My recently purchased 1998 LC did not come with the Maintenance Supplement to the Owner’s Manual, therefore I went to the Toyota WebPage and downloaded it. I noted that at 90,000 miles Toyota recommends Timing Belt Replacement under Special Operating Conditions 3 (“Extensive idling or low-speed driving for long distances as in heavy commercial use such as delivery, taxie, or patrol car”.) While I was on the Toyota Site I wandered around and came across a FAQ titled Timing Belt Maintenance. This FAQ states:
“If your vehicle is a 1999 year or newer and is equipped with a timing belt, you should replace it every 90,000 miles or six years, whichever comes first. For all other Toyota vehicles equipped with a timing belt, we recommend that the timing belt be inspected with the other drive belts at 60,000 miles or four years whichever comes first, and every 15,000 miles thereafter and replaced as necessary. Because the costs involved with inspecting the timing belt may be similar to those of having it replaced many customers may find it more cost effective to replace the timing belt at 60,000 intervals.”
It then goes on to state that severe engine damage can result if the timing belt breaks.
This had me perplexed since it indicated that my vehicle was due a timing belt replacement. For this reason I called my local Toyota Service and ask them if I should replace my timing belt at 60,000 miles. The man assured me that I needed the replacement and further stated that the new belt would need replacement again after another 60,000 miles.
The more I thought about this the more curious I became. Everything I have read indicates that my 98 has the identical engine to that in the 99, so why would the 98 require timing belt replacement at 2/3 the mileage of the 99?
So, back I went to the Toyota Service WebPage and ask, via e-mail, what was the actual recommend replacement mileage. Today I received the reply:
“We do apologize; upon comparing the information in our FAQ to additional resources, we found that there is a typographical error in the FAQ. Model years prior to 1998 were built with timing chains which required no maintenance. Your 1998 Landcruiser will have the same maintenance interval as the 1999 servicing interval.”
I am troubled that the Toyota service department gave me bad information and recommended and expensive procedure when it was not needed. Since this is my first experience with Toyota, I ask the questions: Is this typical of Toyota service? Do I need to do due diligence before I deal with these people? And even of more concern, is the data on their WebPage suspect?
“If your vehicle is a 1999 year or newer and is equipped with a timing belt, you should replace it every 90,000 miles or six years, whichever comes first. For all other Toyota vehicles equipped with a timing belt, we recommend that the timing belt be inspected with the other drive belts at 60,000 miles or four years whichever comes first, and every 15,000 miles thereafter and replaced as necessary. Because the costs involved with inspecting the timing belt may be similar to those of having it replaced many customers may find it more cost effective to replace the timing belt at 60,000 intervals.”
It then goes on to state that severe engine damage can result if the timing belt breaks.
This had me perplexed since it indicated that my vehicle was due a timing belt replacement. For this reason I called my local Toyota Service and ask them if I should replace my timing belt at 60,000 miles. The man assured me that I needed the replacement and further stated that the new belt would need replacement again after another 60,000 miles.
The more I thought about this the more curious I became. Everything I have read indicates that my 98 has the identical engine to that in the 99, so why would the 98 require timing belt replacement at 2/3 the mileage of the 99?
So, back I went to the Toyota Service WebPage and ask, via e-mail, what was the actual recommend replacement mileage. Today I received the reply:
“We do apologize; upon comparing the information in our FAQ to additional resources, we found that there is a typographical error in the FAQ. Model years prior to 1998 were built with timing chains which required no maintenance. Your 1998 Landcruiser will have the same maintenance interval as the 1999 servicing interval.”
I am troubled that the Toyota service department gave me bad information and recommended and expensive procedure when it was not needed. Since this is my first experience with Toyota, I ask the questions: Is this typical of Toyota service? Do I need to do due diligence before I deal with these people? And even of more concern, is the data on their WebPage suspect?
