Is every 24,000 miles correct for replacing serp belt?

[JerseyJeff84]

I have only had my Yaris for a little over a year now, it has 16,000 miles on it. I was browsing around one of the major auto parts websites and they had a banner recommending the changing of your serpentine belt every 24,000 miles. That sounds too often to me. However, I don't know much about cars, so should I replace it at 24,000 miles, and if so, how much could I expect to be charged/what is a current fair labor price for that? I noticed how "tight" to reach, the belt is on the Yaris sedan that I have

[UTVitz]

A belt it easily checked by inspecting it, so next time you're in for an oil change ask to have it looked at. A simple rule of thumb with a flash light is to look at the side of the belt that contacts the pulley's and see if you see a lot of tiny splits in the rubber ribs. If so it's time, if not the belt has life left in it. Mine looks great at 60K miles and I'll probably replace it around 100K to not push it too far. Toyota uses an excellent quality belt from the factory, and you won't get any better in the parts stores. But at 24K miles that belt should still be in very good condition. As far as normal wear goes.

[marcus]

checked it at 80k km and still almost good as new..

[swidd]

The belt costs about $39 dollars in the Toyota parts department around here. Replacing it is possible to do yourself with a wrench with an extension on it, but you have to be careful how you place it to avoid putting pressure on a valve right above the alternator. For someone to replace it you can expect to "be had", it is common to charge $100-150 for it - 30 minute labor + markup on the belt.

You should be fine past 100,000 miles, but you can replace it earlier if you hear squealing sounds right after starting it up. Never believe advertisement on the Internet.

[bankrobber]

I drive mostly highway miles in Florida. I replaced at 113,000 miles.
I was told belt will have some cracks and be ok. It is when the cracks become within 1/8 inch of each other. I replaced belt in about 20 minutes. I recommend buying the belt off Amazon.com for about 12 dollars. I went to Autozone and paid 19 dollars because I wanted it same day.

[thepartsmancometh]

Belts are not preventative maintenance; change when cracked or damaged. The only exception to this, is if the belt is off anyway (IE: for water pump change or something) and the car has a lot of miles on it. In that situation, I'd replace it while its off just to save the labor.

Our 08 Yaris just rolled to 58000 today and is still on the original belt.

[Vinceb]

151,000km (94,000miles approx) OEM belt, though after reading this post I will go home and check it over.

[Flipper_1938]

Belts are not preventative maintenance.

Belts are preventive maintenace items. If a belt fails at highway speeds, you run the risk of trashing the motor or at the very least, being stuck on the side of the road.

You can monitor belts and hoses to try and get the most out of them you can, but the goal is to replace them before they fail.

[thepartsmancometh]

Belts are preventive maintenace items. If a belt fails at highway speeds, you run the risk of trashing the motor or at the very least, being stuck on the side of the road.

You can monitor belts and hoses to try and get the most out of them you can, but the goal is to replace them before they fail.

perhaps I didn't word this how I intended; the inspection is preventative. By preventative, I was trying to imply that the belt is not replaced at a certain predetermined mileage or age "just because" of its mileage or age.

[gonzo452001]

I replaced mine at 100.000 miles just to be safe

[08blackyari]

A bearing in my water pump went bad, it was making a low rumbling noise, so the dealer replaced the pump and the serpentine belt under warranty. He said the belt was damaged due to the pump and the car has just under 52k miles on it. Not sure if I believe him or if he just wanted to charge Toyota for more work. Either way, 52k miles seems soon, 24 seems doubly soon.

[bronsin]

A bearing in my water pump went bad, it was making a low rumbling noise, so the dealer replaced the pump and the serpentine belt under warranty. He said the belt was damaged due to the pump and the car has just under 52k miles on it. Not sure if I believe him or if he just wanted to charge Toyota for more work. Either way, 52k miles seems soon, 24 seems doubly soon.

+1 on the "making money out of it" aspect. :headbang: