I’ve had 2 foreign cars that I’ve flipped through the driver’s manual on… Both said that the timing belt didn’t need to be changed as often in California. For example, in CA, change it every 95,000 miles, but everywhere else, every 60,000 miles. Why is this? Is it only with foreign cars, or do domestic cars say the same thing? And why California??
Thanks!
Amy
Just a WAG, but I believe most manufacturers ship different engines in cars sent to California than are shipped elsewhere, as California has its own emissions laws that are stricter than the rest of the world’s. Perhaps some of the alterations made to California bound engines require the use of more durable timing belts.
I can’t think of any other reason.
The manual in my Toyota said to change it at 60,000. The vehicle was purchased in CA. But the mechanic said it could go to about 100,000. I don’t see the correlation between smog emission equipment & timing belts.
California has some bizare minimum servicing requirements. I’m not totally familar with them, but I can tell you that in 1995 the car company I work for sold a model in California that had a 100,000 interval on the T-belt. The same belt on the same engine in the other 49 states had a 50,000 interval (what the interval had been in all 50 states prior to the design change in '95). The reason we were given at the time was that this was to conform to Ca statute.
So what we always wanted to know was if a customer bought the car in Cal and then moved to Arizona when does the belt get changed?
Oh, and Violet I sugget that you NOT follow that mechanics suggestion. IMHO Toyota knows more about that engine than he does. Toyota suggests 60K. If the belt were to break at say 75,000 is he willing to pony up the rather serious $ it will take to repair the damage? (this assumes that like many new cars today you Toyota has an interference engine were the valves will impact the pistons in the event of a T-belt failure)
Compared to the price of a cylinder head replacement, a timing belt is WAY cheap.
Rick,
Thank you for your reply! My mother had a Mitsubishi that had been manufactured in CA, and ended up in OK… We have been trying to figure out why the different requirements… So is it okay to go with the CA mileage figure, or is there a difference in the T-belts?
A stretched timing belt can definitely increase your engine’s emissions by reducing the burn of fuel. On an interference engine a stretched or broken timing belt can result in valve, head or piston damage.
I did find some parts listings for some models that did specify different belts for California spec cars.
So I think the answer’s in the California emissions requirements, but I don’t know why they’d go longer. Maybe some use stronger chains instead of belts?
If a car’s engine was built to California spec, I’d remain with the California parts and maintenance recommendations.
You say your car was bult in California. I was unaware that Mits had a California plant. Anyway, it is not where the car was screwed together that is important, but rather what market is was made for. If your car was built to conform to Ca regulations then the longer interval is OK. If it was built to be sold in OK then go with the shorter interval UNLESS YOU ARE 100% SURE ALL PARTS ARE THE SAME AS A CALIFORNIA MODEL
On a Mitsubishi I don’t have a clue. A quick trip to the dealers parts counter should be able to tell you if the belt is the same part number.
The other choice is to call Mitsubishi’s customer service phone line and ask them which should be used, or how to tell the difference between a Ca car and an “other”
As I said in my last post, a timing belt is way cheaper than the repairs necessary when valves hit pistons. If in any doubt change the belt!