When should I change the cam belt on my T5?

My 2012 Volkswagen T5 camper has done 20,000 miles in four years. Cars with the same engine have a five year or 140,000 mile cam belt change, yet Volkswagen commercial insist it should be four years whatever the mileage. Am I likely to encounter problems by leaving the change for another year?

There's more load on a van engine because of the weights it has to haul. But the sensible rule is four years or 60,000 miles whichever comes first for timing belt, waterpump and tensioner whether it's a car or a van. You could probably get away with another year. I left it to seven years for a very low mileage FIAT. But when they changed everything they found the waterpump had started to leak.

Answered by Honest John on 29 January 2016

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