Today's Tuffy Farmington Hills auto maintenance article focuses on your serpentine belt. Your serpentine belt is a long belt that’s driven by your engine. It winds around several accessories that power important automotive systems. Let’s go over them.

First, the serpentine belt drives your SUV air conditioning system. It spins the compressor that makes the cool air that takes the edge off the summer heat in Detroit .

Next, the belt powers the alternator. The alternator creates electricity that’s used by your SUV’s electrical systems and also charges your car battery. All Detroit car owners know that without the alternator, the battery will go dead in a few miles.

The serpentine belt may also run the pumps for both the power steering and power brakes. And, on many SUVs, the serpentine belt powers the water pump. The water pump circulates coolant through the engine to keep it within normal operating temperatures for Detroit car owners. (On some SUVs, the water pump is powered by the timing belt instead of the serpentine belt.)

So you can see the serpentine belt does a lot of work. And it if breaks, it affects a lot of systems. That’s why auto manufacturers and your service advisor at Tuffy Farmington Hills have recommended that it be changed every so often so that it doesn’t fail.

Your Tuffy Farmington Hills service advisor can perform a visual inspection of the belt to see if it has any cracks that signal the belt could fail soon and will measure the amount of belt material to make sure there is enough.

Your serpentine belt works in tandem with a spring loaded pulley attached to the engine called the tensioner pulley. Its job is to make sure there’s a constant tension on the serpentine belt so that it doesn’t slip. The spring can become worn and no longer provide the necessary pressure to keep the belt tight. At Tuffy Farmington Hills, we recommend that the tensioner be replaced at the same time as the serpentine belt.

All in all, the serpentine belt’s a critical part for the function of your SUV. And it’s not that expensive to replace at Tuffy Farmington Hills – so bring in your vehicle if it hasn't been checked in a while.