Advice on Service Repair Optimization for Honda Pilot 2nd Gen
I'm based in Toronto Canada. Recently bought a 2013 Honda Pilot with around 89,000 KM. Yes it's a baby, barely driven. Very few things were changed on the car besides just some oil changes. Some service work is due for the car to run optimally, especially timing belt and related components. Honda's guidance is 166,000KM OR 7 years. We're well past the time requirement on the timing belt.
Since the labour will be expensive, I was wanting to bundle replacing several other items as part of the "while you are there, change anyway" category.
- Replacement of Timing belt itself and of the related components below:
- Timing belt tensioner
- Tensioner adjuster pulley
- Idler pulley
- Replacement of Water Pump and coolant fluid replacement
- Replacement of Serpentine/drive belt and related components
- Serpentine belt tensioner
- Replacement of engine cam and engine crank seals
In addition to the above, the Honda maintenance schedule also has maintenance minder sub item 4 which includes a few other items to do:
- Replacement of spark plugs
- Valve Clearance Adjustment (It actually says inspection - but how can you inspect without opening the valve cover itself? At that point doesnt it make sense to just do the adjustment?)
What is the best thing to do from a cost savings/optimization perspective? The car right now is not exhibiting any symptoms or issues whatsoever. However, I want to do proactive maintenance and since I know the timing belt should be changed, I figured I should also change the related components within the timing belt area so I dont have to think about this for maybe 6-7 years.
So I was wondering your expert opinion on the following:
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To save on costs 'down the road' should I just try to bundle all these services altogether to save on labour costs in the future? I can try to leverage the big labour costs of the timing belt to get the related other components replaced as well. Or ;
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Should I split the job into 2 parts and do all the side of the engine work (timing belt, serpentine belt, pulleys, etc) in one job and the other job related to spark plugs, valve clearance adjustment in a separate job?
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Some of the dealerships I've spoken to have said you shouldn't change the pulleys, drive belt tensioner or engine cam and crank seals if it isn't needed. But what if there are issues in the future, wouldn't I face a big labour bill because getting access to these components is going to be a big issue anyways? So wouldn't it make sense to do proactive replacement now?
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I'm trying to see if I can get all this work done for $2000 or so. Is that a good price?
Posted Jun 11, 2026, 10:26 PM UTC