From my own personal experience, the timing belt is probably the single most overlooked maintenance item in the modern internal combustion engine. You can't see it, so you cannot make the determination that it needs to be replaced "soon". And there are rarely any warning signs that it is going to go bad. That's why it is very important to follow the manufacturer's recommendations for regular replacement of this key part.

Your engine's timing belt is a flat, toothed belt that is powered by the crankshaft (which also outputs the power to turn the wheels of your car) and turns the camshaft(s). It is toothed so that the relative position of the camshaft(s) with respect to the crankshaft remains the same. This is important because the camshaft controls the opening of the engine's valves, and the crankshaft is driven by the engine's pistons.

If there is any slippage of the timing belt, the valve timing will be off (they will open and close at the wrong part of each piston's cycle). This will cause, if you are lucky, poor engine performance or even cause the engine to not run at all. Worst case, which unfortunately is most common, is that the pistons strike the valves. This causes bits of metal to break off inside the cylinders, which, at normal engine speeds, will virtually destroy your engine in seconds.

So the moral of the story is: bite the bullet and fork over the $500 or more to have your perfectly good timing belt replaced when the manufacturer tells you to. Your car won't run any better afterward, but you will almost certainly have saved yourself the cost of a new engine had you not had it replaced.

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