B Russ

Has anyone actually had one fail? how old was it

IXLR8

Still original at 8 years 6 months but low miles. I think it depends on the climate it is driven in and mileage.

On other daily drivers, 118K miles and 11 years and they were still good to go. Same for the timing belt. It could be Porsche Paranoia.

desmotesta

still original in service date early-2016, 39k miles

i plan to do it in spring When I switch to BMC air filters (and rear bumper and airbox wil already be off)

I did the belt on my 987S and it was a piece of cake (once I got to it lol)

Nikobimmer

Mine failed at just under 23,000 miles on my 2019 T.

B Russ

Yikes 2017 4S Im at 25k service advisor said it looked good, we can check it next year. Not sure that one will be done at dealer rates.

porsche_ag12

2017 at 58k miles. Tech said it looked good recently. Will replace soon though when I do the engine air filter because I'm at the 6 year mark now that the manual states.

MingusDew

I had to replace the tension damper, so the belt came off. Belts are cheap, but unlike a Camry the 911 belt takes a little more effort to get to. I figured if I was spending the time to get in there and the belt was coming off I would just replace it. Peace of mind for $50 or whatever a belt costs. Otherwise, just inspect yearly and replace when it starts showing wear. Should also inspect the tensioner yearly, the damper just fails, pretty common even at only 2-4 years, so you need to keep an eye on it. I think t’s fine to drive on it longer but you have to actually not neglect yearly inspection.

Tier1Terrier

2017 with 18k miles and still running but I wouldn’t know what a worn belt looks like so I’ll probably end up just replacing soon since it’s already due based on time. (6yrs)

asellus

I replaced my 2017's at 60k miles and it looked fairly fine. The type of belt used doesn't really tend to crack, it just wears itself down until the grooves aren't deep enough to make meaningful contact, then it'll slip.

Paranoia, perhaps. Peace of mind and adhering to the maintenance schedule, sure. Easy $50 or whatever to write off every 60k miles.

NSX 3.0

Just had mine in for service at my Porsche dealer oil and brake fluid change. Tech said the belt looked ok had no cracking but had them change it anyway 9 years is long enough for me. The charge for the belt replacement was $600 heck the car feels faster now..... lol. I still have the original battery that's always on a tender still at 87 percent they say will change that out next year for peace of mind. I have a 14 Carrera S with 25,000 miles.

Bxstr

To answer your question, I follow the 6 year interval. In my case, have not had one fail. I figure many people aren't even keeping their 911 for six years, so me replacing every six years is not that big of a deal. I also tend to look at it like this, if I stretch it for eight years vs six years, that means that over the course of 24 years I'd save one belt replacement. I'd rather just follow the recommended interval, even if it is slightly too conservative.

Enjoy the drive everyone!

IXLR8

Fortunately for you and me and others handy enough to DIY, it is $50.

Otherwise it is in the hundreds, sort of like oil changes, spark plug replacements or what have you that you read about on forums. Personally, I don't worry about costs but I do worry about who is wrenching on my vehicles and even moreso on aircraft.

justabout

One other thing to consider. My 2016 911 GTS has the original belt at 11,000 miles. My 2014 PGTS has the original belt at 50,00 miles and it looks new. Not the case for the 911. I suspect pieces of dirty find their way into the belt area, get lodged between the belt and a pulley for an instant causing wear. Both will get new belts within 6 months.

Viper1000

My 2013 C2S only had 15xxx miles on it and I just had it changed and the Tech said it still looked good.

neanicu

I would follow the manufacturer recommended interval : guess what?! It's not just about the belt : I have changed plenty of these and almost every time either the hydraulic tensioner had leaked out and needed to be replaced and/or the water pump was making noise(which you couldn't hear with the belt on,only spinning it by hand to feel the roughness in the bearing)...and once removed,you could see a little dried up coolant coming from the weep hole : so who saved who by not getting stuck in the middle of the road when that pump let go??