Are chain-driven engines (Nissan in particular) as reliable as people say they are?
I like the fact that chain-driven engines minimize the one factor that has the biggest impact on an engine’s life: Human error. It’s easy to forget to change a timing belt, both because it’s an infrequent service requirement (every 60,000 to 100,000 miles, typically) and because many people never own their car long enough to do the timing belt, then the subsequent owner doesn’t do it because he assumes the previous owner (or the dealership he bought it from) did the timing belt service, etc. I’ve also seen engines go horribly wrong from botched timing belt replacement jobs done by shade tree mechanics. Again, with a chain, this “human error” quotient is nonexistent. I’ve owned three chain-driven vehicles now, and two belt-driven vehicles. Now, I have to admit that one of the belt-driven vehicles had the most miles of any of my subsequent vehicles (220,000-plus miles) when it was totaled. But as someone who maintains his vehicles at home in his own driveway, I appreciate the simplicity
