Hey, Fred. I'm going to reply to your post and a few others in this space
in the interest of keeping my post count down.
First, if you check your owner's manual, you'll see that the maintenance
interval for the timing belt is 4 years/60,000 miles, whichever comes
first. (You're welcome to verify this. I haven't looked in every manual
for every Hyundai model, but I don't recall anyting prior to 2006 which
had a different recommendation. Edit: during my typing this tome, I see
Fred did indeed verify the interval.) The time due, in your case, would
be four years from the in-service date of the vehicle. Also, if you're
not the original owner-- buying a 2004 vehicle in 10/05 makes me suspect
this-- you don't have the 10/100 powertrain warranty unless you purchased
one. Second and subsequent owners only get 5/60 powertrain.
Second, failure to replace the belt doesn't void any part of the warranty.
If you look at your warranty, you'll see that it specifically excludes
items which that failed due to not having the recommended preventive
maintenance done. So, if the belt fails beyond the maintenance interval,
Hyundai isn't responsible for repairing any damage caused by that failure.
On the other hand, if you have some componet that fails and has nothing to
do with the fact you haven't replaced the belt, that's still covered.
The reliability of the timing belt on this engine is very good. There's a
near zero probability it'll fail anywhere near the 4 year/60k mile
interval, and in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it lasted twice that
long. Don't construe this, however, to be the same thing as a
recommendation to not replace the belt. Take the information I'm giving
you and make up your own mind. The longer you go, the greater the chance
of a problem.
$800 is far too high for replacing this timing belt. My eployer charges
$490, and I think we're too high. Shop around. If you are indeed the
original owner, though, insist on a factory belt even if you don't use a
dealer to do the work, keeping in mind that this may increase the cost at
nondealers. This way, the belt will continue to be covered under the
powertrain warranty until the next scheduled replacement or until the
warranty expires, whichever comes first.
Hyundai still uses timing belts on the 1.6, 2.0, and 2.7 engines. I
haven't been inspecting the owner's manuals of the newer products (since
the belt won't need servicing quite yet), but I believe all the current
models with timing belts have an interval in the neighborhood of 6
years/90k miles.
Grant, the reason Edwin suggests Fred hasn't read the owner's manual is
that the manual indeed specifies 4 years or 60k miles as the service
interval on the belt. I agree that 14k is not very many miles, and that
this isn't an easy expense to stomach. But, by the same token, Edwin is
correct that the rubber will deteriorate both with age and flexing
(running the engine).
Razz, I'd recommend being careful with what you say. While I agree Fred's
timing belt is probably nowhere near failure, saying point blank that he
doesn't need one is a bit negligent. We cannot see his car, and the fact
remains that Hyundai recommends replacing the belt at 4 years. Would you
be willing to pay to repair his car if the timing belt failed? If not,
you shouldn't make this statement. His dealer has done nothing wrong by
recommending he comply with the maintenance schedule laid out in his
owner's manual. The voiding warranty talk is another matter. Also, it
seems you have a bit of a grudge against Hyundai, which from reading your
post, appears to have stemmed from Hyundai not fixing a problem which you
agree they have no obligation to fix.
