Serpentine belt damaged

[iampivot]

My GF told me about some noises in the car yesterday, and it appears the belt that drives the alternator (serpentine belt?) is damaged. The car has run 134K kms (at 4.5 years age) and was serviced at the dealership about 7000km ago (4 months ago).

Is this really something one should expect or should I demand that they fix it for free? Would you expect them to inspect these parts at every service?

[CraigR]

They usually warrant their work + parts for a year. Hit them up! Shouldn't be failing that early.

[Umai Naa!!]

How do you prove that they damaged it, or if infact there was wear that was overlooked at the service?

[Hillbilly]

For $20 and half an hours work is it worth getting offside with your dealer. These things can go at any time and could have been perfectly alright last week never mind 4 months ago

[doc_777]

They could have checked it at the last service, and visually it could have looked fine. How many times have YOU checked the belt in the last 7k since the service? Keeping an eye on what is going on under the bonnet is the requirement of anyone who wants to own a reliable vehicle.

[Umai Naa!!]

I think at 7,000km and 4 months since the last service, it's a bit of a long bow to draw, to expect the dealer to be accountable for it. They're not an expensive belt, or particularly difficult to swap. You wouldn't be too much out of pocket paying them to do it.

[Lucas_R]

$30 will get you a new belt and job's done. The engine looks to be either the 1.8 or 2.0 EA888 turbo - i replaced this same belt on my old Mk6 GTI (same engine) about 6 months ago as it was quite worn at 80,000km.

[iampivot]

Ok, just got it back from the mechanic. I did a gamble and got it done at my independent mechanic, which usually turns out cheaper. I needed the tensioner done as well though, so I might actually have got it done under warranty at the dealership, as the tensioner apparently is covered by the drivetrain warranty.