Belt, hose longevity question

[Chevelle3221]

Recently purchased a 2015 Chevrolet SS sedan with 3000 miles. All the hoses, belts, tires as well as fluids all seem from 2015. Everything looks fine but I am curious as to if I should change the belts and hoses. I already replaced the tires, changed the oil/filter and will be doing coolant shortly. Is there a time limit on belts and hoses as on some sites guys seem to just changed fluids and leave the belts and hoses as is.

 

[John105]

I thought conventional wisdom was if they ain’t broke, don’t fix them. Not like the old days where such things were proactively replaced.

I “did” replace that stuff in my 1998 Maxima. But on my 2006 Lexus hoses are original (I replaced the serpentine myself 2020). Wife’s 2011 GM belt replaced my me 2019 due to water pump job but hoses original.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Recently purchased a 2015 Chevrolet SS sedan with 3000 miles. All the hoses, belts, tires as well as fluids all seem from 2015. Everything looks fine but I am curious as to if I should change the belts and hoses. I already replaced the tires, changed the oil/filter and will be doing coolant shortly. Is there a time limit on belts and hoses as on some sites guys seem to just changed fluids and leave the belts and hoses as is.

My honest opinion is that coolant hoses, belts (usually made from EPDM rubber) live a far easier life when they're sitting at ambient temperature, tucked away in an engine bay-- away from contaminants, ozone, heat, friction (in the case of belts), etc. Basically not exposed to all the bad stuff that wrecks them while they're in operation.

Then there's also the OEM vs. whatever you replace it with factor. OEM is often made of higher quality materials and far more durable. Even if you replace it with "genuine" AC Delco / GM parts, it may well be an aftermarket made in Vietnam with a cute GM logo slapped on.

I'd leave it well enough as is unless you see evidence that they need replaced. Coolant hoses can be inspected visually or by feel, belts a little more difficult as they don't crack as readily as the older materials used in the past.

If you'd posted about a 2005, I'd have very different advice.

 

[2010Civic]

I wouldn't replace them.

 

[Oillover]

I wouldn't replace them.

+1
Still running many of the stock BMW hoses from 1988.

 

[Chris142]

Today's EPDM belts and hoses last a very long time. Usually hoses last the life of the car now. Belts 100 k easily.

 

[Nick1994]

I'd worry more after 15-20 years.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I tried to do a really deep dive on this a few years ago. Everything I read was in the range of 10 to 15 years they start to reach EOL. So at about 12 years I changed all the hoses on my Xterra, and a couple years later on my Frontier. Same engine - Nissan VQ40. I didn't find any that were impending doom, but a few were rock hard. Not sure if that matters. What I did find were a couple plastic fittings between the hoses that were pretty brittle. Those got replaced as well. The X had just about 300K miles on it at that point - I used it heavily - highway miles. The Frontier at about the same age when done, and hoses seemed about the same. Interesting thing is it had only about 100K miles. So seemingly 3X more miles didn't make a whole lot of difference. So it must be an age thing.

However i did have a belt fail while travelling. I can't say for sure how old it was but it couldn't have been more than a few years old. So I now change the belt every few years. A Bando belt is under 20 bucks - and its easier to do it at home than on the road.

 

[ls1mike]

Don't mess with it.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Belt is easy to check, if it has cracks change it, hoses seem to last forever if undisturbed these days

 

[Blue1920]

Recently purchased a 2015 Chevrolet SS sedan with 3000 miles. All the hoses, belts, tires as well as fluids all seem from 2015. Everything looks fine but I am curious as to if I should change the belts and hoses. I already replaced the tires, changed the oil/filter and will be doing coolant shortly. Is there a time limit on belts and hoses as on some sites guys seem to just changed fluids and leave the belts and hoses as is.

I would consider changing the coolant first.

 

[nate379]

My oldest piece of equipment, a finish grader,, is from the 60s. Still has mostly orginal hoses.

 

[andrew_j]

Guessing your aftermarket or even OEM replacement won’t last as long.

 

[road_rascal]

My 2012 Rav4 is closing in on 178,000 miles and the belt/ radiator hoses are OEM- they all look OK to me.

 

[zzyzzx]

I would not replace perfectly fine hoses either, the exception being if you had something like a head gasket leaking exhaust into the coolant long enough to make the hoses swell.

 

[JHZR2]

I have 40 year old cars with original hoses.

I do change belts since they are prone to making noise or starting to crack.

 

[demarpaint]

If they look good, leave them alone.

 

[alcyon]

I added some cloth electrical tape layers over areas where the hose clamps on to add life to my hoses.

 

[CharBaby]

OMG, I don't even replace anymore the belts, hoses, spark plugs or ignition parts unless they fail early. And I only do repairs as needed. Even when approaching 150K-170K miles unless I plan on keep the vehicle past that point.

I used to do GOBS of maintenance on my vehicles because I planned on keeping them forever e.g., 300K miles. So, I did the maintenance base on that-starting from the time that the vehicle entered my possession whether it is new or used.

Now, I am getting rid of vehicles just past their warranty while doing a few repairs in the process as required. And as I get even older, I am ready to give them the BOOT while they're still under some warranty to at least get some money for them without having to shell out too much money just before they leave my ownership. They're just getting too expensive to keep around unless you do ALL OF YOUR OWN REPAIRS...in which I do!

 

[Snagglefoot]

Hate to say this, but hose failures are old man stuff. Flame suit on.