Chrysler Repair: 2.5L V-6: cam/crank sensor failures, timing belt too?, crank sensor, sebring lxi

Question
Roland,
I've recently had a series of problmes with my 1999 Sebring LXI. First the car just died (No unusual symptoms)while I was driving down the road. I took it into a shop and they said it needed a new Crank sensor and Distributor. I gave the go ahead. 1 1/2 weeks later I ge ta call that the car is ready. I pick it up and drive it to my  kids Baseball game about 50 miles away. It ran fine until I tried to start it in the parking lot after the game. No juice. Come to find the battery cables were not tight. I fixed that and it fired up good again. Coming home about 30 miles  out and  Ihear this rattleing coming from under the hood. I Pull over and fine the belts shredded do I call teh wife we hook it up to teh truck and haul it backt to the shop. Of course nothign they did would casue the belts to blow. It that true can you change a crank sensor and Distributor without messing with the belts? It's going to cost abotu $2K to change tehbelts and check to see if any valves were damaged. Sounds fishy to me. Are they hoping I'm stupid or is this just a coincidence like they said?

Answer
Hi Tim,
I would question some of this history. When the car first died it usually would not be a double failure situation: either the cam sensor (part of the distributor) or the crank sensor
(mounted at the rear bellhousing to look at the flex plate) can cause a shut down but the odds of needing to replace both a quite low. Did they give you back the used parts (particularly the distributor as it is quite expensive and could be reused if needed in the future) which many states require? So that is flag one. But unless you can prove there is nothing wrong with either the cam or crank sensor or the distributor there is not much you can do about that possibility.
The battery cable clamp issue shows lack attention to detail, if they detached them as part of the job. But it could have been some earlier service if they weren't touched by the shop.
The timing belt failure should not be related to the first service as far as I can see. The timing belt is recommended to be changed at 100k miles (possibly as early as 60k in California for reasons I cannot explain as a Californian) so if you were at that distance or further on the belt it could have gone without there being any fault by the shop. If the belt is exposed to oil from a leaky seal or coolant from a water pump leak then it might well fail earlier than 100k (check that possibility now by inspecting for leaks). By the way, while the belt is being changed is a perfect time to change the water pump as it is only serviceable by removing the timing belt. So as preventive maintenance I would have the water pump replaced at this time unless it was replaced relatively recently (which you probably would recall because of the cost involved (e.g. labor associated with timing belt change) and at that time the timing belt should have been replaced even if it hadn't gone 100k).
My major "flag" now is this "check to see if any valves were damaged" which sounds like a very large red herring. The engine pistons are designed to allow the valves to fail (because of the timing belt failure) without them being damaged. This is called a non-interference design so that "check" is just a boondoggle. I don't like this sort of scare-mongering. I would consider whether there is another shop that would replace the timing belt and water pump for maybe $1k or even less. $2k is way out or bounds.
Let me know how this works out, please, so we can share your experience with other 2.5L owners.
Roland