Is/was the check engine light ever flashing?
never flashed. just changed spark plugs. the old plugs had oil on them. i went to autozone to get diagnostic. it only came back with code P0171.
Here’s what I found:
“The most common cause of P0171 in the Mazda 3 is a vacuum leak interfering with the fuel trim.”
So look at all your vacuum lines and connections for cracked hoses, fittings, unplugged hoses, etc.
Fear can be an effective sales technique. I’ve had many coworkers push drive belt sales. It is easy money, flag 1 hour for 15 minutes of work. If they had to go according to the labor guide, belt replacement wouldn’t be so profitable. I rarely find the opportunity to sell a drive belt, they last a very long time and are replaced twice as often as necessary.
The last time I recall seeing a customer’s vehicle towed in with a broken belt was 20 years ago, that was a diesel pickup truck. During the last 20 years I have replaced hundreds of water pumps, radiators, alternators etc. There are lots of break-down possibilities, but broken belts are not near the top of the list.
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When I bought my Dodge Ram back in 2001, the dealership catered a dinner for the new vehicle buyers at the dealership. They made it a nice evening. They also gave out prizes and service certificates… It also gave them a chance to sell us on the parts department, the service department, and the body shop… the various service manages gave all of us a tour and answer our questions…
But the one thing that impressed me the most was when the service manager pulled a plastic bag from his back pocket and pulled out a used serpentine belt, it was not broken or excessively worn, just a used belt… He said that it is one of the most frequently damaged items that would delay a trip or cost a fortune if it should fail while on the road during a long trip… And that the all-night service station that you get towed to would not have a replacement in stock…
He suggested that whether you do it yourself, or have it serviced there, or elsewhere, replace the belt at about the 30,000 mile mark and put the used belt in a bag and store it in the trunk along with your spare tire and if it ever breaks while on a trip, you would have a handy replacement to quickly get you back on the road…
When I was growing up in the '50s, I remember “old timers” who bragged about how many miles they had on their tires and some would not replace them until the cords showed. And even back then, they sold inner tire liners that were volcanized inside the tire carcass when the casing got too thin. JC Whitney’s even sold Hot Irons to burn “new” tread onto the tire…
There are no honor in the bragging rights that you got so many miles or years out of a serpentine belt, especially if it fails during an emergency or the dead of winter…
For those of you who do not remember relining tires on the inside and cutting new tread in the old casing… From the “New Motor Age” magazine…
Back when I started my career every shop had a large selection of belts and hoses in stock, radiator hoses were recommended for replacement at 60K and all belts were replaced with the timing belt service. I also remember not a week went by that at least one car was towed in with a busted hose or failed belt.
My current daily driver has 155K and all original belts and hoses. I’ve stopped recommending preventive replacement of these items for the most part. If a car with 200K miles needs a new radiator then I will recommend hoses too. But I too don’t remember when I last saw a late-model car with reasonable mileage have hose or belt failure.
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That’s what thr Acura dealer did and if nothing else it took the fear out of the wife to take the car in. Don’t think she ever did though. 30k sounds a little too soon for a belt and I’m more in the 60k period but yeah if you are 500 miles from home on a weekend, hotels are not cheap anymore.
Trying to remember if it was for my Morris or VW but I ordered a couple used tires from JC Whitney. They came with a second side panel laminated to the tire. Couldn’t believe it. Sent them back. Must have been the Morris and I was only 17. At 18 I bought recaps from sears for the VW. After that for the 59 Pontiac I bought Firestone recaps. Four for $100, or two snow tires for $50. Never had any trouble with them.
Lost me there… Please explain?
@ChrisTheTireWhispere the casing of the tire. You know the side of the tire. Just glue a new casing on top of the original. That was 1966.
You mean ‘recap’, correct?
By ‘side panel’ I assumed you meant the area containing max. load, max pressure, treadwear, and other tire data.
Oh, I agree with you, but this was 25-years ago, back when oil changes we still recommended at 3,000 miles. The 30,000 mile suggestion might only have been so you knew the belt was not on its last legs and would still give good service it if had to be used in a pinch…
I don’t know what you are talking about. A recap is new tread. This was a sidewall from another old tire glued on to the sidewall of the second tire. Two plies, one tire. They were selling used tires, not recaps. If you don’t get it yet, I’m done.
Yikes… A Siamese tire!
I’m afraid we are each speaking two different Englishes here. Please be patient and think how it would be if our roles were reversed.
I hadn’t heard of this either. For looks, I take it?
That was still pretty much the norm, but EPDM rubber serp belts pretty much took over in the late 90’s to early 2000’s…
I still don’t remember one failing on a vehicle made after 2000, other than a mechanical failure of belt driven (or crank pulley) component…
So first it was a post on the plugs and now the belts?
And again no specific vehicle?
Plugs and belts are just normal maintenance, in the case of belts, if you don’t know when it was last replaced just replace it.
Wrong order, the belt was 1st and led to the plugs, starting in post 14…
Look at the OP’s name, and in post 3 states it is a 2010, the OP doesn’t feel the need for some reason to confirm the vehicle, but it has been mentioned a few times in past threads… I replaced the battery’s in my crystal ball for confirmation… 
I’ll just spew my two cents worth. Not being an engineer or pro, when I go to buy a new belt, I have no idea what it is made of. Don’t know if it has been improved or not. I buy oem or a good brand and just expect it to be quality.
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Just remember Click and Clack’s observation that “it’s the stingy man who spends the most.” Serpentine belt replacement is not expensive, but having a belt snap in middle of a 6-lane highway is not just expensive but dangerous. If you don’t know the belt’s history you should take the prudent step and just replace it.
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Are you kidding me??? By 10 years or 100,000 miles, the accessory belts, radiator hoses, and heater hoses should all be replaced. At 100,000 miles, I would also replace the stock radiator, thermostat and housing, and water pump. Sure, these parts might last longer, but even at DIY prices, if the engine overheats, I’m going to have to spend at least $800 on machine shop labor, a new gasket set, new head bolts, and then I’d still be replacing all the belts and hoses, etc. And that’s assuming a cast iron block. A modern all-aluminum engine would have to come out for repairs, which is likely more effort than I would be interested in doing, unless I really liked the car.
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