2005 Corrola S Serpintine Belt - Toyota Corolla, Chevy Prizm (1998-2008)

Guest flyboy13

hey all, i have an 2005 corolla, bought brand new with 55 miles on it. after about 20k miles the serpintine belt started squeling. i took it into the shop, and they said it was just the belt. They changed it, and it sounded great for another 20k miles. Then it started again. Took it in again. Again the toyota people said it was my belt. Again it started after 20k miles. After that my warranty ran out, and I have been driving with it. Now with 110k miles, it sounds horrible. The belt looks good, doesn't appear to slip. I have ran soap on the under side of the belt and it stopped the noise for a little while.

Has anyone had this problem? How'd you fix it, because i hate that sound.

hey all, i have an 2005 corolla, bought brand new with 55 miles on it. after about 20k miles the serpintine belt started squeling. i took it into the shop, and they said it was just the belt. They changed it, and it sounded great for another 20k miles. Then it started again. Took it in again. Again the toyota people said it was my belt. Again it started after 20k miles. After that my warranty ran out, and I have been driving with it. Now with 110k miles, it sounds horrible. The belt looks good, doesn't appear to slip. I have ran soap on the under side of the belt and it stopped the noise for a little while.
Has anyone had this problem? How'd you fix it, because i hate that sound.

Belt tensioner

Hello and Welcome to the forum.

The squealing belt is a pretty common issue on the 9th generation Corolla. A majority of the issue can be traced back to the belt - may appear in good shape, but probably heavily glazed - causing it to slip on the pulleys. Another trick is to wet the belt slightly with a spray bottle - if the noise goes away, it is a bad belt. In some cases, the noise is a function of a bad belt tensioner or worn idler pulley. Look at the little "shock" on the belt tensioner - if it looks wet or is leaking fluid - you will need to replace that first, before you get the belt. Otherwise, it will just start eating belts pretty regularly.

Many have used a Goodyear Gatorback Poly-V serpentine belt. Has a unique design that uses separate "tread" blocks, instead of continuous ribs. Tends to "bite" a little better, resists getting locked up with dirt and glazed over. Just switching the belt, has eliminated the sound permanently for many. Mine was doing that on my Matrix as well - had to replace the OEM every 15K-20K miles, it seems. Replaced it with a Goodyear Gatorback - no noise for almost 60K miles. Planning to replace it soon, will be using another Goodyear Gatorback belt.

I have 175,000 miles on an 04 LE. The belt has always squealed. I spray mine periodically with Telflon spray and it keeps the squealing to a minimum.

I'm due a replacement and I'm going to try the Gatorback as Fish has suggested.