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2012 timing belt replacement questions

6K views 78 replies 24 participants last post by  Gus257 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

Hoping for some advice and I'll try to be brief. Planning on replacing the timing belt on a 2012 with 103K miles.

1) I am going to buy the Aisin kit (includes Water Pump, Timing Belt, Tensioner, Pulleys, Seal) from Amazon (because of my Amazon credit card reward points). Some guy said not to buy Amazon parts. I don't understand why not, if it's the same part number as the Aisin website. Have you heard any such mumblings?

2) Should I replace the drive/serpentine belt tensioner? I am going to replace the drive belt, but the cheapest mid-grade tensioner is around $60. Is it something that you guys would replace while you're at it? If so, what brand would you use for belt and tensioner?

Thanks in advance!!!
 
#2 ·
Hi guys,

Hoping for some advice and I'll try to be brief. Planning on replacing the timing belt on a 2012 with 103K miles.

1) I am going to buy the Aisin kit (includes Water Pump, Timing Belt, Tensioner, Pulleys, Seal) from Amazon (because of my Amazon credit card reward points). Some guy said not to buy Amazon parts. I don't understand why not, if it's the same part number as the Aisin website. Have you heard any such mumblings?

2) Should I replace the drive/serpentine belt tensioner? I am going to replace the drive belt, but the cheapest mid-grade tensioner is around $60. Is it something that you guys would replace while you're at it? If so, what brand would you use for belt and tensioner?

Thanks in advance!!!
Only buy from the Aisin Store on Amazon. Someone else could recommend tensioner
 
#3 ·
Hi guys,

Hoping for some advice and I'll try to be brief. Planning on replacing the timing belt on a 2012 with 103K miles.

1) I am going to buy the Aisin kit (includes Water Pump, Timing Belt, Tensioner, Pulleys, Seal) from Amazon (because of my Amazon credit card reward points). Some guy said not to buy Amazon parts. I don't understand why not, if it's the same part number as the Aisin website. Have you heard any such mumblings?

2) Should I replace the drive/serpentine belt tensioner? I am going to replace the drive belt, but the cheapest mid-grade tensioner is around $60. Is it something that you guys would replace while you're at it? If so, what brand would you use for belt and tensioner?

Thanks in advance!!!
It depends on how you treat maintenance and how long you expect to keep the vehicle. For me, I keep vehicles for 10 years and am proactive with my maintenance so yes, I would change the serpentine belt and the tensioner a well. One less thing to worry about in the future and I hate working on the same area more than necessary, if say the tensioner should fail in the near future.

With that said, If I was only going to keep the vehicle a short time, the I would probably skip the tensioner but let the prospective buyer know that while the serpentine belt was changed on some given date, the tensioner was working fine and it was not changed.
 
#36 ·
One less thing to worry about in the future and I hate working on the same area more than necessary, if say the tensioner should fail in the near future.
That's not a good advice. Replace parts when they need to be replaced, no need for "advance" replacement. You're wasting money and filling up the landfills with perfectly good parts. It's not like a water pump that you once again need to take half the car apart to get to. You can replace that tensioner out in the field with a 13mm, 17mm and 19mm socket (going by memory) and a "gearwrench" for bleeding to make it even easier.

You go by the "what's the risk". Serpentine belt will never fail unexpectedly. Before it fails to the point you need to do anything about it, it will drive you nuts by squealing and shaking and the battery charging being wonky.

I just replaced mine with the last timing belt and only because it was becoming marginally noisier, but even more so because last time I replaced the alternator and serpentine belt, I stripped that 19mm stud that you use for bleeding. That was before I bought the proper wrench for it.... The vehicle was 11 years old and had 200K miles on it at the time of replacement.
 
#4 ·
belt tensioner should only really need replacing if it is failing. kit should say sold by amazon ship by amazon
 
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#6 ·
1- If you like to roll the dices and gamble....go with the Aisin timing belt kit from Amazon or others from Ebay. I'd much rather not take my chances and with my luck, I'm sticking with the Aisin kit from Rockauto and I have. So far... no horror story with my belt snapping and all chewed up. For others...they took the gamble and weren't too lucky.

2- Shouldn't have to change the drive belt tensioner, they usually last for a long time.The wife's ody has close to 300K on the clock and original tensioner, but has gone through quite a few OE drive belts and two timing belts so far. Her Pilot has original drive belt tensioner at 145K miles and one timing belt change along with water pump, tensioner and both cam and crank seals.
 
#7 ·
The few dollars extra you may save using your Amazon card, when there is a HIGH likelihood you will get counterfeits, is not worth the risk.
Just order from RockAuto, you will be getting the real deal. Aisin TKH-002 kit, if you want the serpentine tensioner kit either Gates or Dayco for that, if just getting the belt I'd get the Bando.
 
#8 ·
It is my understanding that the problem with buying from Amazon really comes when you buy Fulfilled my Amazon items. Apparently, items from legitimate sellers and counterfeit sellers are commingled together in the Amazon inventory. So, if Amazon fulfills the order you really don't know whose inventory your are getting. I use to buy parts from Amazon but don't anymore.

When I do a timing belt I do the belt, tensioner, water pump, serpentine belt, coolant, upper and lower radiator hose (if 10 years old), plugs, PCV valve. I don't do the drive belt tensioner.
 
#11 ·
It is my understanding that the problem with buying from Amazon really comes when you buy Fulfilled my Amazon items. Apparently, items from legitimate sellers and counterfeit sellers are commingled together in the Amazon inventory. So, if Amazon fulfills the order you really don't know whose inventory your are getting. I use to buy parts from Amazon but don't anymore.

When I do a timing belt I do the belt, tensioner, water pump, serpentine belt, coolant, upper and lower radiator hose (if 10 years old), plugs, PCV valve. I don't do the drive belt tensioner.
You don't know what you are getting from the 3rd party sellers either. There are so many counterfeit sellers that businesses like Nike will no longer sell on Amazon. If Amazon fulfills the order they are just sending you what you ordered from who you ordered. Amazon just holds the items in their warehouse(s) and packs and ships them.
 
#9 ·
Guys, thank you so much for all your replies. I truly appreciate it. I'm very confused about why there is a chance for counterfeit product from Amazon, but not from Rock Auto. The Amazon Aisin belt is $2 different from Rock Auto. I could understand the hesitation if there was a > 20% difference. I have to believe it's the same product. I'm going to "roll the dice" and just get it from Amazon. I will let you guys know how it ends up. Last time I changed a timing belt (on my 2002 Civic), the belt looked practically brand new after 100k miles. I wish Honda would start using chains. This job is a PITA.
 
#24 ·
I think you're fine. Personally I get nervous on this stuff as there are a lot of counterfiets on eBay and Amazon. For that reason I personally only order something like this from a seller that has no relationships with any scammers - like RockAuto, NAPA, dealer, etc.

Most fakes are of the Honda components. I've HEARD (but not seen) cases of Aisin being counterfeited too. With that said "Aisin Store" + Ship and Sold by Amazon makes me a lot more comfortable. The bad news is that if you ever DO get a counterfiet you can be assured it'll destroy your engine just at about the point you think you "should be safe" in that 5k - 15k mile range. Sadly there have been countless stories of it here which is why people are understandably nervous about it.

@Nail Grease Has a picture he posts of what everything should look like when it arrives in an Aisin box. I can confirm that mine looked EXACTLY like his when purchased from Rock Auto.
 
#13 ·
Good Luck........Begin the 5000 mile countdown until you need a new engine.
 
#18 ·
Dude, the guy in the post you linked to clearly stated he bought a no name branded belt. The kit I am getting has lots of good reviews. I don't think I am taking a big risk here. Do you think that Rock Auto would accept liability for a belt snapping? I'm not on here to start or engage in arguments. Most of the people that replied think my purchase will be safe. I'm more scared of screwing up the install than I am of the belt snapping. I'll let everyone know how the car is riding after 5k miles. I plan to install it on Thursday (because we already had our Thanksgiving) and hopefully finishing on Friday.
 
#14 ·
I just did my 14 pilot with the aisin kit from rock auto.
But in August of 2019 I bought the exact aisin kit from "Aisin store" from your link when I did the timing belt on my 2012 Odyssey.
Font Auto part Circle Screenshot Bicycle part

I think the issue with Amazon is ordering smaller stuff like NGK spark plugs from 3rd party sellers , much easier to fake.

I have ordered a BANDO belt off Amazon and recieved a "BANBEN" even though pictures and description were BANDO.

I wouldn't do the serpentine tensioner. It is not buried and can be changed with minimal time and parts removed.

Font Material property Wood Circle Automotive tire

Publication Font Advertising Electric blue Signage

Light Automotive tire Camera lens Font Tableware

I got my money back from Amazon and also called BANDO who thanked me for the heads up and sent me a free genuine belt ...and hat🤣
 
#15 ·
What people have to recognize is there is a difference between the fake Genuine Honda kits on Amazon and the Aisin kits on Amazon.

This is what the kit that a bunch of people fall for looks like:
Font Output device Auto part Carton Cable


Nobody wastes their time marketing as a fake Aisin kit, they go straight for the Genuine Honda brand.

When someone mentions getting fake parts on Amazon, 99% of the time they are talking about kits like the one above, not the Aisin kit.
 
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#20 ·
They sell the parts, but there is no such thing as a Genuine Honda kit. Anything marketing as such is counterfeit. The closest thing there is to a Honda kit is some dealers will sell the individual parts you need all as one bundle, but the price for that will be a lot more than the Aisin kit or the counterfeits, probably closer to $500.
 
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#17 ·
Honda doesn't sell complete kits! I went through this fiasco after an independent shop used a #$^! Dayco belt and it broke after 15k! caused 6 GRAND in damage! Our 2010 only had 120k on the original engine. Honda parts are sold INDIVIDUALLY. Our PILOT WAS IN THE shop for THREE months because a cheapskate mechanic didn't know what the $%&! he was doing!
 
#19 ·
I think there are enough identifying markings and difference in quality of castings that you should be able to tell by carefully inspecting the parts whether you got genuine or counterfeit parts. I wouldn't suggest buying car parts on Amazon just because I'm not tolerant of the counterfeit risk, but I think you can mitigate it if you really want the credit card rewards.
 
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#33 ·
While counterfeits exist, it's also possible the parts were installed incorrectly.
Just do your due diligence and buy from a verified Aisin seller on Amazon. Do a thorough inspection of the parts and realize the risk is always there. I have bought parts that failed from Rockauto, Napa, Autozone, etc. Sometimes stuff happens.
 
#35 ·
I personally wouldn't think they sell fake AISIN kits on Amazon (as in a full-on fake TKH-02). I buy from RockAuto simply because it's usually cheaper and faster. As a matter of fact, each time I need anything I check RockAuto, then Amazon, a couple of other online retailers and then a local Honda dealer with whom I have a 20% discount on parts. Then pick the best cost/quality combination (fot he exact same Honda P/N or aftermarket kit of choice P/N).

For serpentine belt tensioner - unless it's wobbly and/or noisy - there's no need to change it. Honda shop manual (posted here on this site) describes a pass/fail inspection procedure on it. If you need to replace it - you can go with one made by INA - it's, basically, what HONDA sells as theirs, just repackaging it in their box.

One thing I personally had a problem with was a non-Honda serpentine belt, believe it or not, it felt like it was a tad shorter and was a beach to install. So, I just get an OEM Honda serpentine belt since then and no issues at all.
 
#55 ·
My tensioner went at about 175,000 on the 06 I drove to 250,000. Along the way wore out the PS pump and rebuilt it with Honda parts. Replaced the Alt twice. Likely due to the family using the seat heater option all winter. Originlal AC pump held up till the end.
Starter let go at around 230,000.
Did the timing belt at 110,000 and rode the last 140,000 on that second belt. Sent the car on after it finally couldn’t pass emissions with the code from a minor head gasket leak causing engine codes. Would have chased that but the road salt and calcium cloride had taken its tole On the body.
Still like the gen 1 over our gen 3. But both are solid family cars
 
#56 ·
So two schools of thought on the serp tensioner and bearing.

1) A new part has a potential for infant mortality. Basically there is a non zero chance of getting a bad one brand new out of the box. Aircraft have seen this be a real problem where excessive maintenance leads to actually more failures.

On the other hand…

2) The tensioner bearings absolutely DO go bad, and typically go bad well before they actually fail. I‘d argue that likely many people drive with a bad one and don’t realize it and just attribute increased noise to “an old car”. I know I missed it on my Lexus for a LONG time myself. Didn’t realize it until I had the belt off and turned the pulley only to go “oh snap that’s toast”.

Personally I really don’t see the harm in rep it while there. Remember Honda doesn’t specify the replacement of the timing belt tensioners and pulleys either and I’d argue those big Koyo idlers are much more robust than any of the tensioner bearings.
 
#57 ·
I changed the belt in my 2013 this summer... Didn't change the tensioner. When I took the belt off, I made sure the pulleys functioned, and just went forward. Haven't yet sent issues (apart from an apparently coincidental battery issue)

In my research, I found the $60 tensioner had poor reviews. If I were doing it, I'd get one of the higher quality ones. I think they were ~100.

Ps, bought the belt from Amazon.
 
#68 ·
Not just you. Those suckers were on there on mine too. Got them off obviously but took way more effort than it should have. Also one of them had a lot more rust than I would have guessed considering we are the original owners, its garage kept, and has never seen snow / road salt. In fact that bolt is the only rust I’ve ever seen on the car. I cleaned it up the best I could and put a healthy amount of anti seize going back together.
 
#64 ·
This is just straying way off topic.

PM schedules look at the probability of failure, the cost to repair, and the cost to not repair (direct and indirect cost of failure) plus the cost to repair. Predicting the failure time on the serpentine belt tensioner is pretty interesting, since the service the engine has seen varies so much. It's probably best done based on amount of fuel consumed, as that's related to time, engine speed and load. Still nothing for environments conditions like heat and dirt. But nobody really tracks that on an accumulating basis, at least well enough to get a good bit of failure data to analyze.

As far as cost-to-repair, simple parts $ plus labor $. Labor is pretty much the same (plus three bolts) for ne rollers with belt vs. just the new belt. The cost-to-not-repair adds the inconvenience factor with down time, may include towing and possibly lodging, and also includes the parts and labor cost since you'll need to get it fixed anyway.

I pretty much DIY all this stuff, shop for PM and maintenance parts based on value, and get to schedule the work at relatively convenient times, in my own heated and air conditioned workbay, with my own tools and easy access to more if needed. In my experience, failures very seldom happen at home in the workbay, just as I might be headed to the parts store anyway, on the day I'd already scheduled for exactly that particular work. I'm just not that good at "just in time" maintenance and repair planning. The Great and Wise man Edsel Murphy does the majority of my 'run-to-fail' scheduling for me. That translates to the side of some lonely highway, out of cellphone coverage, rain, heat or snow, and a noise generator riding along in the car. Or worse but even more likely, it's that same noise-maker stuck in that same place under the same conditions.

----

Is there a reason to inspect and service the alternator prophylactically? Why yes, there certainly is! Easy enough to spin the alternator by hand and feel for bearing grumbles, and listen for bearing noises while/whenever the belt is off. Replacement bearings are amazingly cheap to replace at that point. While you are in there for the bearings, you'll install new brushes, clean and dry the windings and the case, verify the overrunning clutch operation. Is a full remanufactured alternator a better choice? Might be for some. But bearings ALWAYS offer failure symptoms before brushes, so using those symptoms as a flag isn't a bad idea.

Alternators see electrical abuse when they are tasked with charging a tired battery. They also suffer when there are poor connections in that charging loop. Don't abuse the battery by running it down, and you'll have less alternator abuse while recovering it. Keep the connections and cables clean and protected. Test the battery at least annually, and replace it when it shows signs of loss of capacity. On some of the cars, the alternators get new bearings every ten years or 100k, because the likelihood of bearing failure goes up as the grease in the bearings starts to gel. Same grease that's in the belt tensioner rollers, BTW.

Use the knowledge and experience of those who have passed this way before you. Education like that is way cheaper than experience with failures as a teacher. I read posts here from others, evaluate my own car and situation to help decide if I should plan for some PM so whatever happened to you won't happen to me. I do a LOT of PM on the cars here, but very seldom do any real "work" and almost never end up "fixing" anything that's broken. I'm also quite comfortable knowing I jump into any of the cars, newest or oldest, and do a trip to a far corner of the country and back with clubs and luggage, and not worry a lick about the car itself making the trip painlessly. Not the driving part anyway; putting is a separate issue. ;)
 
#67 ·
Hi guys,

Hoping for some advice and I'll try to be brief. Planning on replacing the timing belt on a 2012 with 103K miles.

1) I am going to buy the Aisin kit (includes Water Pump, Timing Belt, Tensioner, Pulleys, Seal) from Amazon (because of my Amazon credit card reward points). Some guy said not to buy Amazon parts. I don't understand why not, if it's the same part number as the Aisin website. Have you heard any such mumblings?

2) Should I replace the drive/serpentine belt tensioner? I am going to replace the drive belt, but the cheapest mid-grade tensioner is around $60. Is it something that you guys would replace while you're at it? If so, what brand would you use for belt and tensioner?

Thanks in advance!!!

Howdy,
I would replace the parts with genuine Honda parts right from the dealer. Then again, my wife is the one that actually drives the Honda Pilot and I would not want to take a chance on her breaking down and getting upset.
This could lead to having to wash my own clothes and prepare my own meals.
Risk vs reward, I'm going genuine Honda parts only. Engines are also expensive if parts fail.
Good luck, I hope this helps.
K-Lap
 
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