Mitsubishi Repair: Timing Belts, toyota camry v6, interference engine

Question
Hi. I know that your specialty is Mitsubishis but the Toyota and Lexus experts are either maxed out or on vacation. I have a simple question that I hope you can answer. I have a 98 Lexus ES300 and was wondering what would happen if I do not change the timing belt. My manual advises to change it at 90k but a lot of my friend have went well over 100k before replacement or have not replaced it at all and have had no problems. In my personal experience, I have went 100k with my last car, 95 Toyota Camry V6 and the belt looked almost brand new: no cracks, separation or missing teeth. I have also read several postings on the web of people who have not changed timing belts (Toyota/Lexus) close to 200k and never had any problems or damages. Your answer is much appreciated.

Answer
No problem, I work on and am familiar with most models.

The manuals I have show a 60K timing belt change, but the answer to your question: This engine isn't a interference engine, which means if the timing belt DOES snap, then you will simply have a dead engine sitting in traffic, when you need to be at the airport to pick up you mom. You can then have your car towed, a new belt installed and drive happily away again. ;)

Seriously though, the belt breaking won't damage the engine most likely, but with a labor time of 3 hrs you shouldn't be looking at more than $400 to have this job done. Preventative maintenance of the timing belt also leads to less other related problems, such as a skipped timing belt making the engine run poorly. Many techs aren't going to look at the timing belt as a contributor until they have exhausted many other things, including your wallet. Keep in mind that the water pump sits BEHIND the belt, so if you do have the belt replaced, have the water pump replaced at the same time, to prevent you from having to pay to have the job done a second time.

As for people running stock belts out to 200k, that's a bit foolish. The belt can break or skip when it's started and your just late for work, or it can happen in traffic with NO warning. A dead car in traffic is now not only a hazzard to themselves, but to everyone around them.

Those would be the reasons I recommend following the manufacturers recommendations, at least keep it CLOSE to the recommended interval if money is tight.

Lexus/Toyotas are great products. You have simply far fewer problems to worry about than most other car owners! :)