The rubber cambelt drives a car’s camshafts which rotate in the piston engine, opening and closing valves at the top of each cylinder.
These draw air and fuel into the engine which when ignited, powers your car.
Some cars have a chain instead of a rubber system.
But over time, rubber cambelts will degrade, crack and finally break.
Social media mechanic sensation Scotty Kilmer told his YouTube channel the best time to get the mechanism changed.
He explained: “If you’ve got a rubber timing belt it’s a good thing to change it every 100,000 miles so it doesn’t break and leave you stranded.”
Halfords recommends changing your cambelt every 60,000 miles.
It is important you get your cambelt changed as you can invalidate your warranty on a new car if you don’t get it serviced.
Replacing the belt usually sets you back around £300 but can cost up to £500.
Many cambelts are located inside the engine, meaning it is a labour intensive job to get it replaced.
Therefore a major part of the bill will factor in the removal of various engine parts which can be time-consuming.