Do cambelts deteriorate with age? My car is coming up for 7 yrs old but has only done 16K and I haven't changed the belt yet.

Should I get it done to be on the safe side?

 

I think you will find it is 60k miles or 5 years.

 

worth it for the peace of mind,done mine at 33000 two years ago

 

Yes they deteriorate, you should get them replaced at that specific service interval, the consequences can be rather expensive (along with all the lubricants which also break down quicker on short journeys and oxidisation!)

Tony

 

Just replaced mine on my 03 STi (5 1/2 years old but only 31,000 miles)
The service requirement is 5 years or 50,000 miles.

JohnD

 

I'm in a similar situation with my MY00. The belt was changed at 4 years but only 35k miles. The car has now covered another 24k miles in the last 4.5 years so is strictly overdue a change.
What confuses me is the variety of service intervals for these things. On the Turbo Impreza it changed from 3yrs/45k to 4yrs/60k in '00. It has been extended further (as have oil change intervals) on the newage models.
I find it hard to believe that major advances have been made in the engines to allow this - surely it is more to do with being more competitive on service costs with other manufacturers.

 

At a trade show a 'Shell ' person confided that extended service schedules are more to do with the sheer cost of dealing with toxic, dirty oil, rather than anything to do with oil quality or cars mechanical spec or anything. By making the motorist keep the oil in their car for a year instead of 6 months the problerm is halved.

Makes sense from their point of view if you look at it that way. It also makes the demand for oil - a reducing property, last twice as far.

David APi

PS cam belt every 3 years or 45,000 miles @ £200.00 ? or a broken belt and 16 bent valves every 3 years or 45,000 miles @ £1000.00 minimum? .

Hmm let me think about that