Just checking over my service book and it says the timing belt needs to be done at 75,000 kms (KW Verada). My understanding is that this is something that usually get done every 100,000 kms. Is there a reason why timing belts on these engines should be changed at 75,000 kms?

100,000 km or 5 years. There is a safety margin, some ppl go twice this lol

Thanks. Looked into it a bit further and it's because it's 5 years old. Is age really a risk, or is that just the manufacturer's excuse to get more $$ out of you?

The belts are good for 15 years after manufacture if stored correctly (Dark, away from ozone producing machines like a photocopier). That's their shelf life. Anyone's guess is how long they last, time wise, on a low Km car. My wife's 2004 Lancer has a belt that is 6 years old, but has done only 25,000 km. I will change it when it is 10 years old. I can blame her if it breaks before then, because she said "it hasn't done 100,000 km yet, doesn't need doing, don't muck around with my car" lol

In some ways its a money making scheme, but remember if Mitsu gets a lot of breakages before the specified service time, they could be sued by irate owners, bad press and all that.
Plenty of stories here of people who have gone way over, without problems. Also I would imagine belt manufacturers have improved belt reliability since your car was made, if it isn't the original belt.

If you do it yourself, look for manufacturing dates and don't buy a really old belt. Remember the storage life of these belts.
On the other hand, if you are coming up to 200,000 km belt change time, it is probably also time to change the water pump, idlers, etc.

A lot of people find out the cost of the 200,000 service and sell their car instead. When a buyer asks "Has the belt been changed?" the answer often is "Yes, I think so, donno really." lol They would remember if they have spent close to $2K on a service! lol

Personally, I think Km are more important than time. Nothing wrong with going over a few years until you hit the 200,000 km mark.

Probably worth your while to lift the cover and look for oil on the smooth side of the belt, and for damaged teeth and loose threads of material on the edges. Oil on the belt from leaking seals can shorten the life of a belt dramatically.

Should be able to look at the belt and see if it looks deteriorated. Like others have said it will be the age of the belt that is a concern, being at 75k and 5 years, if it were me, I'd probably just wait. But in saying that, once you go past the manufacturers recommendation, it's on yourself to take the responsibility if anything breaks.

My dad's TF went 170k kms on the original belt, this was about 5-6 years from memory. But it's one of those things where 1 person could get lucky like that, and others could snap @ 101k kms. Just never know.

Third gen belts stretch as they get older, apparently, and get noisy. That would be a good sign it needs changing. lol

Belt snapping altogether would be unusual - you would get plenty of warning if you do a visual inspection of the belt each oil change. You are more likely to get teeth deterioration and with a sloppy belt this might lead to one of the cams jumping by a tooth. Shouldn't hurt the engine, it will just run strangely, down on revs/power.

All belts stretch with age, not jsut third gens

The reason for the 5 years has nothing to do with money making, it has everything to do with the environment they are in, getting hot and cold all the time, oil, vapours etc etc

This engine from the TW has only 43k on it but while out of the car I am doing the belt, will not bother with pulleys etc but belt will be done

You can not look at a timing belt and look for wear etc as the way they are made will not show up much until they break

If you are handy with a spanner and know what you are doing, by all means change the belt when you feel it is needed. Most people though are going to pay a fair bit of money for the job and naturally want to be sure the money is well spent. If you can't afford it, I don't think putting it off for 6 months or a year is going to be disasterous. As long as you know there is a risk, and are prepared to wear it.

Thanks for the replies. Had a SV21 Camry belt go after 60,000kms, so I'm a bit paranoid. Luckily they have a non-interference head. I replaced that belt myself, however I'm not sure whether I could be bothered doing the Verada myself.

lol, I bought my Magna this year with 93 thousand on the dial, hadn't had it's timing belt done in the 10 years since it was made.

If you contemplate doing the belt yourself - be sure to read-up in here or the Workshop Manual (search "Workshop manual thread") about tensioning the new belt.
Getting correct tension on the new Timing Belt is said to be all-important - Dealers use a specialised tool with a dial-guage, but other methods using a tension wrench have been devised as well. Search of these forums would give useful info.

It IS a fair bit of work getting to the belt, removing the top engine mount etc, and then having to work with a bit of space restriction. I've elected to drive from central-NSW to Melb to have an AMC member-mechanic do 3 cars in our family, and reckon it was money well-spent to know the job has been done right.

It's not a small job, $400/$500 worth at the mech.
But as any car driver knows, certain maintenance needs to be done, if you want the car to stay running properly.
Bite the bullet and get it done and save yourself the hassle of your motor being destroyed.

Sh*t, you've already saved thousands by being smart enough to own a Magna over a more expensive Honda or Toyota.

Recently did my own timing belt job- was astounded at the poor condition of the belt that came off the car- had about 89k km on the car when done- signs of delamination and general deterioration throughout the length ot he the timing belt- I'm with Mad Magna on this one- sooner rather than later is a safe bet.