megane 1.9dci cambelt change

[davidroke]

at what milage should it be changed. just belt or belt kit.

[Ray]

kit and 72k

[davelowe]

36k or 4 years (whichever is soonest).

[rob_s]

36k cant be right surely? if so mines 12k overdue! best check that out tomorrow dont want that going!

mines a 1.5dci though

[AlexB]

It's 72k miles or 5 years in the UK. In the countries where people can't afford to change cars frequently it is significantly less... The same is with oil -- it is changed twice as frequently in poor countries.

[davelowe]

It's 72k miles or 5 years in the UK. In the countries where people can't afford to change cars frequently it is significantly less... The same is with oil -- it is changed twice as frequently in poor countries.

Can you please explain this in more detail Alex? I can understand the economic argument about changing the oil more frequently to prolong engine life, but to double the service interval for the cam belt? Given the damage that can be caused by it snapping, surely it makes economic sense everywhere to adopt this shorter time/mileage.

Just curious really...

[AlexB]

The service schedule in Greece, Russia and some Eastern European countries has shorter service intervals for the cars that in the UK are serviced every 18k/2y. This includes the timing belts. They are also sold with shorter warranty. I am not sure about the cars that have 12k service intervals in the UK.

There are several reasons for such a difference. One may argue about climates and quality of oil/fuel. I believe, however, that this is a marketing trick. In the countries in question these cars are sold as luxury vehicles, hence they need to be reliable. In the UK they are cheap and disposable. Therefore the schedules are reshaped accordingly, and the loss of reliability is covered by the 3 years warranty.

[davelowe]

In the UK they are cheap...

Some may disagree with this statement

Thanks for the insight.