Any way to tell if timing belt has been done?

[ziggy2000]

Hello, new owner of an '06 EX-L in Billet Silver w/RES. First post! It has 116k on it and I'm wondering if there is any way to tell if the previous owner replaced the timing belt as recommended around the 105k mark? It would be nice to know if I need to plan on doing this service in the near future. Other than calling dealers and other shops around here (the previous owner was local I believe), is there some telltale evidence that would show the service has been done? I'm sure the maintenance Minder has been reset since 105k, but it will be interesting to see what codes will pop up at next oil change. Unfortunately that will put it close to 120k and I want to be certain it's maintained properly. Thanks for any insight you can give!

Marty

[macphanatic]

Maintenance minder won't tell you to replace the timing belt until the next time it's due. It has no way of knowing what service has been done, only what should be done based upon mileage and driving conditions.

Did you buy from a dealer? If so, maybe they did the service and have records.

[ziggy2000]

Not bought from a Honda dealer, but a small pre-owned dealer here in town. The previous owner was local though - I'm going to check with the local Honda dealer to see if there are service records, although I've heard that sometimes they are reluctant to release records due to privacy issues.

Marty

[jl_ss]

Originally Posted by ziggy2000

Not bought from a Honda dealer, but a small pre-owned dealer here in town. The previous owner was local though - I'm going to check with the local Honda dealer to see if there are service records, although I've heard that sometimes they are reluctant to release records due to privacy issues.

Marty

Ask then to cough once if the records show the time belt was done and twice if it was not......

[94eg!]

How is it private information if it pertains to a vehicle you now own.

[NJGuy]

Originally Posted by ziggy2000

The previous owner was local though - I'm going to check with the local Honda dealer to see if there are service records, although I've heard that sometimes they are reluctant to release records due to privacy issues.

It doesn't hurt to ask. They should be able to look up the service records by the VIN. It's not like you're asking for the personal information of the previous owner. It might be better if you bring the Pilot there and ask in person as opposed to asking over the phone.

Best case scenario:
If it's a reputable dealership, I'm sure they won't give you any problems in terms of sharing the vehicle's service history in their records, especially if you plan to have your services done there.

Worst case scenario:
If it's a stealership, they'll probably tell you that the timing belt and other services were not done at all, even if they were; then they can perform the service(s) again (or not at all) and double dip into the customers' wallets.

Other scenario:
The previous owner could have been like a lot of the other Piloteers here where the owner did most of the work. There's also a chance that the timing belt service was too expensive at the dealer and the owner had an independent shop do the job for less.

Hypothetically speaking, if someone local to me was the new owner of my Pilot tomorrow, I don't think the local dealership would be of much help to him or her. I don't think it's been there for service more than 5 times, and those visits were mostly for oil changes. My timing belt was changed at a different dealer. My stash of receipts and maintenance log in the owners manual would probably be a much bigger help though, provided he or she could get a hold of them.

[ziggy2000]

Thanks for the replies, folks! I was able to speak to the previous owner who supplied me with the info I needed. The main servicing was not done at Honda dealerships, and the timing belt has not been changed.

Marty