Drivebelt early failure signs

[Zimmer]

Hey all,

At 30K service change I had my drive belt replaced. Told it was fraying bad.

I'm at 38.7K brought it in for an alignment. I asked them to please check for wear. They told me there are a few cracks and early signs of it failing again.

So my initial reaction is the service department is just trying to squeeze money out of me. I told them that this does not seem right. Asked them what would cause this and was told that it was just simply wear of the elements. I live in New England so fair enough but I've NEVER had this problem on any other vehicle.

I had them replace it just in case they're telling the truth. Summer time I'll be at the track periodically I"m sure and I put a lot of miles on the car.

So thoughts guys? If its a real failure what is going on? Who should I ask? What can I check?

Am I simply being sold?

THANKS.

 

[AllLostThings]

Wow I hope they don't go that quick. I bought this car hoping to avoid poor quality problems like that

 

[GoFast]

did the let you see, or even keep, then old belt?

 

[Zimmer]

Ya. I got it. I'll take some pictures of it and where it was starting to fail and post up later.

 

[Speed3Rookie]

How much did they charge to replace it?
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[Zimmer]

$130 for belt and replacement. Next time I'll be doing it myself if this continues.

 

[MADTIG]

Hey all,

At 30K service change I had my drive belt replaced. Told it was fraying bad.

I'm at 38.7K brought it in for an alignment. I asked them to please check for wear. They told me there are a few cracks and early signs of it failing again.

So my initial reaction is the service department is just trying to squeeze money out of me. I told them that this does not seem right. Asked them what would cause this and was told that it was just simply wear of the elements. I live in New England so fair enough but I've NEVER had this problem on any other vehicle.

I had them replace it just in case they're telling the truth. Summer time I'll be at the track periodically I"m sure and I put a lot of miles on the car.

So thoughts guys? If its a real failure what is going on? Who should I ask? What can I check?

Am I simply being sold?

THANKS.

Have you delt with any loud noises with you crank the motor?

 

[Zimmer]

Have you delt with any loud noises with you crank the motor?

no but I do get a noise that is noticeable at idle around 1200- ~800 RPM. Dealers never hear it.

Is that what you're reffering to?

I'll try to get some pics of what I saw after my mazda meet... off to a big NEPOC meet this morning.

 

[MikeHTally]

My daughter's Camry broke its alternator belt -- at 111K miles. I could not figure out how to get the alternator to move enough to install the new belt, so I dropped it off where I bought it for them to wrestle with. $50 labor and $31 for the two belts. 30K seems way too early for a belt to fail.

 

[Super Unique]

I agree, that is far too soon. There has to be an underlying reason for the failure. A good mechanic would be evaluating the pulley system for a misalignment that is causing the premature wear. It could also be a failing component that is driven by the belt.

 

[Zimmer]

I agree, that is far too soon. There has to be an underlying reason for the failure. A good mechanic would be evaluating the pulley system for a misalignment that is causing the premature wear. It could also be a failing component that is driven by the belt.

hrmm good thought Maybe I bring it to a good shop to have it independently looked at?

Good thought. I'm going to try that because I can't figure it out nor do I have the equipment to be tinkering with it.

I turned it on this morning and it sounded loud. Lots of "whirring" and some rattling at idle. It was warm out today.

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

Bring it to Sentry if you can

hrmm good thought Maybe I bring it to a good shop to have it independently looked at?

Good thought. I'm going to try that because I can't figure it out nor do I have the equipment to be tinkering with it.

I turned it on this morning and it sounded loud. Lots of "whirring" and some rattling at idle. It was warm out today.

Omar will definitely figure out what it is.

 

[bgibb68]

was it humid outside?? if so it could be that.....but sounds more like you have an alt, ps pump, or something else going out

 

[Zimmer]

Omar will definitely figure out what it is.

I thought about that to bring it back to them, but I'm not interested in paying a lot again to have the same story from a dealer they can't find issues or replicate the noise.

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

Omar will definitely figure out what it is.

OMAR!!! lol. he's the man. it seems like everything that goes wrong with mine he's taken care of it. haha. funny s***.

the first belt may have been something wrong with the belt to begin with but they either gave you a ****** up belt the second time....put it on wrong....or like said before there must be a mechsnical misalignment. GO OMAR!

 

[Zimmer]

OMAR!!! lol. he's the man. it seems like everything that goes wrong with mine he's taken care of it. haha. funny s***.

the first belt may have been something wrong with the belt to begin with but they either gave you a ****** up belt the second time....put it on wrong....or like said before there must be a mechsnical misalignment. GO OMAR!

alright guys! I'll do it.

 

[Metro Gray]

Curious which dealer you bring your car too?

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

sentry west mazda...route 9/route 20 merge in shrewsbury ma

 

[Peter B]

You guys like sentry west? I either go there or to Wellesly Mazda where I bought it.

Zimmer, any updates on this yet? I agree 30k is way too early for it to be crapping out.

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

I've been going to Sentry since they opened.

You guys like sentry west? I either go there or to Wellesly Mazda where I bought it.

Zimmer, any updates on this yet? I agree 30k is way too early for it to be crapping out.

IMO Sentry is the best in the area. I've bought 3 cars there. They've always treated me very well. Of course I'm loyal and particular. The fact that Omar has a Speed is just icing on the cake. He's particular too.

I've never been to Wellesley but see no reason to bounce from dealer to dealer when I have a history with Sentry. They're a great bunch of people from sales to service.

I saw a red 08.5 MS3 last weekend getting it's snows swapped while I was getting my wife's Mz5 serviced. It had a Red Sox plate on it.