i dont know what the big deal is about replacing a belt, yeah its a
inconvienience and costs about 400.00 but its only every 100,000 kms..
my friend has a honda accord 1995 with 450,000 kms and shes changed 4 so
far..

But it's not $400 in Des Moines, it's $800 and if I hadn't made the
call to other midwest dealers, I would have been ripped off. Believe
me, I am going to write Hyundai about the gouging here.

Putting a component in a vehicle that has the potential to ruin the
engine if it fails is poor engineering. The Hyundais use an
interference engine and the belt failure will ruin it. It's a built-in
time bomb and had I known about it, I would not have purchased the car.

For 2006, they have come to their senses by putting timing chains in
the vehicles.

I've long criticized interference engines, but most automakers still use
them. Unfortunately they're hard to avoid. Last I checked, Toyota had no
interference engines that were belt driven. The problem is that with fuel
economy standards continuing to encourage higher compression engines to
get more power out of a smaller (and more econimical engine), compression
ratios continue to increase. The higher the compression ratio, the more
difficult it is to make a noninterference engine.

Dealers are free to charge whatever they want. Some dealers charge more to
offset higher business costs such as higher rents in some areas. I take a
little issue with the use of the term "rip-off" when a customer agrees to
a price and receives the work which was contracted. The customer bears
some responsibility to check into pricing at a number of venues, and Ray
should be commended for doing so. Ask yourselves-- is saving $400 worth 4
hours driving? The answer varies. But Ray has made the point that it's at
least worth investigating. All those times I've posted that prices will
vary with geographic area-- they're true.

Also, be sure to determine whether you're comparing apples to apples. The
higher price quote may have also included a new tensioner and drive belts
while the lower quote may not. I'm not arguing this makes a $400
difference (it doesn't), but it may be worth considering. For what it's
worth, I strongly recommend replacing the tensioner with the belt. It's
only covered by the 5/60 warranty, and if it fails, the timing belt could
slip, causing the same damage as if the belt had broken or stripped.

For sake of comparison, another technician recently replaced the timing
belt and tensioner (but not drive belts) on an XG300 at my place of
employment, and the total for parts and labor was about $850. Considering
geographic differences, that does make the $800 in Des Moines sound a bit
high, even if it does include the drive belts. But again, the dealer has
the right to charge whatever he wants for his services.

No need for the lecture - I simply responded to the comment that most
vehicles on the market today have timing belts and require regular changes.
No matter whether they had a 100,000 mile warranty or not - the facts is the
facts.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net

Big deal? Never said it was. My - this is a sensative little group isn't
it? If you don't mind changing a timing belt every 60K then fine. But -
that is an extreme warranty requirement. Will I do it? Sure, I bought the
car and I like the car. Hyundai requires it to maintain the warranty, so
I'll do it. But a car with a 100,000 mile warranty should not require what
is a fairly major repair in order to maintain the warranty. You are
investing in the design problem to save the manufacturer from having to
honor their warranty.


--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net

On 18 Nov 2005 13:40:50 -0800, "rayindesmoines@yahoo.com"


Well, I guess you could just sell the car and buy something that you
won't have to complain or whine about. But then again, you'd just
probably find something on your next vehicle to whine about....."Boo
Hoo, the world is trying to screw me". Get over it and move on.......

Why would a belt/tensioner change cost $850? Does labor cost $200/hr or
something?

Chris

Then why bother to whine about it?


In your opinion. Obviously, that's not the general consensus here.

Again, that's your opinion, not a fact.


Who says there's a design problem? It's not as if timing belts are
popping on Hyundais left and right. Hyundai feels that changing the
timing belt at 60K miles is prudent maintenance. Other car manufacturers
do too. This isn't as unusual as you think it is.