Objective: Provide a side-by-side comparison of the Factory Original Honda parts compared to the parts found in the AISIN kit, pictures included below.
Spoiler/Conclusion: I highly recommend the AISIN kit. Same OEM parts. Different packaging. Way less cost. Read on for the details and view pictures.
Note: All applications for this kit are listed below.
Background: I am not a professional mechanic. I have been driving and maintaining my own Hondas since 2001. I have for the most part been a strong advocate for purchasing only Genuine Honda replacement parts. At the advice of many in various forums, I decided to take a gamble with the AISIN kit. Prior to purchasing I found a lot of good information about the AISIN kit online but not quite the depth I am going provide below.
Scope: I will compare the factory original parts removed from my 2006 Honda Accord EX-L 3.0L V6 to the parts included in the AISIN kit. The price differential between Honda Genuine and AISIN parts will also be looked at with pricing found at HondaAutomotiveParts.com.
AISIN Kit Purchase Price: I purchased my AISIN kit #TKH-002 from trueblueparts.com. True Blue Auto Parts has both an eBay and Amazon store. I bought my kit through eBay because at the time it was a little cheaper than Amazon. I paid $169.54 shipped.
Compare to Honda OEM parts purchase price:
WATER PUMP (YAMADA) - Honda (19200-RDV-J01) $127.36
BELT, TIMING (197YU20 VE-501) (UNITTA) - Honda (14400-RCA-A01) $70.94
IDLER, TIMING BELT (KOYO SEIKO) - Honda (14550-RCA-A01) $44.88
ADJUSTER, TIMING BELT - Honda (14510-RCA-A01) $98.40
TENSIONER, TIMING BELT AUTO - Honda (14520-RCA-A01) $121.36
Total = $462.94
Shipping = $21.08
Grand Total = $484.02
That’s a savings of $314.48 on parts alone for this timing belt replacement.
Information on the timing belt. The AISIN kit comes with a MITSUBOSHI CD329 timing belt that is Made in Thailand. I acknowledge that Mitsuboshi is a world class belt maker and a long time OEM supplier to Honda. However, the factory original timing belt that came on my 2006 Accord is a Made in Japan UNITTA timing belt. UNITTA is the Japanese subsidiary of GATES. Given that the original UNITTA timing belt lasted over 115,000 miles on my car, I elected to buy a GATES T329 belt. I found it on eBay for $22.99 shipped, see pics. To me, this was cheap insurance but probably not necessary.
My factory original water pump was AISIN. The online Honda dealer wanted to sell me a YAMADA water pump for $127.36. My original AISIN water pump lasted 12 years and 115,000 miles. The AISIN kit included a AISIN water pump so that was good enough for me.
Another part that’s commonly replcead with the timing belt is the accessory drive belt. The OEM belt for my application is MITSUBOSHI #6PK2135M. I bought mine from Amazon for $22.05/shipped. The same belt from HondaAutomotiveParts.com cost $38.77, e.g., BELT, COMPRESSOR (MITSUBOSHI) - Honda (38920-RCA-A03)
Now for the comparison pictures:
TKH-002 Timing Belt Kit
Water Pump
Timing Belt
Hydraulic Tensioner
Tensioner Bearing
Idler Bearing
GATES/UNITTA T329 Timing belt
MITSUBOSHI accessory drive belt
AISIN #TKH-002 Applications:
Acura
MDX 3.5L 2003-06
MDX 3.7L 2007-12
RDX 3.5L 2013-14
RL 3.5L 2005-08
RL 3.7L 2009-12
TL 3.2L 2004-08
TL 3.5L 2007-17
TL 3.7L 2009-14
TSX 3.5L 2010-14
ZDX 3.7L 2010-13
Engine ID: J32A3, J35A5, J35A8, J35Z6, J37A1, J37A2, J37A4, J37A5
Honda
Accord 3.0L 2003-07
Accord 3.5L 2008-15
Accord Hybrid 3.0L 2005-07
Accord Crosstour 3.5L 2010-11
Crosstour 3.5L 2012-15
Odyssey 3.5L 2005-15
Pilot 3.5L 2005-15
Ridgeline 3.5L 2006-14
Engine ID: JNA1, J30A4, J30A5, J35Y1, J35Y2, J35Z2, J35Z3, J35A6, J35A7, J35A8, J35A9, J35Z1, J35Z4, J35Z5
Saturn
Vue 3.5L 2004-07
Engine ID: L66
Spoiler/Conclusion: I highly recommend the AISIN kit. Same OEM parts. Different packaging. Way less cost. Read on for the details and view pictures.
Note: All applications for this kit are listed below.
Background: I am not a professional mechanic. I have been driving and maintaining my own Hondas since 2001. I have for the most part been a strong advocate for purchasing only Genuine Honda replacement parts. At the advice of many in various forums, I decided to take a gamble with the AISIN kit. Prior to purchasing I found a lot of good information about the AISIN kit online but not quite the depth I am going provide below.
Scope: I will compare the factory original parts removed from my 2006 Honda Accord EX-L 3.0L V6 to the parts included in the AISIN kit. The price differential between Honda Genuine and AISIN parts will also be looked at with pricing found at HondaAutomotiveParts.com.
AISIN Kit Purchase Price: I purchased my AISIN kit #TKH-002 from trueblueparts.com. True Blue Auto Parts has both an eBay and Amazon store. I bought my kit through eBay because at the time it was a little cheaper than Amazon. I paid $169.54 shipped.
Compare to Honda OEM parts purchase price:
WATER PUMP (YAMADA) - Honda (19200-RDV-J01) $127.36
BELT, TIMING (197YU20 VE-501) (UNITTA) - Honda (14400-RCA-A01) $70.94
IDLER, TIMING BELT (KOYO SEIKO) - Honda (14550-RCA-A01) $44.88
ADJUSTER, TIMING BELT - Honda (14510-RCA-A01) $98.40
TENSIONER, TIMING BELT AUTO - Honda (14520-RCA-A01) $121.36
Total = $462.94
Shipping = $21.08
Grand Total = $484.02
That’s a savings of $314.48 on parts alone for this timing belt replacement.
Information on the timing belt. The AISIN kit comes with a MITSUBOSHI CD329 timing belt that is Made in Thailand. I acknowledge that Mitsuboshi is a world class belt maker and a long time OEM supplier to Honda. However, the factory original timing belt that came on my 2006 Accord is a Made in Japan UNITTA timing belt. UNITTA is the Japanese subsidiary of GATES. Given that the original UNITTA timing belt lasted over 115,000 miles on my car, I elected to buy a GATES T329 belt. I found it on eBay for $22.99 shipped, see pics. To me, this was cheap insurance but probably not necessary.
My factory original water pump was AISIN. The online Honda dealer wanted to sell me a YAMADA water pump for $127.36. My original AISIN water pump lasted 12 years and 115,000 miles. The AISIN kit included a AISIN water pump so that was good enough for me.
Another part that’s commonly replcead with the timing belt is the accessory drive belt. The OEM belt for my application is MITSUBOSHI #6PK2135M. I bought mine from Amazon for $22.05/shipped. The same belt from HondaAutomotiveParts.com cost $38.77, e.g., BELT, COMPRESSOR (MITSUBOSHI) - Honda (38920-RCA-A03)
Now for the comparison pictures:
TKH-002 Timing Belt Kit
Water Pump
Timing Belt
Hydraulic Tensioner
Tensioner Bearing
Idler Bearing
GATES/UNITTA T329 Timing belt
MITSUBOSHI accessory drive belt
AISIN #TKH-002 Applications:
Acura
MDX 3.5L 2003-06
MDX 3.7L 2007-12
RDX 3.5L 2013-14
RL 3.5L 2005-08
RL 3.7L 2009-12
TL 3.2L 2004-08
TL 3.5L 2007-17
TL 3.7L 2009-14
TSX 3.5L 2010-14
ZDX 3.7L 2010-13
Engine ID: J32A3, J35A5, J35A8, J35Z6, J37A1, J37A2, J37A4, J37A5
Honda
Accord 3.0L 2003-07
Accord 3.5L 2008-15
Accord Hybrid 3.0L 2005-07
Accord Crosstour 3.5L 2010-11
Crosstour 3.5L 2012-15
Odyssey 3.5L 2005-15
Pilot 3.5L 2005-15
Ridgeline 3.5L 2006-14
Engine ID: JNA1, J30A4, J30A5, J35Y1, J35Y2, J35Z2, J35Z3, J35A6, J35A7, J35A8, J35A9, J35Z1, J35Z4, J35Z5
Saturn
Vue 3.5L 2004-07
Engine ID: L66