cambelt change intervals

[dephead2004]

I wonder if members who own mk3's could post the cambelt change mileage and time interval recommendations from their handbooks together with any other guidance eg "get the water pump and pulley changed at the same time, silly"?
I think that would be helpful for when people consider fixed price services plans. Eg if the interval is 5 years and the plan expires after 4 yrs you'd look a little silly.

 

[kugaman1]

Id doubt a fixed price service plan would include a cambelt change?

 

[dephead2004]

I believe that the service and maintenance package does

 

[kugaman1]

Hmm,
Dont know about that mate- it mentions cambelt repair, but nothing about cambelt change.

 

[dephead2004]

Agreed it would need further research with the Service Department. Anyway do you know what the service intervals are for the cambelt change?

 

[skidpan]

When we bought our 1.4 TSI in June there was confusion. Both dealers we visited had the cambelt change on their menu at 4 years or 40,000 miles and the cost was £270. But they were unsure if that applied to the new 1.4 TSI engine.

We looked at the Octavia and the same new 1.4 TSI was being quoted as 8 years or 120,000 miles.

Yet in the Golf 7 brochure it clearly states that the belt in the new TSI is sealed for the life of the engine.

Guess we will find out in time but I took the £270 into consideration when I bought the car. And its not included in the service plan.

 

[dephead2004]

Thanks for the advice skidpan especially your knowledge that the belt is not included in the Service and maintenance plan.
Sounds like some judicious servicing marketing going on here depending on brand. We see this eg when folding mirrors cost £100 on a Leon and £450 on a BMW, admittedly with photochromic glass but they're still folding door mirrors

 

[gar074]

A cambelt change at only 4 years/40,000 miles really bumps up the service costs for anyone doing a high mileage. I wouldn't put the difference in VAG service plans down to judicious marketing - ****-up, more like.

 

[derelyth]

I was told by my local Dealer that the 1.8TSI is now Chain and "Life of the Car". I'm led to believe that the new 1.8TSI is also a member of the same new EA211 TSI family of engines so the 1.4 is probably Chain drive (not to be confused with the slightly older 160bhp TSI which is a member of the EA888 engine family).

 

[skidpan]

Here is a link to the menu that the dealers were displaying when we bought the Leon. Cambelt is under engine, now shows as £279.

http://www.seat.co.uk/content/uk/brand/en/models/special-offers/service/it-s-fixed-maintenance.html

As I said above, does it include the new 1.4 TSI engine, no one new at the dealers.

 

[skidpan]

I was told by my local Dealer that the 1.8TSI is now Chain and "Life of the Car". I'm led to believe that the new 1.8TSI is also a member of the same new EA211 TSI family of engines so the 1.4 is probably Chain drive (not to be confused with the slightly older 160bhp TSI which is a member of the EA888 engine family).

The new TSI 1.4 is 100% belt drive and not chain.

 

[dephead2004]

The 1.2 TSi and all the EA221 engines are belt driven. There is a nice .pdf here of all VAG strategy and the belt is clearly shown on page 16. xxxx://yyy.cargroup.org/assets/speakers/presentations/40/schmidt_oliver.pdf I also read it somewhere but can't find the link now. I believe it was on a Skoda site as they are making all the EA221 engines for the whole of the Europe VAG .

Since the end of 2012, the Czech manufacturer has been building modern 1.2 and 1.4 TSI versions of this model series, which is used by the Volkswagen Group. The modern petrol engines with direct injection are intended for models by the ŠKODA, Audi, Seat and VW brands. “The production of engines of the EA211 model series strengthens our manufacturing basis in the Czech Republic and underscores the important role of the ŠKODA production within the Volkswagen Group,” says Michael Oeljeklaus, the ŠKODA board member for Production and Logistics. The TSI four-valve four-cylinders are setting new standards in energy efficiency, lightweight construction and engine power.​

xxx://yyy.autoevolution.com/news/volkswagen-tsi-engines-explained-60143.html . Leons use the newer and better 105PS engine unlike the Polos and some Golfs which use the older 85PS engine.
The 1.8 engine is a different family called EA888.

So back to my OP. Have any owners got the service interval written down in their handbook?

 

[skidpan]

xxx://yyy.autoevolution.com/news/volkswagen-tsi-engines-explained-60143.html . Leons use the newer and better 105PS engine unlike the Polos and some Golfs which use the older 85PS engine.
The 1.8 engine is a different family called EA888.

The link to the Autoevolution site is only relevant to the earlier chain driven 1.2 and 1.4 TSi engines. It is in no way relevant to the new belt drive engines.

 

[derelyth]

For reference, the reply I recieved when I queried the new 1.8TSI on belt/chain and intervals:

Good Morning Karl

We have done some investigation into your queries, here are our findings:

3. The engine is fitted with a timing chain that does not have a change interval.

Thanks


Rob Newton
Aftersales Manager

Snows SEAT Portsmouth
Tel: 023 9265 7800
Fax: 023 9265 7840
Mobile: 07876 548594

Internal DDI: 1202
Email: [email protected]
Address: Bilton Way, Airport Service Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO3 5FE

 

[dephead2004]

Hi Skidpan, Are you sure the autoevolution article is irrelevant?

1.2 TSI engines also offer 105 hp and 175 Nm (129 lb-ft) of torque on select models. These engines have four valves per cylinder and offer improved performance.​

That looks surprisingly like the engine fitted to the LEON Mk3 1.2 TSI.
I do stand to be corrected though should you be convinced

And apologies I meant the EA211 (not EA221) in the above post

So far we have
1.2 TSI is chain (info from Service dpt of Lifestyle Brighton, awaiting callback from another dealer for confirmation)
1.4 TSI is belt (info from skidpan)
1.8 TSI is chain (info from Snows SEAT Portsmouth via derelyth)

 

[skidpan]

Hi Skidpan, Are you sure the autoevolution article is irrelevant?

Not an expert on these engines, only had the TSI 10 weeks thus only know what I learned when buying plus a bit of background having looked at a Skoda with the 122 PS 1.4 TSI about 3 years ago.

On second reading the article is more a load of bollocks than irrelevant. the writer clearly has no idea.

To point out a few obvious errors:

It refers to the 1.2 being all alloy and being introduced in 2009. The TSI engines in 2009 had an iron block like the earlier 1.4 TSI engines

Others have confirmed on this site that the alloy block was only introduced for the new 1.2 TSI engines now in use. Others have also said that the current 1.2 TSI is belt driven. Personally I cannot confirm either of these, never looked under the bonnet of a new 1.2 TSi Leon but information I have seen on the web (Skoda?) appears to confirm that the 1.2 and 1.4 are the same new family.

The information about the 1.4 TSI is clearly old since the say the capacity is 1390, its 1395 on the new engine and they also talk about a twin charged engines of 170 bhp which are currently not sold (not in the UK at least).

There is some new info, it refers to the ACT feature and that is definitely only available on the new 1.4 TSI.

The writer appears to have mixed info about the old and new engines and has not made it clear which he is referring to.

 

[skidpan]

Just found this http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/petrol/active-cylinde******nology-act and as far as I am aware the only difference between the engines fitted with ACT and those without it is the ACT stuff, physically they are the same. Note the paragraph In the new generation of engines, Volkswagen was also able to make further significant reductions in internal friction. Take the example of the overhead camshafts (DOHC): the drive here is not by chain, rather by a single-stage, low-friction toothed belt drive with a 20 mm wide belt and load-reducing profiled belt wheels. Thanks to its high-end material specification, this toothed belt’s service life reliably spans the life of the entire vehicle. especially the last bit.

Surely if it applies to a VW it should apply to a Seat with the same engine.

Edited to say for some reason the url above will not load correctly, search for ACT engine in the box top right and click on the first result.

 

[Stegor]

Honest John has the belt cam on the 1.4 tsi as the only bad point for the MK3 Leon...
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/seat/leon-2013/?section=bad

 

[unclelonghair]

Honest John has the belt cam on the 1.4 tsi as the only bad point for the MK3 Leon...
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/seat/leon-2013/?section=bad

Probably because he hadn't done his research properly and didn't know it was designed to last the life of the car.

Wonder if these "belts for life" are made out of the same material supermarkets use for their "bags for life"?

 

[Stegor]

Probably because he hadn't done his research properly and didn't know it was designed to last the life of the car.

Wonder if these "belts for life" are made out of the same material supermarkets use for their "bags for life"?

Hope not or you'll be changing it every other week