Do cars throw check engine lights when a timing belt is about to go out?
08-01-2013, 05:17 PM
#1
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Do cars throw check engine lights when a timing belt is about to go out?
I replaced mine recently so I'm not worried but I often wondered this.
08-01-2013, 05:53 PM
#2
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No, the computer has no way of knowing when a belt is about to break. The timing belt won't break if you change it every 60,000 miles/5 years with the proper tension.
08-02-2013, 09:50 AM
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It might throw a check engine light when the timing belt is about to break, but not because the timing belt is about to break 
08-02-2013, 05:18 PM
#5
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Note: 60,000 miles is not a magic number. One of our members who was a dealership tech. saw them fail sooner than that. 60k miles & 5 years is just a time frame with a very high probability of belts still being good with only a bit of life left.