Bad belt tensioner advice on 07

[exploreco97]

I Took the Pilot in for a noise that has recently developed under the hood when the a/c compressor was on and a load was on the engine.

Dealer called and said the drive belt tensioner need to be replaced. He said it just has a “little play in the tensiorer” and that is why it is making noise and needs to be replaced. Told me that they ordered the part but it would not be in for a couple of days and I could pick the Pilot up. Tried to get it in sooner, but they were booked a few days out. Extended warranty will cover the repair, so that is cool.

I told the service writer that we would be leaving on Wednesday for vacation and it would be a 1500 mile round trip and would there be anything to worry about. He said that it will be fine and there is nothing to worry about. I did tell him my wife and I were concerned about it and he said he would try to get the part to the dealership tomorrow and get it on, but no promises.

I just wanted to see if anyone thinks I should be concerned about taking the Pilot on this trip. Not sure what we will drive as my wife’s car isn’t really large enough to get all the kids stuff in . It isn’t that noisy yet so it is probably in its early stage, but the last thing I want to do is be stranded on the side of the road on these 100 degree days with my 7 month old. Kids sure make you think differently about things

Thanks for your time!

[cofetym]

Try asking for a loaner.

[HokieBill]

You have a tough call. I'm an empty-nester but I remember those days.

Here's my $0.02 worth. If the tensioner goes out, it will absolutely strand you because you will loose the alternator, AC, power steering pump and most importantly the water pump. There is also the possibility that the noise is not actually the tensioner, but something more important. It's really hard to diagnose exactly what is causing that kind of noise. I would agree that it's not likely to go out, but it could and 1,500 miles is a long way.

If they can't give you a loaner, I would consider renting or postponing the trip for a day or two.

Like someone on another forum says 'If it has a skirt or wheels it's gonna cause problems'.

Good luck and stay safe.

[theirishscion]

Two smallies in my household as well, I feel your concern. And HokieBill is right in that a serpentine belt failure will have you stopped on the side of the road, you won't even be able to idle to keep the AC turned on as soon as the battery goes flat. I've had an instance of a friend with a late 90s Saturn SL calling me because his (plastic, GM) tensioner had given up the ghost and stranded him on the side of the road. No fun having to change that in a gas station parking lot.

With that said, it's also been my experience that the bearing failure they suffer is fairly linear and progressive (my friend is not mechanically sympathetic and will have been completely failing to hear the growing howl from his engine bay for the last four or five months, if I know him), it'll gradually get louder and louder till it fails. If the dealership is claiming that it'll be fine for a 1500 miles trip, and you trust them generally, then yours is probably just starting to fail. My diagnostic procedure is to put a long handled screwdriver on the tensioner bolt and listen to the bearing through the handle, I imagine they do something similar and you can generally tell quite accurately how bad the bearing is by a combination of how it sounds and how much play there is in it when the engine is stopped.

Here's another suggestion, the replacement tensioners are as cheap as chips, ask the dealership if they'll install an aftermarket one for you if you buy it for them, just for the duration of the trip. You should be able to find one at a local auto parts store pretty easily. I have a horrible suspicion that they'll balk at putting in a non-Honda part under warranty, but it could be better value than postponing your trip. Failing that, have someone else do it, should still be under an hour's labor.

[rocky]

Thats a pretty common part to replace-almost maintenance item as it is often replaced at the 105k service as a matter of course.

They said they were fully booked up. Do yourself a favor and call the parts dept and ask them if they have the part in stock. If so, pick it up and get it installed elsewhere.

[theirishscion]

Originally Posted by rocky

They said they were fully booked up.

Missed that bit.

[exploreco97]

Thanks for all the replies. I do generally trust this dealer as they have not given me any reason to not trust them. And prior to our son, I would have taken a chance on it in a minute.

The service writer called this morning, and they were alble to get the part in and could squeeze it in this afternoon, so all is well and the Pilot is fixed and we get to enjoy it on our trip. And more importantly, I don't have to figure out how to get all of our crap into the wife's Camry


Thanks again!