Ford has officially changed the replacement interval for Wetbelts fitted to most of its diesel vans as of February 2024.

The service interval for the timing belt on the EcoBlue engine has been reduced to 6 years or 100,000 miles from 10 years or 150,000 miles. This applies to the whole Transit range fitted with the 2.0 litre EcoBlue engine.

Ford’s statement –

“The service interval has been changed in order to address issues with timing belt service life, caused by engine oil dilution/ vehicle operation conditions/ usage. Oil dilution can occur on the latest generation of low-emission diesel engines when the emissions system cleans the diesel particulate filter (DPF) and is influenced by the customer’s vehicle use cycle.“

The change in service interval poses a problem for fleet operators with longer Servicing intervals. One fleet manager told us they now face higher vehicle running costs and additional vehicle downtime to get the required service work carried out.

Ford has previously repaired a number of out-of-warranty vehicles that suffered from premature timing belt failure as a goodwill gesture.

Now the timing belt interval has been changed, affected vehicles that are between six and 10 years old pose a higher-risk of failure to owners and should have there Wetbelts replaced as soon as possible.

Failure to replace your Wetbelt could cause serious engine damage and possibly other faults such as Brake Vacuum Pump Failure and Turbo Failure.

For more information about these changes please don’t hesitate to contact us.