2001 Acura CL Coupe

I have 56,000 miles on my CL Coupe–I took it to the dealer for an inspection. The dealer found nothing needing immedate attention. I wonder, though, should I change belts and hoses even though they appear OK?

Not a bad idea. They are 7 or 8 years old if they are the originals. Sometimes, the first sign of trouble is catastrophic failure, which will probably leave you stranded.

Depends if you’re the original owner or not. Someone may have already done some of that before you got the car and you’ll have to investigate service records. At this age it’s smart to look into replacing the timing belt if it hasn’t been done.

You’ll be changing the timing belt at approx 103000 miles. That would be a good time to change the belts if you want.

I changed all the hoses on my '92 Accord at 155000 miles just because I thought it was time. All belts are original.

The belts and hoses on my '98 Accord (197000 miles) are original equipment.

My advice is to not change them until they look like they need to be changed, maybe at 250000 or 300000 miles.

Maybe the serpentine belt(s). The hoses could last 300,000 miles. Maybe.

The mileage on this otherwise excellent car is quite low. Hoses can be tested by visual inspection and squeezing them; if they squeeze easily, replace them. Belts, likewise should be inspected. Unless you live in a very hot or very cold climate, don’t change them unless they show cracks or chafing at the sides.

I worked in the middle East and the major contractors and oil companies were changing all belts and hoses very 2 years; but at 110 degrees in the desert, you don’t take any chances.

On my own cars, belts have been replaced at 90-100,000 miles and hoses as needed.

If you change the serpentine belt yourself, now is a good time. It usually stretches enough to make changing it difficult before it cracks and frays. If you don’t see any bulges on the hoses and they don’t collapse when you squeeze them, thay are OK.