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I have a 2012 Volvo S60 D3 which has done around 132 000 Km (82500 miles). During the service I had on the 17th of January 2024, the serpentine belt was replaced. Around two weeks later on the 1st of February while I was slowly driving in a parking lot, there was a charging failure indicator light and I immediately parked the car. When I opened the hood to have a look I saw that the belt had snapped completely. The car was towed to the mechanic and he put on a new belt under the warranty of the service. He checked all the pulleys and everything checked out OK. Yesterday, the exact same thing happened again. I was slowly driving in a parking lot when the charging failure light came on and when I checked the engine the belt had snapped. I've attached pictures of the 2nd damaged belt. The one that snapped on the 1st of Feb looked virtually identical.
The car is back at the mechanic now. Any ideas what we should be looking at? Would it be a good idea to replace the belt tensioner? I see there is also an idler pulley. Should this be replaced as well?
Hi, I would take a look at the brand of the belt.... lots of cheap Chinese parts on the market these days as I'm sure you are aware. Stick with a good brand like Continental or oem. I would also check for any signs of binding at all the components(alternator, power steering etc) that the belt rides on. I don't know what the suggested mileage is to change out the tensioner on your car but I would have also changed it out when I was replacing the belt. There are also warnings on belts(serp, timing) to not allow the belts to kink as this could cause a weak spot. gentle curves only in packaging/storing.... no sharp bends in belt.
Thanks for the reply. The feedback from the mechanic today was that the tensioner was loose / rattling especially when cold. So they've ordered new tensioner, belt and idle pulley parts direct from Volvo. Looks like this should have been done anyway as preventative maintenance at 10 years / 120,000 Km according to this website.
Yep, its always a good idea to inspect all the idlers and the accessories (ie alternator, PS pump, AC compression) to make sure they spin freely without wobbles. I'd also go with a new tensioner as part of the service. Same goes for timing belt jobs - always use a new tensioner when servicing the timing belt.
Two Surpentine belt failures in a month
