Subaru Forester Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement Costs

Estimate price near me

Service Location

Customer Ratings

Included for free with this service

Online Booking

Mechanic comes to you

12-month / 12k-mile warranty

Free 50 point safety inspection

Our certified mobile mechanics can come to your home or office 7 days a week between 7 AM and 9 PM.

See availability

Customer Ratings

Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement Service

How much does a Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement cost?

On average, the cost for a Subaru Forester Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement is $170 with $30 for parts and $140 for labor. Prices may vary depending on your location.

Car	Service	Estimate	Shop/Dealer Price
1999 Subaru ForesterH4-2.5L	Service typeSerpentine/Drive Belt Replacement	Estimate$266.20	Shop/Dealer Price$297.60 - $383.70
2007 Subaru ForesterH4-2.5L	Service typeSerpentine/Drive Belt Replacement	Estimate$343.59	Shop/Dealer Price$394.82 - $544.40
2012 Subaru ForesterH4-2.5L Turbo	Service typeSerpentine/Drive Belt Replacement	Estimate$206.55	Shop/Dealer Price$223.55 - $270.36
1998 Subaru ForesterH4-2.5L	Service typeSerpentine/Drive Belt Replacement	Estimate$257.19	Shop/Dealer Price$286.85 - $371.64
2004 Subaru ForesterH4-2.5L	Service typeSerpentine/Drive Belt Replacement	Estimate$257.19	Shop/Dealer Price$288.32 - $374.22
2015 Subaru ForesterH4-2.0L Turbo	Service typeSerpentine/Drive Belt Replacement	Estimate$246.63	Shop/Dealer Price$273.79 - $350.77
2009 Subaru ForesterH4-2.5L Turbo	Service typeSerpentine/Drive Belt Replacement	Estimate$206.55	Shop/Dealer Price$223.56 - $270.39
2020 Subaru ForesterH4-2.5L	Service typeSerpentine/Drive Belt Replacement	Estimate$244.99	Shop/Dealer Price$271.60 - $347.24

Show example Subaru Forester Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement prices

What is a serpentine belt and how does it work?

A serpentine belt is a relatively long, flat, multi-ribbed belt that is driven by the engine’s crankshaft pulley. The belt drives many, and often all, of the engine accessories such as the alternator, air conditioning compressor, power steering pump, water pump, and air pump. The serpentine belt is tensioned by a hydraulic or spring-loaded automatic tensioner. Some older cars use a serpentine belt to drive most accessories but will also have a shorter v-style belt to drive, for example, the power steering pump.

Belts

When to consider replacing the serpentine belt:

Regularly scheduled maintenance. Typically, belt manufacturers recommend belt replacement at 90,000 miles. However, the belt must be inspected for wear or damage at regular intervals prior to this high mileage.
Squealing noise, belt slippage, visible belt damage. Should the belt fail or wear out prematurely, you may hear noise or you may see visible signs of deterioration such as missing chunks of rubber, excessive cracking, or a shredded appearance on the edge of the belt.
Battery Light. A loose belt, perhaps caused by a defective tensioner, may not drive the alternator at adequate speed and thus the battery may discharge, causing the warning light to illuminate.
Engine overheating. Often, the serpentine belt drives the water pump. In those applications, if the belt breaks the engine will overheat in seconds to minutes. If the belt is inadequately tensioned, you may notice higher-than-normal engine operating temperature.

How do mechanics replace the serpentine belt?

Prior to removing the belt, the mechanic must run the engine to determine if the idler pulley and the belt tensioner are noise-free. Those rotating components have grease filled bearings and are subject to wear. In addition, the mechanic will ensure that all pulleys and accessories are turning in the same plane. These steps help make sure your new belt will operate trouble-free for its full-service life.
The belt’s routing path through the various components is noted. The belt tensioner is released, usually with a wrench or lever, to release the tension from the belt. With the tension off, the belt slides off the pulleys.
All rotating components — that is the alternator, air conditioner compressor, etc. — are checked for smooth operation and no noise.
If everything checks out, the new belt is slipped over all of the pulleys while holding the tensioner away from the belt. Once the belt is centered on all pulleys, the tensioner is released and the installation is complete. The engine is run to ensure normal operation.

Is it safe to drive with a serpentine belt problem?

No. Should the belt have visible damage, you risk unexpected and sudden breakage that could potentially leave you stranded. Serpentine belt problems that result in the alternator not charging may cause the battery to discharge, which will result in loss of electrical power to the vehicle. Additionally, if a deteriorated belt breaks and that belt drives the water pump, the engine will overheat in a matter of seconds.

When replacing the serpentine belt keep in mind:

On many cars, the expected service life of a serpentine belt is around 90,000 miles. Should the belt fail well prior to that, a very careful inspection should be performed to check for out-of-alignment pulleys, a possibly out-of-position crankshaft harmonic balancer on which the drive pulley is mounted, binding pulleys, or a defective belt tensioner.
Attention should always be given to serpentine belt routing, since proper routing is critical to proper belt tension, and function of the driven components.
Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish serpentine belt related noise from other engine noises. In these cases, a mechanic will determine the origin of the noise by momentarily running the engine without the serpentine belt attached.

Fast and easy service at your home or office

Backed by 12-month, 12.000-mile guarantee

Meet some of our expert Subaru mechanics

Real customer reviews from Subaru owners like you.

Excellent Rating

(13)

Rating Summary

13

0

0

0

0

13

0

0

0

0

SEE REVIEWS NEAR ME

Michael

23 years of experience

82 reviews

Request Michael

Michael

23 years of experience

Request Michael

by Willy Sonmore

Forester 2002 - Serpentine/Drive Belt - Spanaway, WA

Very quick and affordable

Trung

5 years of experience

502 reviews

Trung

5 years of experience

by Ken Eng

Forester 2005 - Serpentine/Drive Belt - Mountain View, CA

Trung is great, 10/10 will book again

Darnell

19 years of experience

5 reviews

Request Darnell

Darnell

19 years of experience

Request Darnell

by Marissa Kimsey

Forester 1998 - Starter - Los Angeles, CA

Darnell was very professional and helpful! He broke everything down and leveled with me, which I really appreciate. Can’t recommend him enough!!

Derrick

20 years of experience

16 reviews

Request Derrick

Derrick

20 years of experience

Request Derrick

by Adam Lovallo

Forester 2017 - Oil Change - Brooklyn, NY

Superb experience!

Excellent Rating

(13)

Rating Summary

13

0

0

0

0

13

0

0

0

0

SEE REVIEWS NEAR ME

Recent articles & questions

Is it Safe to Drive With a Donut Tire?

When one of your tires goes out, it is replaced with a donut tire (also called a spare tire, although...

Symptoms of Bad or Failing Trunk Lift Support Shocks

Common signs include the trunk lid being hard to open, not staying open, or not opening at all.

3 Essential Things to Know About Your Car’s Temperature Gauge

A car temperature gauge shows how hot the engine is. If the temperature gauge reads high, your car could be leaking coolant or have a bad water pump.

Something broke underneath my car.

Hello, without hearing the noise its hard to make a recommendation. If you hear a rattle sound it could be a loose bracket or loose bolt. If you are experiencing a clunking sound, you might have something loose in the...

Tire Pressure Light coming on

The Tire Pressure Light comes on when the air in the tire is low. If you have tested the tire pressure and it is normal, but the Tire Pressure Light remains on, you need to have the TPMS system checked...

Break lights wont turn off after turning car off

If your brake lights are staying on, it will drain your battery. You need to disconnect your battery while the car is off or until you resolve this issue. The most likely cause for the brake lights staying on is...

How can we help?

Our service team is available 7 days a week, Monday - Friday from 6 AM to 5 PM PST, Saturday - Sunday 7 AM - 4 PM PST.

1 (855) 347-2779 · hi@yourmechanic.com