I have a vauxhall corsa ecoflex and have been told at the deaership that the timing chain is noisy on start up and needs replacing. it was registered in 2010 and has only done 16k miles. does this really need replacing or can it be fixed.

tonyb, January 2015

I think tonyb means the oil and filter have only been changed twice cdc. In my opinion that is too long an interval. Old oil gets contaminated and can block the oilways leading to inadequate lubrication - hence the noise on start-up.

This year the car will be 5 years old and thus should soon be on its fifth oil and filter change. Anything less is false economy as people tend to find out sooner or later.

ChicksFan, January 2015

Timing chains should last the life of the car and I do not know of replacement intervals,definitely not every two years, they can deteriorate but it is very important to change your oil and filter on a regular basis, if they are stretched then it is a very noticeable rattling from the timing case, not just on start up.

cdc, January 2015

Vauxhall recomend this every 2 years, thecar is 4 years old so it has been done twice

tonyb, January 2015

Has the engine oil and filter been changed every year? If not then the timing chain has been inadequately lubricated and most probably needs replacing due to premature wear/stretching.

Folk forget that cars need to be maintained properly. An annual oil and filter change will extend component life.

ChicksFan, January 2015