Before doing anything, check if your car is included in the timing belt replacement campaign. Regards.
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Hello, I changed it in June, and I recommend you do it at the Honda dealership. Itâs a bit more expensive but safer. In that service, you also need a valve adjustment, transmission oil, and service belts. The price for me was âŹ2,000, but thatâs because I had to change the rear discs and pads, as I tried to save money by changing the pads at a local workshop, and they installed them incorrectly. After 30,000 km, they wore out the discs. Thatâs why I tell you itâs better to do these things at Honda. And be careful when changing the oil, as the belt is oil-bathed, use the oil recommended by Honda to avoid any issues.
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Iâm going to give it 2,000 kicks, Iâve had the DS3 for 10 years and havenât taken it home even once, and it hasnât failed or anything. My lifelong mechanic changes everything just like with the Honda, spark plugs, belt, oil, everything for 600.
Sure, but then donât be surprised if the engine breaks because theyâve installed a distribution kit that Honda no longer uses because theyâve made an iteration of parts, but aftermarket brands still sell them to you. Iâm convinced that your longtime mechanic, to whom you took your DS3, knows this and will ask for the correct parts, so I wouldnât worry.
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And if youâre so sure, why do you ask what theyâve done? And if they tell you what theyâve done and why, and you say your mechanic is a NASA engineer⊠why did you ask?
Morrillu: I edit because there are too many offended peopleâŠ
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I wouldnât pay 2000⏠JUST for a belt change either. However, from 2000 to 500, youâre sure to find some authorized service center or workshop with guarantees. If your trusted mechanic does it well and you trust them, then we have no say here.
I changed it at 5 years, I donât trust it and I play it safe, at the official Honda service, and the complete kit cost me 1,400, but they applied a discount and it ended up at 1,050.
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I ended up burned by âold-school mechanics.â For maintaining an older car, itâs fine, but with current cars, Iâve had and known too many bad experiences.
With this, Iâm not saying there arenât people who can do a good job, but from 2,000 to 600 âŹ, there has to be something differentâŠ
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The labor, because the parts require it from the same Honda.
Well, letâs hope for the best. If they install the latest iteration of the kit correctly, remember to use the recommended oil both in viscosity and properties, especially considering the oil-bathed belt, and if youâre driving the car with a spark and your fuel consumption isnât exactly from driving gently⊠Well, thatâs what you get. And if not, then BOOM and have a laugh with the mechanic while changing the engine.
Morrillu: life would be boring without risks
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Your trusted mechanic is not going to charge you âŹ600 for doing the timing belt and changing the spark plugs ever, for three well-founded reasons:
- There are no aftermarket parts from third-party manufacturers; the belts, tensioner, and O-rings must be sourced from Honda, no exceptions.
- Just the belts, tensioner, and O-rings alone cost almost âŹ500, to be precise, âŹ489.
- You still need to add the spark plugs, which are âŹ80, and the labor, which at 6 hours at an average of âŹ48 in a neighborhood workshop, amounts to âŹ288.
In short, if Honda charges you âŹ1600 at official workshop rates, you wonât get it for less than âŹ1000 at a neighborhood shop, and thatâs on the cheap side. Now, if you check the timing belt thread, you can see that itâs not complicated, and I did it myself for the price of the materials.
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Iâm going to change the timing belt of the Civic before the maintenance kilometers, because it has already reached the years of use. Should I also change the spark plugs? In theory, they are changed at 120,000 km and Iâve only done 95,000 km.
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It wouldnât hurt to change the spark plugs now as well; many colleagues change them before the recommended kilometers due to time, and sometimes, even when removed early, you can already tell that the spark plugs are worn out.
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