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Drive belt tensioner kaput at 34,000 miles

Car is 2003 Corolla, symptom was that the serpentine drive belt started squeaking. I thought about replacing the belt but it's a good thing I didn't spend the money on one. I asked the dealer parts shop how much for a belt, and he mentioned that he had sold a few tensioners for '03 or later Corollas and suggested that might be causing the squealing. I decided to have the tensioner checked at the dealership. They found it to be "not doing its job" and replaced it under warranty. (Took almost two hours!) They said the belt is fine and left it on.

I should be happy as it didn't cost me anything except a couple hours in a hot, uncomfortable waiting area, but I'm not. What kind of car manufacturer builds a car with an important part that fails prematurely on a regular enough basis that the parts guy at the dealership mentioned it? Well, no use complaining--I guess any company can screw up. It just gets under my skin a little when you buy

If this had happened with a number of other auto manufacturers it would not have surprised me in the least. But *Toyota*?

I'll find out after about 34,000 more miles if they corrected the design or manufacturing flaw before my replacement was made, or if I'll have to replace it again then.

By the way, is a belt tensioner basically just a pulley on a swing-arm with a spring? If so, how exactly can one fail prematurely--bad spring?

Reply to
Ernie Sty
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1989-1991 Nissan 240SX: Tensioner arm on the timing chain tensioner can break apart, causing timing chain to stretch and jump, causing engine failure due to piston/valve interference; recall on 1989 only 1986-1989 Toyota Supra and Cressida with 2.9l in-line 6 7M-GE engine: head gasket can wear causing water to enter pistons and failure due to hydraulic lock. (My guess is since it takes about 120,000 miles for this to occur, Toyota figured they were off the hook so never offered to fix the problem under warranty. Unless they had a nut like me buying it, the original purchaser would have probably sold the car by that time...)

Ford 3.8L V-6 found in Windstar, Taurus/Sable, Continental: head gasket on the inner cylinder bank blows, causing engine failure. Engines with low miles are replaced after a little squwaking; others, too bad. Engine FINALLY redesigned last year or the year before (originally found as far back as 1989...)

1985 Toyota Corolla GTS with 1.6L DOHC engine: Service Bulletin issued about headgasket problems; advises replacing head gasket (no surprise here...it is basically the same engine as in the Supras and Cressidas mentioned above, minue 2 cylinders. If Toyota knew about it in 1987, why didn't they correct it in the "Big Brother"? I had to shell out $400 to replace the HG; comparatively a bargain now! The Service Advisor talked down to me SOOO badly it wasn't until three years later I realized he had been telling me about the head gasket!)

More like bad bearing; that's the squealing you geard was the bearing torturing itself...

Reply to
hachiroku

I think we've been spoiled by the Toyota's reliability.

This maybe one of them "bulletin" item.

Hey, better than Ford's tire failure, or Ford (again) incendiary cruise switch.

Reply to
bobb

Reliability does not necessarily mean 100% problem free. But Toyotas typically experience less problems than, say, the big 3. Thus, Toyota is a more reliable brand than the big 3.

Reply to
S.S.

If it makes you feel any better Chyrsler used plastic tensioner pulleys in

94 and they did not last. The redesigned part was back to metal. You can bet that they did all kinds of testing before they tried the plastic part. Clearly the testing was inadequate.
Reply to
Art

Toyota's design and assembly process, which is passed down to their suppliers, results in very consistent vehicles compared to some other makes. This means that Toyotas experience very few one-of-a-kind conditions. Given the same use and environmental conditions, the vehicles and their components perform the same, good or bad. A downside of this phenomenon is that Toyota techs do not get as much practice diagnosing oddball problems but the upside is that once someone has experienced a problem, it is easy to diagnose in the future.

To answer your question about the belt tensioner pulley, it is probably the bearing or bearing surface that is failing, causing the noise.

Reply to
Ray O

"Ray O" wrote: snip

C'mon Ray, you say that like it's a bad thing...

Seems to me that it's good that their cars are so good that their poor techs don't get experience!...my kinda car...

Reply to
Gord Beaman

I guess it's not a bad problem to have, and the techs who become master techs are that much more valuable to their shops!

Reply to
Ray O

Hell yes!...if you can get to be a master tech with only this bit of experience then you gotta be hot stuff!...(hummm? - did that come out right?)...aaaanyway, I'm most impressed with Toyota's reliability...I really need it, I have really bad lungs and cannot be stranded in the middle of the wilderness...

Reply to
Gord Beaman

Being stranded anywhere is bad!

Reply to
Ray O

Yup, thank God for Toyotas...

Reply to
Gord Beaman

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