I very recently purchased an '07 with 133k. There's no service records that indicate the timing belt was changed, and there's no sticker, so my assumption is (and was pre-purchase) that the timing belt service wasn't ever performed. I've been checking all the maintenance and wear items to see where things are at, and have noticed a few things that almost certainly were serviced more recently than the service records indicate (there's a bit of a gap towards the end as the owner at that time didn't appear to go to a Lexus dealership). For example, the engine air filter is very new and brake fluid looks like it was changed recently (both of which were overdue for replacement based on the online service history). While I was in there, I decided to pop open the timing belt cover (driver's side) to see how urgent the timing belt service seemed (since it is already 40k overdue according to the maintenance schedule). The timing belt cover bolts looked like they had seen a socket before, and from what I can tell the timing belt looks like it's in great shape (though I know a look at the toothed side would be a better indicator). If anything, the flash on the camera made it look less slick than it actually did in person.
I don't have any experience working with timing belts, only non-covered accessory belts, so I'm wondering: does this belt look like it's in great shape, or is that pretty typical due to the belt being covered? If it does look unusually good for 133k, is there any way to differentiate between a belt that's just been lucky, wear wise, or a belt that's actually been replaced? Either way, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable making any assumptions due to lack of service records, but having some confidence that the belt doesn't look like it's going to break any time soon would make me feel better about driving it around in the meantime.
The pics are here:
I don't have any experience working with timing belts, only non-covered accessory belts, so I'm wondering: does this belt look like it's in great shape, or is that pretty typical due to the belt being covered? If it does look unusually good for 133k, is there any way to differentiate between a belt that's just been lucky, wear wise, or a belt that's actually been replaced? Either way, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable making any assumptions due to lack of service records, but having some confidence that the belt doesn't look like it's going to break any time soon would make me feel better about driving it around in the meantime.
The pics are here:
