ScionTcGirl562

OK SO YESTURDAY I'M DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AND I HEAR A SLIGHTLY ODD NOISE... LOWER MY VOLUME ON MY RADIO TO HEAR NOTHIN.. SO I CONTINUE DRIVING HOME (10 MIN. FROM WORK)... I PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY AND WENT IN TO START GETTING READY (VALENTINES DAY YA KNOW)... ABOUT TO JUMP IN THE SHOWER AND MY BROTHER ASKS TO USE THE CAR TO GO TO THE MALL (NOT VERY FOND OF THAT IDEA BUT I SAID YES VERY HESITANTLY). SO WHEN I GOT OUT OF THE SHOWER I CAME TO LEARN THAT MY BROTHER MADE IT DOWN THE BLOCK AND HEARD SOMETHING BUST... SO HE MADE A U-TURN AND CAME HOME... OPENED MY HOOD AND FOUND A NICELY BUSTED ALTERNATOR BELT!!! I'VE HAD THIS CAR SINCE OCTOBER AND WAS JUST WONDERING WTF COULDVE CAUSED THIS??? I HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP THIS MORNING AND THEY WERE DONE WITH THE CAR BY THE AFTERNOON (AND WASHED MY CAR TOO). I ASKED THEM THE SAME QUESTION AND GOT THE ANSWER "UMM I DONT KNOW REALLY HOW THIS COULDVE HAPPENED... BUT YOU WILL BE RECIEVING A "SURVEY" THING IN THE MAIL WHICH IS A SORT OF "REPORT CARD" FOR ME SO I'D APPRECIATE IT IF YOU GAVE ME AN "EXCELLENT" RATING INSTEAD OF A "GOOD" ONE CUZ THOSE DONT COUNT... WTF LOL SO JUST CUZ U COMPLIMENT MY STARS TATTOO'D ON MY EARS AND MY GRAPHICS I'M SUPPOSE TO GIVE U AN "EXCELLENT" RATING???! HOW ABOUT ANSWER MY QUESTION OR AT LEAST ATTEMPT TO GIVE ME SOME REASONS ON HOW IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED... I JUST LOOKED AT HIM LIKE "R U SERIOUS"... SO PLEASE IF ANYONE HAS ANY KIND OF THOUGHTS ON HOW IT COULDVE RIPPED PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST THEM AND IF ANYONE HAS HAD THIS PROBLEM!!! PS.. SORRY ABOUT ALL CAPS BUT I'M AT WORK LOL

engifineer

Sounds like the idler or one of the pulleys are out of alignment, which means it could happen again. When the engine is running, look along the belt to see that it is riding straight everywhere. If that was not the case it could simply just be a bad belt.

ScionTcGirl562

thank u so much... i will check that asap... now how come the damn dealership couldnt tell me that lol... thanks for your help!!!

DJ_X_Trodinaire

we have great scionlife members! thats all you need

engifineer

Unfortunately a lot of so called "ASE Certified" techs at dealers have little experience outside of a classroom. This is not to say that all ASE Certified mechanics are not knowledgeable, only that the ASE certification is nothing more than a grade on a test. They should have at least taken the time to check those things, as that is normally the first thing to check when a belt breaks. Especially when it is that new. It is pretty easy to check just by looking. The belt should run straight on all pulleys and idlers, and should not be way off to one side. If it is off to one side on the idler, then it is probably running crooked on another pulley. Also, line them up with your eye to see if the pulleys all seem to line up straight with each other.

Anyway, I hope this helps and you get it fixed!! Other than that, how are you liking the car? Mine has rocked so far. Almost up to 10,000 miles and doing great. Now I'm just waiting for the CAI and Supercharger

JeniQ

What is an alternator belt??? I replaced my alternator in my Saturn this summer and the only belt I had to deal with was the serpentine belt...

engifineer

On some cars it is a separate belt. I replaced mine on my saturn too this summer! The only breakdown in 170,000 miles (which is why I kept my trusty saturn after buying the tC). The crappy part about the alternator was that I could not replace in on the side of the road because it is on the lower rear part of the motor! Bad idea there! Good thing about the tC is that the alternator and starter are very easy to get to if needed.

another good reason to keep the saturn.. is that the body is ABS plastic, which is much better against the road salt in winter! Makes a great winter car.

JeniQ

Oooh, ok. I didn't know that. Cool

I'd keep the Saturn but a) it's my trade in, b) I don't want to deal with the registration/insurance issues of having two cars, and c) I don't really like it

jct

you can drive your car with out the alt, you just can't do it with windsheild wipers, head lights, or any thing else needs power

it can be done... you'll just be draining the battery though... untill you get it fixed

JeniQ

The battery doesn't run the car for that long without the alternator though... last time I tried to do that, it ran the car for about 20 minutes before it started crapping out. But I don't know how charged the battery was, either. But it's definitely just a VERY short-term fix

Joehnn

Every once and awhile you just have a bad belt that slipped through quality control.

I would check the other more likely items mentioned earlier.

Don't be too hard on the dealer. If anything it was a manufacturing problem. He fixed and cleaned your car under warrenty.

mach5

idler pully was not out of "alignment"
your belt busted, pure and simple one and a million chance and it happened

live with it its upsetting but stuff happens
techs are not psychics and can not always tell what happened what happened at that exact momment when a part fails, we go by clues and sometimes the clues don't point anywhere
i am sorry that we do not have supernatural powers, oh please find it in your heart to forgive us

they fixed your problem and washed/detailed your car and your upset at them

go shoot yourself

engifineer

Very very short. The injectors and fuel pump draw a lot of power from the system. Typically about 20 - 40 minutes without the alt and the sytem can no longer fire the injectors and you are walking. Old cars that had mechanical fuel pumps, no computers, and points instead of electronic ignition could go a long ways, but not the newer ones. Plus, every time you are starting the car you are drawing a ton of power.

engifineer

I did not say that the idler was out of alignment, only that it could be a possible cause. Don't spout off about things untill you read thoroughly. In my 15 years of building and working on cars, and my fathers 35+ years of being a mechanic, including building 600 hp + engines, we have seen quite a few belts break due to pulley and idler alignment. This may or may not have contributed to her problem, I was only trying to help. And I never cut down dealership mechanics as a whole if you take the time to read. I was just warning that if a tech does not take time to at least look over everything then he obviously does not care about his job or does not have enough experience to at least try to find a cause before simply replacing parts. Sometimes you just get a bad part, but whose to say that the bad part was not the idler instead of the belt??? Its like having an alternator fail early and just replacing it without checking the rest of the system for a reason of failure. And by the sound of your response it sounds like you work at the place that fixed hers. If I were her I would be nervous about taking my car back knowing that someone there is that upset with me. Relax, take a Xanex or something.

George

That's the difference between a "technician" and a "mechanic". Technicians can plug in the computer and replace what the computer says to replace. Mechanics actually understand how things work and can diagnose problems that baffle the computer. Mechanics are worth every penny they are paid!

mfbenson

Did they re-install the old belt or give you a new one? They should have used a new one, but you never know... If the old one is available, they should have showed it to you. If it was nicked or cut there may have been a foreign object that got in there and caused your problems. If it was worn it may have been slipping and wore out prematurely, or the pulleys might be out of alignment but that seems unlikely to me on a brand new car.

If it was slipping there might be some oil or lubricant on it that made it slip, or it might be the pulleys were too loose.

No matter how you cut the cake they didn't give you enough information. Your problems might be fixed or it could happen again. Depends on what caused it in the first place.

lonewolfxb

He got a new belt so what is his _____?

mach5

i dont' understand how everybody on this site builds 600hp cars and have been working on cars for 15+ years blah blah blah and their daddy was a mechanic and touched them at night , etc etc

its always the same story and its getting old

and a mechanic is outdated, if you can't use a computer, you are uselsess you will get burned trying to diagnose a new car, i've seen it at my dealer with mechanics that refuse to learn the new way and/or go on training

you stick to your mechanics putting your nuts on cars will not tell you which cylinder is misfiring, so lets move past 1963 and i would like to welcome you to 2005
and i'm not upset, i like coming to this site and making fun of the idiots on it

itimebomb

hahaha...

keep in mind your service advisor didn't make your car so you have no reason to give him a bad survey if he fixed the problem in a timely fashion and your car was washed for you for free too!

ScottsdaleTC

I am sorry to hear about it, it is just a bad belt. I have owned 4 Toyotas and I currently have a Tacoma with 96K on it, I check the belts for wear and they are fine. I have never had to do a major repair, had an oil leak, hose replacement, transmission failure, nothing major in all the years of owning a Toyota. Only regular maintenance such as oil changes, brake pads/shoes and regular fluid changes at 30,60 and 90K.

It can happen and this is something that one could expect when owning a car. The dealer took care of it and treated you and your car with respect, the wash, he likes your car too. If he was not clear on his explanation then you may have asked for additional clarification.

BTW, you do not want to type in all caps, in e-mail and forums this indicates that your raising your voice or yelling.