$499 timing belt and waterpump

[hkellogg]

Dealer is offering $499 for timing belt and water pump service I was wondering if I should jump on it. My pilot on has 55k on the odometer so it shouldn't need it but I was figuring I could have it done and not to have to worry about it at the 100k mark sound like a good idea ?

[hp2004]

I would wait, why waste that money on something that is not needed til they say 105,000 miles?

[PILOTHEAD]

That's a good price around here!

[mapzoid]

Who is the dealer?

[dball711]

Sounds like a great price but why do it so early? You still have 50000 miles left on the belt. I noticed you typed "service" not replacement, are they going to replace both parts or just "service" them (whatever that means).

[Arizonaadam]

No reason to do it that early, imo. If you were at 85k+ I'd say go for it. Also, may not be useful to you, but one member posted recently about a $389 service (approx, don't remember). So, it's not sooooo cheap that you need to jump on it 50k early.

[NJGuy]

What model year is your Pilot? If you have an '03 or '04, you're probably due for the timing belt based on the time interval (7 years I think). If your Pilot is newer than that, I would at a minimum wait until at least 60K (knowing me, I'd probably wait even longer than that if I were in your scenario). If you want to replace the water pump as well for peace of mind, you can do that too; however, it might not be as important with the low mileage you have.

And where in NJ are you located? I hate to sound like a broken record, but Hamilton Honda offers their timing belt special every so often; you just have to check out the coupons page on their website once in a while. I live quite a distance from them, but still had my timing belt, water pump, & tensioner changed there.

I guess if I were you, I'd wait until your Pilot is closer to being due for the change. At that time, I'd start shopping around. There's still a chance that, at that time, you'd be able to find a decent deal on the service. And even if you don't want to travel too far to get this service done, you could probably use the pricing of other dealer timing belt specials as leverage to negotiate a better price.

[chas22]

Read the fine print. I talked to a dealer that wanted $399.00. That was the timing belt and water pump only. No antifreeze, outside belts, idler pulleys or tensioner. Also leaks on crank or cam seals were extra. I have a 2004 and changed at 106,000 I got all my old parts back and they looked pretty good. So I would say save your money for now.

[whizmo]

As already mentioned, there are probably extra charges, and why do extra maintenance that makes a somewhat discounted service cost more per mile than a non-discounted service? Kinda defeats the whole purpose of the discount.

And it's not like this is an oil change that might have some benefit doing it early. Sure, it reduces the risk of failure, but the risk going to 105K is very, very low. And anytime you have someone screwing around with your motor, there is some risk they'll screw something up.

Finally, if a dealer is running a special now, they'll probably be running it periodically. Or you can just go in and negotiate the price when it is due - often if you mention that you have knowledge of a special and are waiting until it occurs, they'll give you the special price anyway.

This is very long-term service and you need to do it more/less around when recommended, but going a little over/under is no big deal, so all you probably need to do is start keeping your eye open for deals around 100K and wait until you see another one. If it goes to 110K (or even somewhat more) I wouldn't worry about it.

- Mark

[chas22]

Well said!

[jp_freak33]

What year is the Pilot? They say 10 years or 105k. So I guess if you had a 2003 you might think about it. But other then that I would wait and keep your money in your pocket.
Also another thing to look at it MOST of the time a good dealer will replace the timing belt tensioner. The design of the tensioner of all Honda V6 motors seems to be the same and most likely should be replaced. Which is another $120 I think. Just something to think about.

[PILOTHEAD]

Here in SW Michigan I found a Honda tech who did work on the side last year and he did ours for $550.00. He was advertising on Crgs list as a cheap alternative to the dealer.

He insisted on using / included all "Honda Brand" parts sourced by him:

T-belt/Tensioner/Water pump/Coolant Flush/AC Belt/ PS Belt

$360 parts / $190 labor

Probably could have saved money if I sourced the Honda parts, he seemed shocked that I could get NGK plugs for less than half of his cost.

[Mathspiffy]

Originally Posted by hp2004

I would wait, why waste that money on something that is not needed til they say 105,000 miles?

This. Don't spent money on something you don't need even if it's a good deal.

[PILOTHEAD]

Originally Posted by Mathspiffy

This. Don't spent money on something you don't need even if it's a good deal.

Agreed!..what if (God forbid) an accident totals the vehicle?!

[rmduff]

Originally Posted by PILOTHEAD

Agreed!..what if (God forbid) an accident totals the vehicle?!

This happened to me on my wife's Odyssey. 3 weeks after having the timing belt service at 109K the van was totaled.