So I took my jeep in for brake check need new brakes . Price qouted seems about right for work. During the inspection of my car I was told the serpentine belt was in need of replacement. How do I know it needs to be changed. Is it a scam our a real concern. The cost to change it with parts is 150$ . Does this sound right? Thanks

I recommend changing the serpentine belt and tensioner pulley every 80,000 miles or 7 years, whichever comes first. You can buy a new serpentine belt for around $22 and a new tensioner pulley for around $18. In my opinion, $150 for what he proposed to do is excessive.

The link below may help:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-t...tml#post578394

$150 is very pricey if all the tech is changing is the belt. If s/he's doing the belt and the entire tensioner assembly, then it's a reasonable price. Do you know when you had the belt and/or tensioner changed last?

To determine if your belt needs to be replaced, all you really need to do is take a good look at it. Check to make sure the backing isn't wearing through or cracking. Then follow it until you can see the side with the ribbing. Is there apparent cracking? Is it missing any pieces of the ribbing? Eyeball the width of the ribbing to make sure that they all appear uniform; uneven ribbing could mean the belt has been running unevenly from misalignment. You can also pull on the belt. Very minimal play is acceptable; however, if you can pull on the belt more than an inch you should replace the tensioner assembly, not just the pulley.

You must also realise that vehicles today have only one belt doing the job of what up to 4 belts did in older cars.
This one belt drives many accessaries. In my opinion, 4 years is long enough for one of these belts. The tensioner is what's probably driving the price up, and today's high labor rates too. Shop around a bit on that one. I agree, a little pricey.