A Critical Maintenance Item

A necessity every 60,000 miles is replacing the timing belt on your Elantra. The engine in the Elantra is known as an "interference" type engine, where the pistons rod valves occupy the same space at different times. This means that when the timing belt snaps or shreds, the piston will have a very enthusiastic meeting with the valves. This meeting is not fun to repair, nor is it cheap. The answer? Change your belt!

This is a fairly involved do-it-yourself project, best suited for people who are mechanically inclined. Otherwise, many independent shops can tackle this for you, as well as the dealer.

Other things to have replaced along with the timing belt are the accessory drive belts, water pump, and thermostat. While the water pump may not need to be replaced, all the work to access it has already been done, and replacement takes only a few extra minutes. It is also insurance against failure for the next 60k miles. And since the engine coolant has already been drained to work on the water pump, the thermostat is an easy and cheap item to replace. The accessory drive belts have to come off to get at the timing belt, and could use replacing after 60k miles of use.