Here in Australia the timing belt interval for the FSI engine in the Golf R is 105,000km (which is around 60,000 miles).
The belt I installed by Continental had a warranty and it was fairly easy to install myself.
Hi Ed I just had my timing belt (tensioner, rollers, cam seals), water pump, thermostat, serpentine belt, tensioner, and rollers replaced by a very good independent for $2300 on my 04 with 78K miles. The belt that came off showed no degradation and looked fine but I feel a lot better having it done.
You can actually buy the parts from the VW dealer for about $300; that's a kit with the belt, tensioner, and roller, plus a water pump and thermostat added separately. I've always had good luck with original parts, so that's what I've used.
The belt was a brand new continental OEM belt with less than 50 miles on it.
Continental here. And I've changed the belt anout 3 times this year already.
O.K. I replaced the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, most water hoses, cap, rotor, rotor, plugs, air and fuel cleaner to start off with.
I had my local mechanic (not a VW specialist) do this on my 1.8T in my Passat not too long ago. The total was around $1100. That included my regular oil and filter change, replacement of timing belt, water pump, timing belt damper, and accessory belts (a/c, power steering and alternator).
It's ezier to do AWD if the tranny is pointed towards the rear wheels than if its set crosswise in the car...so the "pro" is EZ AWD..the con...its a betch to work on the nose of the engine (timing belt, waterpump etc are much more labor intense than on a transverse VW).
My original timing belt assy failed at 87,0000 miles at just over 8 years. I think it might have been the tensioner failing that actually caused it. Luckily alll I had to do was pay for the timing belt replacement and VW covered the head replacement.
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