2014 Honda Pilot, 165K miles. I had my timing belt changed at 110K miles by a different mechanic shop that now out of biz. Going down the freeway at 65mph. My engine died and would not restart. Mechanic says my timing belt broke because the valve train isn't turning. I know the Honda engine is an interference engine, so, if the timing belt broke and the piston(s) struck the valves, wouldn't I have heard/felt a "bang" from under the hood, and loss of coolant?
Is that rare for a broken timing belt?
No. Why are you checking for symptoms of a blown head gasket? That's a totally different thing.
@chucktobias No. way back when, I had a Mazda timing belt broke while my son was driving it. He was going down the freeway when it broke. By the time I got a chance to look it over, there was motor oil in the radiator and coolant was in the crankcase. It also split the radiator, and coolant was all over everything under the hood. I supposed when the pistons valves and cam all went afoul, it was a really violent event.
That's unusual. I have to wonder if there were head gasket problems on that car as well. Normally a broken timing belt only affects valves and pistons.(Of course that's quite enough to trash an engine.)
The best way to tell if you have a broken timing belt is to simply examine it.
You wouldn't necessarily hear anything. It should be easy enough to see if the belt broke by simple physical examination. Internal engine damage can be viewed with a borescope.
@chucktobias thanks for the response. When I got the car home, I checked the coolant and the level and color was normal. No contamination. I also checked the motor oil, and again, the level was perfect and the color normal. No contamination on either fluid. No oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil. Is that rare for a broken timing belt?