My wife and I are recently married and she has a 2002 Honda Accord EX. She always took it to the dealership for maintenance, but I like to do what I can myself, so I've taken over the maintenance of the Accord.

The Maintenance Schedule for Normal Conditions says to replace the timing belt at 105K. The dealership changed it at 90K, because according to them "Honda changed their recommended interval because of failures before 105K". Ok, no problem.

Question 1: Is this an interference engine? (That would support the change to the timing belt change interval.)

Now, she does a lot of stop and go driving, so I'm going by the Maintenance Schedule for Severe Conditions. According to the chart (on page 242 if anyone else has the same owner's manual), there is no difference in the change interval for Severe Conditions; change at 105K.

However, if you look at the table on the next 2 pages, it says you need to change the timing belt at 60K, 105K, and 120K.

Question 2: WTF?!? If you are driving under Severe Conditions, a timing belt is good for 60K, then only 45K, then only 15K?!? Is the owner's manual screwed up?

Bottomline, the timing belt was changed at 90K and the car currently has 124K on it.

 

It is an interference engine.

According to the owner's manual, the timing belt should be replaced at 105,000 miles or 84 months (7 years) which ever comes first for both normal or severe conditions.

For even "more severe" conditions (Page 283 of owner's manual) such as regularly driving in one or more conditions such as in very high temperatures over 110 degrees F and/or in very low temperature of - 20 degrees F, then the timing belt is replaced every 60,000 miles or 4 years which ever comes first.

Regular severe includes extremely hot conditions (over 90 degrees F) and/or driving less than 5 miles per trip in freezing temperatures, and/or driving less than 10 miles per trip, and a few other conditions.

The difference for more severe conditions seems to be regularly driving in very high temps over 110 degrees F vs. over 90 Degrees F for regular severe, and regularly driving in very low temp. of -20 degrees F vs. short trips in freezing temps.

 

Recap:

If you drive regular or severe conditions, then the timing belt change interval is 105,000 miles or 7 years, which ever comes first.

If you drive more severe then regular severe or normal conditions, you don't follow the 105,000 miles or 7 years timing belt change interval. More severe is 60,000 miles or 4 years, which ever comes first.

The manual could have been written a little better. Lol.

 

Wow, ok, I get it. The table on pg 243 & 244 is confusing. We don't meet the conditions on pg 283, so 105K (or 90K if I listen to the dealership) works. This means all I have left is a coolant change for the 120K service. Easy. Thanks for the help.

 

Well, if the t-belt and water pump was changed at 90K, they had to drain the coolant. Do you have the paperwork from the tb change.....

 

I do and they did. I'm not sure why I thought I needed to do it this time, I guess because my other vehicles call for it every 30K. I may do it anyway because I already bought coolant and it's an easy job.

 

True....just wanted to throw that out there.