Honda Odyssey Timing Belt

[Meleager7]

Hey Monkeywrenchers!

I have a 2008 Honda Odyssey van
Has a timing belt, and an interference engine
Approx. 120,000 miles

Never had the timing belt changed.

In your opinion, can these Honda engines go further before a timing belt failure ?

Or this van a ticking time bomb each time I drive it?

Thanks in advance, M7

p.s. I've already decided any and all future vehicles I buy will have a timing chain, no more timing belts!

[pghp8ntballer]

Belts don’t stretch due to running the engine low on oil, just sayin….

The belts can go a bit longer (and I’ve seen way longer). The real concern is the belt tensioner. If you are hearing a semi-loud ticking while the engine is idling coming from the passenger front wheel area, that tensioner is failing. When it goes, that belt will jump a single tooth (or more) and it will bend at least 1 valve. Then you need to rebuild the head or heads.

The belt tensioner can last 80k-150k+. This is from first hand experience as a Honda/Acura tech.

[pghp8ntballer]

We just bought a 2013 MDX last night. When I started the engine, the tensioner tick is the first thing I listened for. We just traded in our 2005 pilot with 216k. The belts don’t bother me.

[Meleager7]

No ticking sound yet thankfully , but I had better get on this ......

[SignOfZeta]

I was a Honda dealer mechanic when this van was new. I have changed a million timing belts on them.

You are overdue. Yes. It is a time bomb, yes, not only because of mileage but because it’s a 16 year old engine. It should be 100k or ten years. This is by FAR the easiest engine in a minivan to work on ever. You’re lucky.

The idea that chains are better than belts is incorrect and pointless anyway. Are you *really* going to base your entire car buying choice on a single factor? I wouldn’t.

Chains do not last “forever” they simply have no stated replacement interval. When I was a Honda dealer tech I saw more than one issue with timing chains on K series engines and I have never once in my life seen a properly installed timing belt fail prematurely on any car from any make. They only fail when abused. Chains just fail…whenever. Maybe 80k maybe 800k you never know. Furthermore since belts are actually designed to be changed it’s only a few hours and you’re done. Changing a timing chain on a modern engine is a massive massive massive pain in the butt that requires way more time and parts. Ask any modern day BMW owner about this.

Nowadays one should consider themselves lucky to have either dry belt or wet chain because now we have the worst thing ever designed; the wet belt. The Ecoboost 1.0L is the worst POS engine Ford has ever made…and that’s saying something. It shreds all its belts at once. It can cause bent valves but most of them are wasting their bearings when the belt chunks plug up the oil pickup. The Ecoboost V6s only have a wet rubber belt on the oil pump…aftermarket chain kits exist but how many owners will do that?

Reliability and ease of service has sadly peaked. New cars are sometimes OK but sometimes an absolute effing nightmare. You should be very glad this masterpiece of a van is still running despite the neglect. Nothing new will.

[nuclear zombie]

Make sure you go ahead and get the kit that has the water pump as well. It’s driven by the timing belt and is located under the motor mount that you have to remove anyways. I changed it in my 2007 odyssey a couple months ago. My biggest dread was removing the hydraulic tensioner (touring version) on the serpentine belt as it likes to self destruct if you upset it.

[Meleager7]

I was a Honda dealer mechanic when this van was new. I have changed a million timing belts on them.

You are overdue. Yes. It is a time bomb, yes, not only because of mileage but because it’s a 16 year old engine. It should be 100k or ten years. This is by FAR the easiest engine in a minivan to work on ever. You’re lucky.

The idea that chains are better than belts is incorrect and pointless anyway. Are you *really* going to base your entire car buying choice on a single factor? I wouldn’t.

Chains do not last “forever” they simply have no stated replacement interval. When I was a Honda dealer tech I saw more than one issue with timing chains on K series engines and I have never once in my life seen a properly installed timing belt fail prematurely on any car from any make. They only fail when abused. Chains just fail…whenever. Maybe 80k maybe 800k you never know. Furthermore since belts are actually designed to be changed it’s only a few hours and you’re done. Changing a timing chain on a modern engine is a massive massive massive pain in the butt that requires way more time and parts. Ask any modern day BMW owner about this.

Nowadays one should consider themselves lucky to have either dry belt or wet chain because now we have the worst thing ever designed; the wet belt. The Ecoboost 1.0L is the worst POS engine Ford has ever made…and that’s saying something. It shreds all its belts at once. It can cause bent valves but most of them are wasting their bearings when the belt chunks plug up the oil pickup. The Ecoboost V6s only have a wet rubber belt on the oil pump…aftermarket chain kits exist but how many owners will do that?

Reliability and ease of service has sadly peaked. New cars are sometimes OK but sometimes an absolute effing nightmare. You should be very glad this masterpiece of a van is still running despite the neglect. Nothing new will.

Yep, I think i'm going to pull the trigger, it has been a great van and I think there is plenty of life left....I was quoted $1500 Cdn parts and labour , includes the water pump nuclear zombie thankfully , I hope this is a typical cost for that job and my local garage is not gouging me

Been pretty religious about oil change service, brakes, etc on this van, but admittedly I was ignorant of the timing belt service, really only randomly learned about it watching some youtube videos ( Car Wizard )

[SignOfZeta]

Make sure you go ahead and get the kit that has the water pump as well. It’s driven by the timing belt and is located under the motor mount that you have to remove anyways. I changed it in my 2007 odyssey a couple months ago. My biggest dread was removing the hydraulic tensioner (touring version) on the serpentine belt as it likes to self destruct if you upset it.

Wow. There are still MkII Touring Editions on the road?

You’re not still on those PAX tires, are you?

[nuclear zombie]

Wow. There are still MkII Touring Editions on the road?

You’re not still on those PAX tires, are you?

250,000 miles and it’s still going strong. We got it from a Honda dealer 6 years ago and it was already converted to normal tires. For a while I had to change the belt tensioner every 2-3 months, but based on the forums it’s a known issue.

[pghp8ntballer]

I think saying the timing belt is a ticking time bomb is a bit over-dramatic, but if we want to play that game, the service interval is 105k/7 years, not 10. I’ve been out of the game since 2016, but my experience is strictly Honda and Acura. Even in 2016, it had been a very long time since I had seen a broken timing belt, especially on a J series V6. I can’t recall any off the top of my head but I’m sure they occurred. The older civic and accord engines of the 80’s and 90’s were what I remembered breaking occasionally. I only ever recall 1 broken timing chain on the K series 4 cylinders. Countless were stretched though.

Like I said before, to be clear this time, the timing belt tensioner (NOT serp belt) is the potential ticking time bomb. It’s a small stand-alone (not engine fed) hydraulic tensioner that would leak over time. When fluid would get low enough, it would allow play and came across as a noticeable ticking sound. I can recall several instances where we warned customers. Within a couple of months the car came back on a tow truck because the belt jumped a tooth and bent a valve.

You don’t have to do the work today, but don’t put it off for a year. Like Zeta said, it’s a 16 year old engine. If you plan to keep it, this is far cheaper than a few car payments.

[pghp8ntballer]

Wow. There are still MkII Touring Editions on the road?

You’re not still on those PAX tires, are you?

I’m not into the goofy fast and furious lingo… are you referring to a gen 2 Odyssey or a Touring Odyssey from the second generation of Odysseys that used the Touring trim level?

Neither of which were equipped with PAX tires. That was the 3rd gen 2005-2008 Touring trim levels only.

I’m guessing by your location info Zeta, cars aren’t making it as long as they do my way. It’s not a huge distance between us but still possible. I still see a lot of those Odysseys but I doubt anyone still runs the PAX. There are still a surprising number of 2nd gens around here. I don’t know how the transmissions are still going, but they are. I occasionally see 1st gen Odysseys too.

[Tarsun2]

it CAN go further, sure. but if it doesn't, you're SOL and that engine is toast.
You referred to the engine as "interference"...so you already know what will happen if the belt fails.
and kudos to you for knowing that about your engine. most people dont.

get it changed.

as for belt vs chain, Zeta has some good points. there are some belt engines that are bullet proof (5vz-fe) and there are some chain engines that are horrendous.

i personally chose my vehicles based on the engine; but thats just me. i do prefer chains BUT, it has to be a reliable chain setup. NOT 10ft of timing chain with a dozen tensioners, and located against the firewall.
i also put a ton of miles on my vehicles.

i had an audi tt as a daily years ago. it was on its 3rd timing belt. talk about a fun t-belt job. woof.

the 4runner was a walk in the park lol

to get myself back on track, yes. get it replaced. its fine until its not and when it goes, its game over. its not like a failing tie rod, wheel bearing, or sway bar end link.

[SignOfZeta]

I’m not into the goofy fast and furious lingo… are you referring to a gen 2 Odyssey or a Touring Odyssey from the second generation of Odysseys that used the Touring trim level?

Neither of which were equipped with PAX tires. That was the 3rd gen 2005-2008 Touring trim levels only.

I’m guessing by your location info Zeta, cars aren’t making it as long as they do my way. It’s not a huge distance between us but still possible. I still see a lot of those Odysseys but I doubt anyone still runs the PAX. There are still a surprising number of 2nd gens around here. I don’t know how the transmissions are still going, but they are. I occasionally see 1st gen Odysseys too.

Sorry…I always forget about the first Odyssey…the one that’s easily the best for longevity but didn’t sell because people WANT problems. I meant the MkIII had PAX tires. We had some pissed off customers when they found out they needed a new set of tires within the first year of owning the thing and what they COST.

I think the MkII trans issue was probably solved if you got a factory reman after the fix was discovered. If you were working at a Honda shop back then you probably did one or two swaps a week. Anyone who got screwed out of that huge warranty extension (many) probably ended up scrapping the car at some point.

My favorite money maker on MkII Odyssey: power doors.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen any timing belt actually break, as in snap in two, I have seen them shave all their teeth off at the crank though.

The term MkI, MkII, MkIII etc may be goofy but it’s centuries old terminology with no Vin Diesel connection. They probably don’t even use term in those movies but I wouldn’t know because I saw the first one and wasn’t interested in more.

[pghp8ntballer]

Ya I only hear that terminology out of the V-Dub fanboys. I always just called them generations.

Oh the joys of PAX. Many an angry customer. I had one customer come to our shop when a chain store shop tried to cut the tire off when they couldn’t figure out how to pop the bead.

I miss doing the work, but the overall treatment of employers to techs is why I left and will never go back.

[SignOfZeta]

Ya I only hear that terminology out of the V-Dub fanboys. I always just called them generations.

Oh the joys of PAX. Many an angry customer. I had one customer come to our shop when a chain store shop tried to cut the tire off when they couldn’t figure out how to pop the bead.

I miss doing the work, but the overall treatment of employers to techs is why I left and will never go back.

Totally. Fixing people’s broken cars was very satisfying. When you combine the flat rate system with the sort of people who own dealerships though it’s a nightmare. I left for the OEM world around 2007 I think. I’m never going back.

[Tarsun2]

i love almost everything automotive. i remember doing motor swaps in HS before YT made everyone a mech. i remember buying the haynes manual for every vehicle and the pages being covered in oil... i rebuild push mowers and tractors just for fun. (and then give them away lol)
with that little back story, i always wanted a career working on cars.
i got a job at a garage and absolutely HATED it.
went back to school and got a job in Biomed. i do the same sort of repairs but im not bound by $ and customers. its either "by the book" or not at all.

had a guy say i ripped him off because i installed a new clutch friction plate instead of (no joke) "zip-tie'ing the old spring back in place."
the last straw was watching a mech wipe down an old oil filter instead of replacing it and then getting sh!t from the customers friend for taking too long to do their oil change.
she was SO impressed with the speed the mech replaced her oil that she brought her friend back for a speedy oil change as well. it just landed in my bay and when i did it proper, i "wasnt fast enough and then next time they are going to request the other mech"...

[pghp8ntballer]

Ya, any of us that stepped away are full of those types of rip off stories and horror stories. Greener pastures for the win.