Fraying Serpentine Belt

A few days ago I noticed a clicking noise coming from the front of the engine. I looked around the fan area and was unable to locate the source. The noise stayed about the same for the next two days and then today it was different. After checking the fan area it became quite clear that the serpentine belt was fraying and getting shredded. I will have a new one put on tomorrow. I just can't see what would cause this to happen within three months and 8,000 miles of having the truck. Maybe it was just a faulty belt. Is there anything I might be missing?

 

the only two things that can be, is defective belt and an out of aligment pulley. For the looks of the first picture, it was probably the belt. is not normal to have lines across the belt because of the way they are designed, your it looks like it was swon with fabric tread.

 

Did you move all pulleys by hand and try to push them from the top and bottom while the belt was off? Check all bearings and bolts. I have a laser belt alignment tool at work that I use to check engines that consume belts. Shit can get a little bit out of alignment and cause excessive wear and tear.

 

Didn't really do too much inspection. Everything is so new that I haven't checked it out thoroughly. I will see what the dealer finds out tomorrow and thinking it should be covered under warranty.

 

Frayed belt edge is generally caused by misalignment of a pulley. The noise you heard could be related - maybe a bad bearing or tensioner is causing excessive movement of a pulley.

 

Be sure to check your pulleys well because old pieces of belt love to get caught behind them and jack things up. I had a noise for a long time and didn't find it until I really got under the truck with the belt off and turned each pulley by hand. Low and behold I pulled a long piece out that was wrapped around one of my idler pulleys. No more noise.

 

Looks like the idler pulley was damaged and that caused the belt to wear wrong. All fixed under warranty.

 

What did the dealer say about it when they replaced it?
At 8K you still have a warranty, use it.

 

The original serpentine belt and the idler pulley were replaced on 8/18/2015. Today I hear a different noise under the hood again. I check the belt and there is a line showing wear. The dealership inspected it and everything appears fine, but obviously isn't. I will set up another appointment and see what we can figure out.

 

What DoorDing said. Something is rubbing on the back side of that belt. It should be pretty easy to track down just by following the belt around all the pulleys with a good visual inspection using a flashlight and mirror with the engine off.

 

Well, that's f'd up.

 

I took the truck in to the dealership yesterday. They were busy and wouldn't be able to check it out until today. Due to the damage done to the belt and distance I travel, they gave me a rental car to use.

This afternoon, I got a call from the dealership. They told me that there was damage done to the fan pulley, something they said they missed during last week's inspection.
They said that since it was damaged, it would not be covered under warranty. Hopefully this will fix it completely. Too bad it is going to cost me $175 to fix. I asked how the pulley could have been damaged since it is behind the grill, ac condenser, radiator, under the hood, enclosed by two fenders and a skid plate. I didn't get an answer except that it was damaged and not covered under warranty.

At least I don't have to pay for the rental car and new belt.

 

I would not pay a dime. Tell them to show how me the damage occured and why it is my fault. If they cannot it should be covered under warranty. They are giving you a bs line because they do not want to take the hit on customer service score because it took then two trips to fix a problem.

 

Why is it not covered under warranty?
How is the fan pulley being damaged YOUR fault?

The cost of a new belt is negligible so that really isn't a pro. I'd tell them to prove the damage was my fault and if they couldn't, to get in there and fix it.

 

I'm with the others. I believe they really mean defective from the factory and that eventually caused the "damage" they are referring too. Damage to the pulley and to the belt, they probably both damaged each other in the process. Were the fan blades damaged? Can they explain how something got in to damage the pulley without at least touching the blades?

 

yeah fuck that... dealer is just being a cheap ass. that fan pully should be replaced for free at no cost to you.

 

Ask to see and take pictures. I don't understand how the pulley was damaged without not being noticed... They should be covering this. IMO

 

Well, it looks like I will never know what happened. I did get the pulley back and it is bent. As frustrating as it was to deal with, I am just glad it's finally fixed. I have been cautious about any forest road driving in case something happened too far out. I suppose I should keep a belt with me as a back up. Other than a bug deflector I installed with a Phillips screwdriver, I haven't had the hood up. It could have happened during the 5,000 mile service.

Thank you for all the help and support.

 

Call Toyota. Also, contact your state attorney general and file a complaint ( online this is how you do a BBB complaint) I will bet real money you will get some recompense. Takes about 5 min to do. If it works, please post, so I can prove to wife I was right. For once. Thanx