Timing Belt Failure: How Early?

[TedL]

A lot of people post here looking for advice on what to do about their TB, usually as they approach the Toyota recommended change interval or are already past it. I'd like to ask those who have experience with broken OE timing belts, as techs or owners, what's the earliest you've seen a genuine Toyota part fail, independent of a failed water pump, tensioner, idler etc. Two separate measures: earliest time, earliest miles (km).

[Nervous]

200,005 miles/15 years. And it is not the belt failed - the water pump did. Timing belt was still solid, but water pump seized.

[carsrus]

110k/11 years. Almost exclusively city driving. Water pump seized, belt looked good. Tensioner and idler bearings rarely go out but I replaced them anyways.

Once you hear a metallic click coming from that area replace everything. Mine made it for a looooong time (6months at least) before the pump completely packed it in. I thought it was the idler going bad.

[Mike Gerber]

I had an 86 Camry where the belt broke at 53,000 miles. I was thinking that it was nearing time to change it soon, and it broke a few days later. Luckily I was only about 1/2 miles from home and moving about 40 MPH when it broke, so I was able to coast home. It was a Toyota OEM belt, but it was not the original belt. It had been replaced once before.

Mike

[LynchburgCSI]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

I had an 86 Camry where the belt broke at 53,000 miles. I was thinking that it was nearing time to change it soon, and it broke a few days later. Luckily I was only about 1/2 miles from home and moving about 40 MPH when it broke, so I was able to coast home. It was a Toyota OEM belt, but it was not the original belt. It had been replaced once before.

Mike

COMPLETELY different engines. Kind of. But still.

I recommend replacement on the 3rd gen camrys at every 100,000 miles. The water pump should also be done with this. My 5s-fe's was replaced at 130,000.

[TOYOPARTSMAN]

In the 80s, and 90s Toyota used to recomend the belt be changed at 60K, surprised to hear that the 86 camry broke at 53K and it was the second. Somewhere in the 90s, I stopped trying to figure it out, the Camry's an other vehicles, Toyota switched Belt manufacture's and the recomneded interval changed from 60K to 90K. What was ironic is that if you had a 60K camry and came it to get a belt, you were given a belt that was the same as one that went on a camry that the interval had changed to 90K. Never did figure that one out except I guess Toyota just wanted to give time to get the belts changed over to the new ones.

I know this didn't actually answer Ted's question, but hopefully shed some light on the topic.