you should have let him show you why the belts needed changed and then looked at them and if you see cracks in the belt or belts then they need replaced.When i took my car for oil change , the guy asked me to change all the belts,as they are getting dry..?
actually, he may be right. you can check easily enough though. you should have a serpentine belt, although nissan did continue to use a separate belt for the AC long after most companies went to a single belt.
look at the belt, the manufacturers instruction is that a serpentine belt be replaced if there are 4 or more cracks per inch. if there are, replace it, if not, don't. i have had people refuse them when i worked in a shop, i've also had people come back to me for radiator and other repairs when a belt let go after refusing to replace it.
as for 'not being done', that is illegal and any shop that did that frequently would be put out of business.
on your car, b/c it's a front wheel drive, the belts will be on your left, the right side of the car, when you open the hood.
it would be a good idea to get them changed about every 30,000-40,000 miles because once the belt dries out it has a greater chance of breaking and when it breaks a lot of things then dont work like power steering, the alternator to charge the battery, water pump to cool the engine and they wont work untill u get the belt replaced so when it breaks your car will overheat in a couple minuets after it breaks, and it will be hard to steer and your battery will eventually go dead
if your belts are dry and cracked, yes they will need replaced. over time, the rubber breaks down and tears. if left unmaintained, it can cause the belt to actually break and fall off. this is no fun if you're in the middle of a turning maneuver and you loose power steering. it'll cause the vehicle to overheat and the battery to die. but if there are no visible cracks, they're fine
i would take a look at the belts and if it has little cracks on the ribbed side then it is likely the belt is old or dry and could fail at any time. a lot of imports have two to three belts running separate components so a belt change if it is necessary could be pricey
Tell him to change the oil and leave the belts alone. this is a good rip off, you pay for belts that don't get installed or aren't needed. I would guess you have a serpentine belt that is a single belt. Get out of there and find an honest oil changer.
if you have more then 1 belt they are about $ 8.00 a piece and if it's 1 belt only it could be 20 to 30 bucks. The belt/s are in the front of the motor and look at them for cracks that tells you they are bad.
that would be up to you if you want the belts changed. maybe they are bad and maybe they are just trying to get more money off of you. i,am sorry but i don,t trust some of these so called mechanics.
No comments:
Post a Comment