20K miles and I'm already hearing belt squeal

mathgeek · Nov 3, 2009, 06:55 PM

It started about a month ago and is getting worse. I'm hearing that all too familiar squeal/whine when the belt needs replacing. I drive my X fairly conservatively and am stock except for intake and tune (Works). I called Works and they recommended changing the serpentine belt, although they were a little mystified as to why it would need replacing at only 20,000 miles. I was told that if that didn't fix it then it could be a number of other things (bearings seizing up in the A/C condenser, water pump,etc.) I called the dealership and they verified that while the belt is NOT covered under warranty at this point, anything more serious than that WOULD be covered.

So my question is this. Has anyone with a X experienced the same belt squeal? If so, did swapping out the drive belt fix the problem? Thanks...

blueberryyumyum · Nov 3, 2009, 08:27 PM

nothing here but i just reached 20,200. i'll come back to this thread if it starts to occur

Kryx · Nov 3, 2009, 10:32 PM

Why would the belt not be covered under warranty? They want something worse to happen before they'll cover it?

mathgeek · Nov 4, 2009, 02:48 AM

"Wear and tear items" are only covered for the first 12K miles.

MuttGrunt · Nov 4, 2009, 03:13 AM

^ lame

Xtremist · Nov 4, 2009, 11:56 AM

No tunes & no mods here and absolutely no squeal or squalls.

dcgsr · Nov 4, 2009, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mathgeek

So my question is this. Has anyone with a X experienced the same belt squeal? If so, did swapping out the drive belt fix the problem? Thanks...

16K miles...no squeal yet...

If you need a temporary fix (ex: going on a date...taking out the boss....). Buy a can of Belt Dressing from a local auto store. You still need to replace the belt, but at least you can drive in peace and quiet until its fixed.

Bighec · Nov 5, 2009, 11:15 AM

Belts are wear and tear. Recommended service interval for belts is usually 15k. Swap it out. No big deal.

mathgeek · Nov 6, 2009, 02:54 PM

I just had a shop replace the serpentine belt this morning at a cost of $129. The squealing is still there. So I called the dealership and made an appt. to have them look at it. I'm guessing, at this point, that it's a bad bearing in one of the items that is run by the belt. And that should be covered under warranty. But regardless, I wasted $129. I could have bought a really nice pair of leopard skin patterned seat covers for that.

migs647 · Nov 6, 2009, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcgsr

16K miles...no squeal yet...

If you need a temporary fix (ex: going on a date...taking out the boss....). Buy a can of Belt Dressing from a local auto store. You still need to replace the belt, but at least you can drive in peace and quiet until its fixed.

NO NO NO NOOOO

You do NOT use belt dressing on serpentine belts!! It was made for the old style v belts with ridges in them. It will ruin the pulleys by layering a film on the pulleys that is next to impossible to get off. It should say right on the can "Not for serpentine belts"

Just replace the belt, see if it fixes it. If it doesn't, you have an extra belt laying around for when you finally need it. Start from there.

Edit: I see you already replaced it. At least you narrowed it down, but $129 to replace a belt seems damn high.

Spunkysandoval · Nov 6, 2009, 03:05 PM

32k, and no squeal

mathgeek · Nov 6, 2009, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by migs647

NO NO NO NOOOO
Edit: I see you already replaced it. At least you narrowed it down, but $129 to replace a belt seems damn high.

Actually, I'm not going to complain about the price. The belt itself was $57 (an OEM belt at the dealership is $100). The labor was $72. It took the mechanic the better part of an hour to do it, and he said that it was a bit of a challenge. So all in all, it was a fair price. It just irks me that it didn't solve the problem.