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Do you think my wife's 2003 Ford Focus with 17,000 miles needs a new cam belt?

My wife has a 53 Ford Focus with only 17,000 miles on the clock. The service schedule recommends 100,000 miles or 10 years to replace the cam belt, but many suggest seven years - any comments?

Asked on 1 September 2010 by jimhob

Answered by Honest John
These belts don't have a history of premature failure, but I'd still start thinking about it on age grounds alone. It's not the mileage the kills them. It's the number of starts.
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