the timing belt broke on my sister in laws vehicle (another brand) at 165K and left her on the side of the road about 20 miles outside of Nashville, TN.

She was not hurt, (do not know if she carries or not)

had to have vehicle towed, then had to rent a vehicle, return to Nashville, TN from Louisville, KY a week later to pick up the car.

It would have been much less expensive, less mental stress and less dangerous ( women on side of road with broken down vehicle in todays world) to just have the belt replaced on a timely bases.

My 2002 van has 115K, run like a top, had timing belt, drive belts, sparkplugs, pvc valve changed at 90K. Do not want my wife and grandkids stranded on the side of road with broken timing belt, because I was too cheap to change it.

I carry, but wife does not, so I am more worried about her alone in broken down vehicle.

 

120K, only because the drive belts were sqeelen' when I first cranked up the van

 

118k

Just bought my '02 and it was running the original. According to dealer records, it had never been changed at a dealership. I pulled the top two bolts for the timing belt cover and slid the cover aside a bit to reveal a very worn-looking outside of the belt with "TOYOTA" stamped on it. Figured if it were done at an independent shop they most likely would have used another brand belt. My friendly neighborhood dealer actually changed it for ~$320, which is a good enough price to keep me from spending a day in the driveway myself. I figured at that price they were going to "find a problem" with either the water pump (~$350) or the tensioner ($not sure), but both were apparently fine.

But to answer your question, from a guy who's been stranded on the roadside a number of times, it's just not worth it. Sure, I figure every lad has to be stranded by his vehicle at least once in his high school or college years, but with wife and baby now, it's not worth the risk to me. My wife drives this thing through the mountains of Upstate New York with just her and our one-year old regularly. In the winter. Not worth it.

And if that isn't convincing, compare the price of a timing belt to the price of being towed any distance.

 

The more shorter trips that you make the quicker the timing belt will break. The belt soaks up heat from the bottom pulley when you shut it off and ages it. My wifes 2.2L camry had 115K on it w/ lots of short trips to work and such and the belt looked brand new when it broke. At 110K I had someone change the oil pump gasket and he asked about the timing belt and I said don't change it b/c I thought it was still pretty new. I had no idea she had already put that many miles on it. The 2.2L engine is non-interference so no valves bent so I would assume the 3.0L is also that way but why test it.

I'd change yours now.
jb

 

I wouldn't push it on the newer ones, the vvt-i ones if the blet breaks your going to buy an engine.

 

Yep, the factory says at 90k...

So far I have 123k on my 2003 Sienna..... No belt break yet! (knocking on wood)

I drive it slower than a granny!!!! Never ever rev it up.

How long have you gone before your belt broke / gave you trouble / or you freaked out too much without having it changed?

my friends 04 sienna belt skipped teeth at 120k so that was lots of engine rebuild fun for the mechanic.

 

Change belt, idler and water pump - $5-600
Wait until belt breaks, replace heads, if you're lucky, $2500??

I did all 3 at 90k. I had a friend who blew it off on a Nissan and he ended up junking the car when the belt broke.