GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I was wondering if anyone has had a problem with their engine belts making sqeaking sounds only when it tends to be extra humid, like after a rain or early morning. My Vibe only does it at those times and it sure does sound annoying, makes my car sound OLD. Most of the time it is normally pretty quiet. I saw some belt dressing at an auto parts store and it says it helps against squeaking. I mentioned the problem to the dealer before my warranty expired last fall, but they said that wasn't covered. Has anyone used belt dressing or had a simple cure for this? The dealer said they would have to adjust the belts and I'm sure they would charge quite a bit for that. Should the belts really need to be adjusted when there was Thanks,

The adjustment is automatically provided by the belt tentioner, the only way it could be "adjusted" would be if the tentioner was bad, then replace it. Just put a new belt on it, that will probably cure the squeeking. Here are some causes for sqeeking...loose, wet, oily, dusty belt or a bearing going out on one or more of the driven componets. Hey at 43k miles you should change it anyway. PS; Belt dressing is a messy bandaid that does not last.Funny you should bring this up...here is a post from two days ago.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=16476

Thanks John. Yeah I read that other topic about how to route the belt. I did a search, but did not find any info on how to replace the belt. Is it pretty easy to do yourself? I did not know the belt needs to be replaced this soon. How often do most people replace them?Thanks,

In general surpentine belts are very easy to replace, much easier than the old V-belts. Although the Vibe is a little hard to get to all the pulleys, especially the crank pulley. I have seen these new (been around over 20 years now) type belts last over 100k miles, there is no way of telling exactly how long they will last. You can inspect them closely for cracks and missing parts of the groves, they will usually show wear before breaking. If your looking to ID the source of your squeek just remove the belt and spin each driven componet by hand, you may hear or feel a bad bearing, but I would guess the source is the belt.We use to recomend 20k miles to replace v-belts, now it 40k for the serpentine belts. Or sooner if there our signs of wear.

It's odd how it only squeaks at certain times. It seems to be on a cooler damp morning that it commonly happens. Looking at those belt diagrams, it looks like there is a certain bolt I have to loosen to be able to adjust it? I haven't had a chance to look under the hood.

The belt on my GMC truck which is original and has 80,000 miles on it, started to squeak about a month ago. A mechanic friend of mine said to hold a fine wire brush against the moving belt for 20 seconds or so. I did it and it is still silent. I plan to replace it soon, I think it has served me well.