Volkswagen issued a communication to its dealers that the five year blanket recommendation to change the cambelt every five years should be removed and that a mileage-based lifespan of 140,000 or 180,000 miles should be implemented depending on the engine. But as far as we are aware this was not communicated to customers. However, we would recommend that these intervals are used as a guide and that having the cambelt changed earlier than this, particularly if you intend to keep the vehicle long-term, is a sensible precaution.