Buying a car is a big budget for the majority of us, however, to this one you will have to add the maintenance of your motor vehicle, and for some maintenance acts the bill can be quite high. It is consequently logical to ask yourself when is the right time to accomplish these repairs and not do them “for nothing”. Today we are going to explain to you when to change the timing belt on your Toyota Prius? For that, to begin with, we are going to see why it is necessary to achieve this work of maintenance, then, when to do the timing belt of your Toyota Prius , then, we are going to quickly demonstrate to you how this change is done, and, finally, how much it costs to do the timing belt of a Toyota Prius.
Why do we need to change the timing belt of an Toyota Prius?
As we explained to you in introduction, changing a timing belt on a Toyota Prius represents a significant budget, so we figure out that you are cautious to do it and to allow you to figure out the benefit of this repair, so we will quickly explain why it is so important to do it on time.
Your Toyota Prius’s timing belt action
The timing of a Toyota Prius has an important purpose in the smooth running of your engine. Indeed, it will have the mission to synchronize the valves and pistons, and to make the link between the camshaft, the water pump, the crankshaft and the injection pump . It will enable the engine to work properly, and avoid any risk of engine breakage. The shorter the distance your car travels, the more your belt will be solicited when starting the engine.
What are the risks if the timing belt is not changed in time?
The issue with the timing of a Toyota Prius is that it is internal to the engine. And consequently, contrary to an accessory belt, it is unachievable to visually check its state. So you might think that this belt is just an unimportant part, but the risks you take if you don’t change it in time are substantial. If the timing of your Toyota Prius breaks, you will most definitely have to change the engine of this one. Indeed, the pistons will hit the valves and injure them, and the camshaft will also break. The faster the engine is running at the moment of the breakage, the more significant the results are. It is consequently fundamental to make your timing belt on time .
When to do the timing belt of its Toyota Prius?
We will now answer the question that you all have to ask yourselves, when to produce the timing belt of a Toyota Prius? It is necessary to know that each engine is different and as we mentioned earlier, we must not miss on the replacement of this part. The more we advance in time the more the manufacturers improve the timing belt and normally the more recent your Toyota Prius will be the less you will have to get worried about your belt. However, check out your Toyota Prius’s service book to get the exact life and maximum mileage you can accomplish before you do the timing . Generally, timing belts have a life of 5 to 10 years and a maximum mileage between 80, 000 and 200, 000km .
How to change the timing belt of an Toyota Prius?
As the timing belt of a Toyota Prius represents a high budget, one can logically wonder if it is not possible to change it on your own. Unfortunately it is very hard to access and just the most knowledgeable amateur mechanics and the most equipped with tools will be able to reflect on this operation, we will even so quickly summarize the different steps to be performed to replace this timing belt:
- Place the Toyota Prius on stands, and depending on your engine you may have to remove a wheel. Take out the timing gearboxes
- To get this done, you must buy the timing kit so that all the engine components remain in the right position, in any other case your engine will break. Take out the other elements that bother you (damper pulley for example).
- Take out the old distribution after loosening the tension rollers. Before positioning the new one, you must take out all the tensioning rollers and the water pump.
- Mount the new water pump.
- Mount the new tension rollers, pay attention to the location of each one.
- Mount the new distribution of your Toyota Prius by respecting the markers.
- Tension the belt as outlined by the manufacturer’s specifics.
- Put the rest of it back together.
- Verify that the engine is running properly.
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Replacing the timing belt how much does it cost?
And finally, we’ll try to give you an idea of the price if you want to replace the timing belt of your Toyota Prius . Take note that if you do it at the mechanic of the brand or at a motor vehicle center like Feu Vert the price can vary a lot, but in general we estimate that the price of the distribution varies between 400 and 900 euros , depending on the place where you do it and your engine. Please note that the kits include the belt, idlers and water pump.
To find more tips on the Toyota Prius, take a look at the Toyota Prius category.
