off.

Do you replace it every year every year or every weekend?

I'm still baffled by the 'peace of mind' thing tbh... where does the peace of mind come from? Doing it once a month, once a year? once every two year? its seems to me like some are essentially making up when they feel at peace with the mileage it has done, (ignoring the millions spent in RD and testing done by the manufacturer to discover the life of the product). So really, its down to personal preference or by using The Force?

Yes but the force was very strong with Luke, and now Rey, I'd get them to fix my car in a heart beat .

 

[Dubjam]

Yes but the force was very strong with Luke, and now Rey, I'd get them to fix my car in a heart beat .View attachment 237838

I think I'd choose Chewbacca

 

[8YARWY]

Interesting conversation would be; "my belt has snapped at 48k miles and its is 4yrs and 2 months old, as your manual/service interval states 5yr or 133k please change it at your expense Mr Audi, you'll probably be just told to f off.

Yes but the force was very strong with Luke, and now Rey, I'd get them to fix my car in a heart beat .View attachment 237838

Ah but you forget, you can always say no I won’t F off because a guy on a internet forum says your wrong about cam belt service timescales.

At this time they’ll be escorting you out the building.


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[Dubjam]

Ah but you forget, you can always say no I won’t F off because a guy on a internet forum says your wrong about cam belt service timescales.

At this time they’ll be escorting you out the building.


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I think he is referring to Audi's published timescales both EU and UK, not any personal ones.

I do wonder what position Audi UK would take in this unlikely scenario though..but I imagine the RD Audi did means they know it 'won't' happen unless external situations have occurred, which they would then use to evade compensation.