Dealership saying needing serpentine belt replaced

[GB19XLT]

Is this common on a 50k mile expedition? Went in for a routine oil change and now they’re saying my belt is cracking... should I believe them? Lol

 

[Tmg115]

That belt does need to be replaced every so often but I doubt yours is bad this soon. Replacing belts is a common up sale from repair shops.

I would ask them to show you the cracks. If it doesn't have clear dry rot you should be ok. If it has moderate to large cracks it may need to be replaced. If fhe belt is in bad shape and it breaks while your driving, you will be on the side of the road waiting on a tow truck.

 

[Gumby]

Funny, I just got mine back from service not that long ago and part of the assessments were:

• back of belt is starting to wear/ glaze
• minor play in both front inner tie rods

Not sure if that's upsell or true wearing. I guess I'll have to take a gander at the belt myself.

I currently have about 114,000 kms on it

 

[Deadman]

Funny, I just got mine back from service not that long ago and part of the assessments were:

• back of belt is starting to wear/ glaze
• minor play in both front inner tie rods

Not sure if that's upsell or true wearing. I guess I'll have to take a gander at the belt myself.

I currently have about 114,000 kms on it

ANY of todays junk tie rod ends that are not greaseable will show wear at 100K. Unfortunately you need to buy a 3/4 ton to get the greaseable parts.

 

[Uturn]

The serpentine belt is made from EPDM, unlike the older neoprene belts it is not likely to crack in the vehicles lifetime. It will wear and may eventually fray. The tech telling you it is cracked is the first indication that you need to find a better shop.

 

[Deadman]

As exposed as the belt is on these vehicles with no front skid plate, I can see that junk could get in there and possibly damage the belt.

 

[GB19XLT]

The serpentine belt is made from EPDM, unlike the older neoprene belts it is not likely to crack in the vehicles lifetime. It will wear and may eventually fray. The tech telling you it is cracked is the first indication that you need to find a better shop.

don’t see any cracks or fraying.. maybe small white line, which is probably nothing. Felt it, and it’s all smooth.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

While in for an oil change and tire rotation, I had a Ford service advisor tell me that my 2015 Expedition’s engine air filter was due for replacement.

I had replaced the filter with a new Motorcraft one the week before.

 

[Dice Roll]

I have replaced belts just to be doing it on older stuff, mainly to have a spare to tuck someplace. Really I haven’t seen one fail even when cracked looking. I don’t know anybody who has had it happen, at least that they’ve said.

 

[Deadman]

Just for a comparison My wife 2011 Sedan has 180,000 miles on it and my buddy put new tires on it and I had him look at the belt. He said the belt looked perfect yet. Crazy to get that kind of milage on a belt and it still even looks good yet.

 

[GB19XLT]

While in for an oil change and tire rotation, I had a Ford service advisor tell me that my 2015 Expedition’s engine air filter was due for replacement.

I had replaced the filter with a new Motorcraft one the week before.

Yeah. Beginning to see the trend here with some Ford Service centers.

I actually spoke to my buddy, who is the finance manager (bought the expy off him) I asked him if there is any inspections a CPO (certified pre owned) vehicle goes through. He said they do a 175 point inspection. Asked if it included belts. He said absolutely, if it does meet the minimum specs they replace them all. Told him what the Service center said, he basically said you are fine and they’re out of their minds. Haha

 

[AKentPhoto]

That's service managers trying to make quota... Sucks because of how many people just blindly agree.

 

[Uturn]

don’t see any cracks or fraying.. maybe small white line, which is probably nothing. Felt it, and it’s all smooth.

View attachment 39162

Nothing wrong with that belt. You can tell by the fussiness of the material on the rib side that it is a EPDM belt. Eventually thousands of miles from now the side of the ribs will start to polish and wear. At that point it will be time to replace it and relegate it as your spare. They even have wear gauges to indicate the amount of wear.