[yepyepwhat]

Have a '11 mdx, this month makes it 6 years that I've had it, bought new. Couple months ago was in for an oil change at the dealer and said I should be getting timing belt replaced soon. How soon should I go about this? It has 71,000 miles on it now and like I said 6 years old. Can I wait a few months or should I go ahead with it now to be safe? Seems to cost a pretty penny to replace

 

[skirmich]

You can go on but you should schedule it to be done in the coming year... I´ve seen worse guy going on by 10 years or so with it but there is no guarantee at all.. The recommended interval is 105K or 7 Years so keep that in mind.

Worse case scenario is the belt snaps and the engine is destroyed... And the 3.7L is still the most expensive J Series Engine to buy used and rebuild it or repair it might be reason to total the early 2Gs.

 

[yepyepwhat]

Ok thanks for the reply, wasn't sure if I needed to within the next month or two or just wait until later in the year when I have my next oil change and sounds like as long as I have it done later this year I should be ok

 

[skirmich]

It is a pretty expensive job.. Sometimes dealers will push the replacement of the belt only that is misleading as you have to replace a lot of stuff on the 105K Service.. The price ranges hover from 800 bucks to 1.5K for the Job, Which Involves: Water Pump, Idler Pulley, Tensioner Pulley, Hydraulic Tensioner and the Belt Itself, If you are lucky they wont charge for the Anti-freeze change that is why the price range is so exaggerated.

So its better to plan way ahead instead of being under-pressure for overdue.. A lot of people part from their vehicles just because of this expense which is in my opinion very silly, Specially if the car has been reliable.

 

[Artbuc1]

It is all about risk management. My 2010 X is 7 years old with only 55k miles. I have done exhaustive research and can not find one example of a timing belt failing due to age. I just removed a 9 year old Mitsuboshi belt from my Toyota and it looked brand new. OTOH, experts say visual inspection is useless unless it is badly cracked and frayed indicating imminent failure. A belt that looks perfect could have damaged inner cords. Problem is our engines are interference so a break could mean $4-5k repair plus major inconvenience. The associated components fail due to mileage so you do not necessarily have to replace them if you are providing your own labor. If you have an indie do the work using low quality aftermarket parts, the parts being removed may be better than the new ones going on. E.g., I would rather have a factory water pump with 60k miles than a brand new Gates pump.

 

[PTC DAWG]

Agree, use OEM parts when replacing....

 

[houg]

i just did my 2008 in september of 2016 / last year with 105k on it i replaced all the pulleys water pump tensioner and belt every thing
all the parts i removed were in good shape and looked like they could easily go another 50k

 

[700]

I just bought an 07 with 124k and it hasn't been done yet. I was able to talk the seller down a good amount because of it. I'm going to take it to my mechanic and have it done as soon as I can get it in.

 

[skirmich]

To all the people going for the timing belt job..
Use the AISIN Kit TKH-002 for the 2G MDX: https://www.amazon.com/Aisin-TKH-002-Engine-Timing-Water/dp/B008EEYTRE/ref=au_as_r?_encoding=UTF8&Make=Acura|58&Model=MDX|744&Year=2010|2010&ie=UTF8&n=15684181&newVehicle=1&s=automotive&vehicleId=3&vehicleType=automotive

It includes all OEM Parts: Water Pump (AISIN), Idler (KOYO), Tesioner Pulley (KOYO), Hydro Tensioner (AYC), Timing Belt (Mitsuboshi).
OEM Parts are made by: Water Pump (AISIN & YAMADA), Idler (KOYO), Tensioner Pulley (KOYO), Hydro Tensioner (AYC), Timing Belt (GATES).

So the only part that miss match is the Timing Belt itself, just buy the OEM from Honda or buy the Gates Equivalent.
The parts in the kit can be seen in this picture of mine (Minus the Accesory Belt Tensioner and Acc Belt) from the kit I installed in my MDX:


This saves you a lot of money and you are using 100% OEM Parts.

 

[Artbuc1]

To all the people going for the timing belt job..
Use the AISIN Kit TKH-002 for the 2G MDX: https://www.amazon.com/Aisin-TKH-002-Engine-Timing-Water/dp/B008EEYTRE/ref=au_as_r?_encoding=UTF8&Make=Acura|58&Model=MDX|744&Year=2010|2010&ie=UTF8&n=15684181&newVehicle=1&s=automotive&vehicleId=3&vehicleType=automotive

It includes all OEM Parts: Water Pump (AISIN), Idler (KOYO), Tesioner Pulley (KOYO), Hydro Tensioner (AYC), Timing Belt (Mitsuboshi).
OEM Parts are made by: Water Pump (AISIN & YAMADA), Idler (KOYO), Tensioner Pulley (KOYO), Hydro Tensioner (AYC), Timing Belt (GATES).

So the only part that miss match is the Timing Belt itself, just buy the OEM from Honda or buy the Gates Equivalent.
The parts in the kit can be seen in this picture of mine (Minus the Accesory Belt Tensioner and Acc Belt) from the kit I installed in my MDX:


This saves you a lot of money and you are using 100% OEM Parts.

Did your kit come in original Aisin packaging? I ask because my Aisin kit included an Aisin hydraulic tensioner. The first kit I bought from Amazon 3rd party seller had parts reboxed in a USPS flat rate box to reduce shipping. All parts looked to be genuine but I was suspicious and returned for full credit.

IMO, Mitsuboshi timing belt is far superior to Gates (unless it is made in Japan at the Gates Unitta JV plant) plus is OEM for many Japanese vehicles.

 

[skirmich]

It did and it was sealed as much as a cardboard box can be. But it said AISIN all around I believe in blue lettering and all parts looked brand new.. I did read some reviews on Amazon about returned kits wich used parts but mine were clearly brand new as the holes for the bolts were undamaged (Like no bolts have tighten them before and scratched the paint in the parts.).

Mitsuboshi Belt in the kit is not Made in Japan, The OEM Gates Belt is Made in Japan... I can take a picture of the Mitsuboshi Belt from the Kit as I still have it around in the Garage but I believe it was made in INDIA or somewhere else but definitely not in Japan.. That made me wary and so I bought the OEM Belt from the Dealership Instead.

 

[Artbuc1]

It did and it was sealed as much as a cardboard box can be. But it said AISIN all around I believe in blue lettering and all parts looked brand new.. I did read some reviews on Amazon about returned kits wich used parts but mine were clearly brand new as the holes for the bolts were undamaged (Like no bolts have tighten them before and scratched the paint in the parts.).

Mitsuboshi Belt in the kit is not Made in Japan, The OEM Gates Belt is Made in Japan... I can take a picture of the Mitsuboshi Belt from the Kit as I still have it around in the Garage but I believe it was made in INDIA or somewhere else but definitely not in Japan.. That made me wary and so I bought the OEM Belt from the Dealership Instead.

You are right. The Mitsuboshi belt is made in Thailand. A Gates Unitta belt is hard to beat.

 

[skirmich]

I asked a friend a Master Tech from a Honda dealership if it was OK to use the Mitsuboshi Timing Belt and he said it was alright.. He says that the 105K/7yr margin barely makes a scratch on the Timing Belt and so the Mitsuboshi belt would outlast that time/mileage frame.. But since the OEM Belt wasn´t that much more expensive I decided to go with the "As close as OEM" as humanly possible.

 

[thegazelle]

I just had mine done within the past 2 weeks, and it was at around 211,000 kilometers (130,000 miles). The mechanic said that the belt was a bit stretched but OK otherwise. Still for the peace of mind, it is worth it. They changed the belt, water pump, hydraulic tensioner, idler pulley, coolant, etc. I had my indie mechanic who specializes in Hondas/Acuras change it out.

That being said, I came from a Volvo XC90 that was also 2004 that had 280,000 KM on it and I had the belt changed last month and I don't think it has EVER been changed (I am not original owner). The cracks in it were very deep and literally could have snapped any time...

I know it's a costly piece of maintenance, but seeing as how these are all higher end vehicles, not sure it is something that should be skimped.

 

[Priscillababy]

Last year, I had paid my local Acura stealership approximately $1180 OTD for replacement of all related Timing Belt (OEM) components (at the Acura stealership labor & parts rate/price of course) last year just before my '09 MDX had reached 90,000 miles- looking back, I can't really complain as I've had no issues with this particular job, and it was nice to get this unavoidable, costly maintenance out of the way...

it is however annoying at times when I happen to drop in at a different Acura stealership for other related service (oil change etc.) and the aggressive stealership service advisors will occasionally be quick in recommending (without even asking me first, and simply just based on odometer mileage reading alone) that my timing belt be replaced...lol :wink:

 

[vrflyer]

...it is however annoying at times when I happen to drop in at a different Acura stealership for other related service (oil change etc.) and the aggressive stealership service advisors will occasionally be quick in recommending (without even asking me first, and simply just based on odometer mileage reading alone) that my timing belt be replaced...lol :wink:

Hahaha ! I had that happen to me couple times a while ago. Here's a 6 page print-out of what is SUPER recommended (mind you highlighted in RED), I just cracked up !!! :laugh:

 

[Trinergy]

I had the timing belt (pulleys, tensioners and water pump) parts replaced along with all hoses, accessory belts, plugs, wires (tuneup), transmission FLUSH (very important distinction between change and flush), and oil change done at 105k for $1500 (tax included). This included flushing the coolant as the radiator had to be dropped. At our dealership it was $1500 for just the timing belt related stuff and coolant flush.

 

[si_jeff]

To all the people going for the timing belt job..
Use the AISIN Kit TKH-002 for the 2G MDX: https://www.amazon.com/Aisin-TKH-002-Engine-Timing-Water/dp/B008EEYTRE/ref=au_as_r?_encoding=UTF8&Make=Acura|58&Model=MDX|744&Year=2010|2010&ie=UTF8&n=15684181&newVehicle=1&s=automotive&vehicleId=3&vehicleType=automotive

It includes all OEM Parts: Water Pump (AISIN), Idler (KOYO), Tesioner Pulley (KOYO), Hydro Tensioner (AYC), Timing Belt (Mitsuboshi).
OEM Parts are made by: Water Pump (AISIN & YAMADA), Idler (KOYO), Tensioner Pulley (KOYO), Hydro Tensioner (AYC), Timing Belt (GATES).

So the only part that miss match is the Timing Belt itself, just buy the OEM from Honda or buy the Gates Equivalent.
The parts in the kit can be seen in this picture of mine (Minus the Accesory Belt Tensioner and Acc Belt) from the kit I installed in my MDX:


This saves you a lot of money and you are using 100% OEM Parts.

I am also about to do my TL and MDX timing belt within this year. I've been doing a lot of reading and seems a DIY is doable for me, I am nervous but will try to do this. The AISIN kit is great, however, our OEM Hydraulic tensioner is Aisin , what is AYC? I've never heard of this before? And the Belt, yes the Gates Unitta Japan is the OEM. Can I ask where you got the drive belt tensioner? Is that OEM from Honda?