When the serpentine belt in your vehicle goes wrong, this is something that you need to deal with as soon as possible. Your car’s functionality will be significantly impacted if the belt is damaged, worn, cracked, or snapped. There are several key signs which tell you if your serpentine belt is no longer in the best shape. First, the air conditioning in your car has malfunctioned. While there are a number of different possible causes for this, a bad serpentine belt is one of them. If you’re a/c is no longer blowing out cool air from the vents, look at the belt as a possible cause.
Another way to tell that there is an issue with the timing belt is if your car is suddenly making squealing sounds at the front. It could be because the belt is either misaligned or slipping off. Sometimes, a simple realignment is enough to solve the problem. On other occasions, the belt will be damaged and in need of replacement. If your power steering is no longer functioning, this is another possible sign that all is not right. You will notice that it is much harder to move the vehicle around, and it is no longer as smooth as before.
An overheating engine could be caused by the water pump not being activated by the serpentine belt, which could indicate that it is either damaged or worn. You can tell if this is happening as the temperature gauge on your dashboard will show the needle moving towards the red zone. This is obviously a serious issue which you need to deal with straight away. Otherwise, it is your entire engine which could end up suffering.
Finally, you can give your serpentine belt a quick inspection to see how it is looking. This is an easy part to access in most vehicles, and all you should need to do is open the hood to see if it looks visibly cracked or worn out. If so, you should look into getting a replacement at the earliest possible opportunity.