I have a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe Base that is front wheel drive with the 2.7 litre v6 and the 4 speed auto. My family is the original owner of the car and my parents never changed the timing belt. The car was passed down to me a couple years ago. we have babied it for 95% of its life ( let it rev a little higher when merging onto highways a few times and stuff like that). The car has 300 000 km's now and I am scared about the condition of the belt because I have no idea how it looks or how many cracks it has as I would have to take all the accessories and the timing cover off the check (at least to my knowledge please correct me if I am mistaken). The car is my daily driver and I am about to highway drive it for an hour every day as I just got a new job. Would I be ok to leave it for a bit or should I replace it as soon as possible? I really do not want to grenade my engine as I do not have the money for a new one. Another reason for my concern is I could replace the belt myself but I don't have time to do it because of my job schedule.
I am scared about the condition of the belt .... I am about to highway drive it for an hour every day
then why are you hesitating?
Would I be ok to leave it for a bit or should I replace it as soon as possible?
it wasn't OK a long time ago
Get the timing belt replaced ASAP. Scheduled replacement for these belts is between 100-150 km. Additionally, the belt is 18+ years old. You'd be long overdue for a replacement even with low mileage.
IMHO it's a matter of when, not if, that belt fails on you. I wouldn't gamble on it, man.
That timing belt is way past due for replacement. That's an interference engine so when the belt goes it will be be a catastrophic failure, destroying the engine. You have a ticking time bomb on your hands. How lucky do you feel?
You state that you have "babied" it for 95% of it's life and yet you have never changed the timing belt. Do you understand the meaning of the phrase "to baby something"? It means to carefully and lovingly attend to the needs of something because it is unable to take care of itself...like a baby. How does not changing the timing belt in 18+ years and 186,000 miles fit that description. It makes me wonder if you have also neglected the engine oil and filter, air filter, coolant, transmission fluid, spark plugs, etc.
You state that you are "scared about the condition of the belt", yet you continue to drive on borrowed time. Must not be too scared.
You ask, "would it be okay to leave it for a bit?" You've already done that and more. If you don't change it now, what is your timetable for doing so? After it breaks? Then you've waited a wee bit too long. I sure hope that you don't push your tires that far before changing them.
You state that you "don't have time to do it." Yeah...that's what mechanics are for. Find a reputable one and take care of your baby. You fortunately have a Hyundai model year that has little reports of problems at carcomplaints.com. Don't let your complacency ruin that stellar record! Of course that would not be due to poor design or engineering of the car by the manufacturer, that would be on you.
As they say, take care of your car and it will take care of you. At least I think that's what they say. 😉
All the best and please change your timing belt or your engine is toast.
look mate, that's the only thing that hasn't been changed/serviced because it was my parents car before me and they don't know better, also I literally do t have time to take it to a mechanic because I work all day every day and it's a 45 minute drive to work. it is my daily and I don't have other ways of getting to work and it is also my only car, so I literally do not have time to take it( Let alone and I going to risk my job for it) to a mechanic unless there is some extended holiday
it's not a question of I need to take it to a mechanic because I don't have time to fix it myself, I don't even have time to take it to a mechanic, I am mostly looking for advice to make it last as long as possible
@Nightshade "I am mostly looking for advice to make it last as long as possible."
Then as everyone responder to your original post has advised, change the timing belt as soon as possible before you destroy your engine. If you don't have time to do it yourself or the time to take it to a mechanic, perhaps you could ask someone to take you to work and they could take it to the mechanic. Or you could drop it off to the mechanic and get a Uber ride to work. We have provided the advise you requested regarding the changing of your timing belt, ( @Nightshade "Would I be ok to leave it for a bit or should I replace it as soon as possible?"), now it is up to you to devise a plan for getting it done @Nightshade "to make it last as long as possible".
I am mostly looking for advice to make it last as long as possible
There's really no way to do that, it's going to go when it's sufficiently worn and that's that. Maybe if you keep engine RPMs low as possible it might help.
If you don't have time to change the timing belt consider whether you'll have time to deal with a destroyed engine if and when the belt fails.
I literally do not have time to take it to a mechanic
either take a bit of time now to maintain your car (get a rental if needed), or take a lot of time later to find a new car when this one blows up.
You're driving a ticking bomb, so replace the belt and related items or let it replace by a savy mechanic.
(nice I don't have to be your baby!! 😀 )
