Well, my 2010 Sport had to make its first trip to a repair shop today. 123,000 miles. I was about 4 miles from home when the AC stopped blowing cold, then the battery (alternator) light came on, then the temp warning light came on (Scanguage reading 245 F. Pulled off the road, opened the hood. The serpentine belt had snapped. I carry a spare, but no tools. There was a Mavis about 1/2 mile up the road, so let the engine cool down to about 190 and drove in there. The desk said one hour labor at $115; I offered $50, she came back with $75, so i said OK. I didn't want to risk a blown gasket or burnt engine driving it the rest of the way home. I watched the guy (from the door) working on it; he put it on the lift, removed the plastic panel, then tried to get the belt on. A lot of muscle and leverage on the wrench or pry bar, but he finally got it on. Lowered the car and checked it, then back on lift to button up the plastic. Took about 20 minutes. There was no upsell, which was nice. Ran OK the rest of the way home, but I'll keep an eye on it the next few days. I had the car on my jackstands yesterday doing a transmission drain and fill, and the belt looked OK, no tears or anything. Then 8 miles today and it snapped; so I guess they can break without any signs of tearing.

 

100k is the recommended service manual for those. Good thing you stopped.

 

Yeah, I shoulda looked at that service interval. I probably should do the radiator hoses also; I have the spares in the garage.

Tidewater Blue Metallic

 

I looked in the Honda Service Manual, didn't see anything about a 100,000 mile service. Just visually inspect for tears, wear, etc. Any idea where you saw the 100,000 mile interval. Thanks.

 

I changed mine at 99k. Couldn't imagine doing that on the side of the road. It was a pain in the behind.
It goes around in such a weird way and it is so hard to see what you are doing. Plus a socket doesn't fit, you have to use a 19mm wrench.

My old one didn't look frayed on the outside, but had some dry rot on the inside. So I wouldn't feel bad about not being able to know it was bad.

 

@Bowbridge: Are you saying that the new belt snapped after 8 miles? If so, what was the cause?

Thanks.

 

No, the original lasted 123,000 miles. I meant that I had inspected the original the day before, then drove 8 miles, then it snapped. BTW, the new one is a Gates, bought from Amazon for about $16.00. Checked it today, all seems to be OK.


Gates K050448 Serpentine Belt/Fan Belt

 

I like gates, their rubber seems good to me.
Sorry to hear about the belt failure. Its just caution on my end, but I figured belt changes to be a 5 year interval deal. Not a hard rule or nothin, it just strikes me as fair cuz of how stupid strong the tensioner is, how much breakin' down sucks. I'm confident the new one should serve you well. Maybe those guys put on one that was a hair too small

 

So, if Honda recommends that the belt be inspected/changed at around 100k mi., then they've built in a 25% cushion. Have I done my math correctly on that?

 

No recommendation by Honda in the service manual about 100,000 miles. Don't know where that number is coming from. All is says is inspect and replace if needed.

 

I'm sure you are correct. I lost interest in Honda's service recommendations when they went to the Maintenance Minder and, catastrophically for us D.I.Y.-ers, discontinued publishing the Service Manual. "Inspect and replace if needed" is good advice, but it's a little like "Adjust the valves if they sound noisy." If you can inspect the belt to your satisfaction, then you should be fine. Belts wear, but they also age (like tires). Even if you didn't drive your car for five years, rubber parts, like belts, hoses and tires would not be "like new." I think everyone would change their belts on the Fit if it were not so hard to reach. Certainly, the cost is not prohibitive.