timing belt?

Question

my sister has a 5yr old renult megane, it has serviced and passed its mot at the end of feb 07.
This morning whilst driving down the motorway at 80+ the car looses power, she managered to get the car over 2 lanes on to the hard shoulder, when her insurance company came for her he told her the timing belt had snapped. She is lucky to be alive.
Does the timing belt go just like that, should that not have been picked up when serviced is the garage at fault, all advice helpful

Answer 1

if you bring it to the same garage REGULARLY (not just when theres a problem) every time, they should advise you when to do it. its around every 50k miles but varies from car to car. the time it was last done is usually wrote on the timing cover but it should be done every 5 years regardless if she hadnt done the mileage anyway cos its perishable. do they not ask you to sign a disclaimer for the mot incase it breaks when they flatten her to do the smoke test?

Answer 2

A toothed timing belt is the curse of modern engines......Firstly I must say that if it broke while on the motorway...the chances are that the engine has blown...the valves would have hit the pistons and bent up or they would have gone through the pistons.......A belt can snap at any time even though they are given a certain time limit...and your garage is not to blame for this........In a full service the belt should be changed when the recommended mileage has been completed......It is up to the owner to keep tabs on the mileage...and have the belt changed accordingly....

Answer 3

The cam belt isn't part of a standard service. However I would have expected a reputable garage to advise your sister that the belt should be changed. You don't say how many miles the car has done?

Answer 4

the timing belt can just break (its a rubber belt) you usually cant see the timing belt unless you tear into the motor which is a lot of labor and if your going to do that then you might as well replace the water pump too which will add to the cost.the car manufacture has a set mileage that they suggest you replace it for some cars its 60k (miles) and on others its 100k
that kind of job in the u.s. cost about $500 usd but is well worth it cause when they break they can do a lot of damage to the engine internally.

Answer 5

timing belts should be replaced about every 40,000 miles depending on make and model. A normal service would not replace it as a matter of course but a major service should check if it was due to be replaced or not. A mechanic cannot tell by looking at it if it needs to be replaced or not, nor would an M.O.T. check for it, and yes timing belts snap! just like that .
So, moral of the story is, replace your timing belt regularly.

Answer 6

that does happen to many people.

a snapped timing belt can result in major damage to the cylinder head such as bent valves.

you should always make sure that the timing belt is replaced every certain thousand kilometers (as recommended by the car manufacturer) to avoid such a thing from happening again.