Have you heard of a serpentine belt in Toyota Rav4?

During an oil change, I was told to replace the serpentine belt in my 6 yr. old Toyota Rav 4. I haven't had the money; therefore, I have not replaced it yet. I have already driven additional 3,000 miles and nothing is really going on with my car. Should I worry about the belt or the mechanic just wanted to cheat me?
Have you heard of a serpentine belt in Toyota Rav4?
Well you need your belt for your car to run because it powers other things under the hood,



Have a friend that knows something about cars look at it, if its cracked or missing pieces on it, its a sign that it needs replacing.



Replacing it will avoid a breakdown when the belt snaps



If it snaps, you will lose power steering and steering wheel will get hard to turn and your engine might shut off, because the alternator wont be running anymore to supply power to the spark plugs and battery



So yeah, it'll run, but have a friend look at it as soon as possible



In case it snaps, use your brakes and hazard lights and pull over to the nearest shopping center or the edge of the road and call a tow truck or a friend to fix it.
Have you heard of a serpentine belt in Toyota Rav4?
serpentine belt is the glorified name for the %26quot;Fan Belt%26quot; no longer used for the fan so they gave it a new name.
I am so sorry that you have to wonder if a mechanic is trying to cheat you. Please let me try to help with that feeling. I am an ASE certified master tech and also an ASE certified L1 advanced tech. I have been doing this for 30 years and it really troubles me that so many people worry so much that they are getting ripped off by an underhanded mechanic.



The truth is in 30 years and working with a lot of people, I have never really met a professional that intentionally intended to rip someone off, most really want to help. The problem is that 90 percent of the people in the industry today are incompetent. They really don't know much more than you do but their foolish pride gets in the way and they screw something up. Then the customer that trusted them feels they got ripped off.



When someone in high school gets in lots of trouble they get stuck in auto shop and it all starts there. Most of those people can't even read much less comprehend what they are trying to read. The repair industry is a mess and the consumer has to pay the price of incompetence.



When you look for a shop don't go to a quickie lube place, find a real auto shop that employs ASE certified mechanics that have proved what they can do, and don't listen to the ding dongs that say it doesn't matter on paper because it does. You can't even get ASE certified unless you can prove you have the hands on experience, and ASE is very strict about that. The ding dongs that tell you different don't even know that because they are part of the problem.



As far as the belt is concerned, it can be pricey but should be a simple repair and could leave you stranded if something goes wrong. Get it taken care of, and not at a quick lube joint, a pretty smart friend could do that one or have a real ASE shop take care of it and build a trusting relationship with them. Ask around to see if people have had a good experience somewhere and try them. Although it can be expensive in the long run it is well worth it to have a shop you trust that knows your vehicle and its history. Price shopping will end up leaving you stranded a lot more often and thats not worth it. Be late to many times or not show and your fired.



And look at this other post about just what I was talking about.



http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;鈥?/a>



The incompetence is overwhelming. Cars today are rocket science and have enough strands of wire in them to reach the moon. They are more complicated than the rockets that put people on the moon and the ding dongs are destroying the industry for their own personal pride.
Yes you do have a serpentine belt. It powers all the accessories like power steering, charging system, air conditioning, etc. Whether you actually need a belt depends on how worn it is. All serpentine belts get cracks in the ribs as they age. That alone is not a reason to change them. But if you have cracks in 3 or more ribs in a 1-inch area, then you're driving on borrowed time.



If it breaks, you lose power steering, charging, and a/c. A tow will cost far more than the belt replacement. AND, you WILL have to replace it eventually.