If you have a car, do you check the fan belt regularly?

[HundredAcreOwl]

Half fun, half serious.

Our older child, 30s, their car wouldn't start. They had to work when the help could come out (one of AA, RAC, Green Flag), so their housemate gave the person the car keys. All was sorted, it was the fan belt, but the person said they should have checked it regularly, implying it was their fault. Their car is serviced every year with the MOT.

AIBU You check your fan belt, or someone does, apart from regular services
AINBU You ignore the fan belt until it goes

Rather wish there was a third option - showing my age - who keeps a pair of tights in the car in case the fan belt goes?!

Edited to correct perspective, and add the tights...

No, never. That's why I pay to have scheduled services.

Oh dear. I didn’t realise cars still had fan belts. They sound so ancient, like carburettors!

No, a timing belt is totally different and drives the camshaft(s). On some engines, a chain is used to drive the camshaft(s). Timing belts need to be replaced after so many years or so many thousand miles, the recommended interval varies between different models of engine. Timing chains may also need replacing at certain intervals.

Nearly all modern cars have electric fans, so there is no 'fan belt'. However almost all petrol/diesel cars will have one or more serpentine belts to drive the water pump, alternator, power steering pump, and air-con compressor.

I've been driving for 42 years, keep my cars for a decade, haven't had a fan belt fail yet. I've no idea where it is.

I do tyre pressures, tread depth, oil level, radiator water/antifreeze, and windscreen wash. And I "listen" to my car, plus it has all the modern warning lights, which I never ignore.

The garage does the rest.

Yes they should.

Although modern cars don't have fan belts anymore. But if you drive an old car you need to know what you should be checking.

Next you'll be saying you don't check your oil . . .

This is why some people shouldn't drive.

What?

Housemate reckons in their 30s. Yes, that's what I thought re checking, I had a very old Morris Minor, and could do a lot of basic maintenance myself. Nowadays not so much with a much more modern car.

Agree completely if it's an old car. This is a 7 year old Ford Ka+, serviced yearly.

I don’t know if my car has a fan belt. I wouldn’t know where to find it if it did. I certainly wouldn’t know what checking it would entail. And I have 0% interest in learning any of that.

so no, YANBU.

This

A lot of people seem to be getting fan belt (now more commonly known as alternator or auxillary belt) confused with the cambelt/timing chain. They do completely different things

Anyway, the aux belt snapped on my car recently and I've never heard anything like it. Was lucky that it didn't do any damage as I pulled over straight away

Just saw your reply after I posted mine. Mine completely snapped recently, I also had to call out the RAC to recover my car to a garage. Mine is a 9 year old Ford Kuga and both the RAC man and the staff at the garage we used mentioned that it's a very common thing to happen with Fords

Couldn’t tell you where it even is, the man does service it at the same time as mot, do they check fan belts? The only things I do are put petrol in and put washer solution in, twice a year or so the nice man at the garage checks my tyres

Thank you for this. Mine is a rather older Beta Max, in for an MOT and service soon, I'll specifically ask them to check the fan belt - if I have one! I've learned so much from this thread!

Mine doesn’t have one (electric).

But when I had one that did I left that to my brother - my brother is car mad and I delegated all routine car maintenance to him. He’s not a mechanic but can do brake pads, oil changes and all that for fun. He can’t do much on EV’s though.

I know how to put screen wash in and have done that myself, same for air in the tyres and obviously fuel. I know where the dipstick is but have never actually refilled with oil myself as I’ve never needed to do it.
In theory I know how to change a tyre (I’ve been shown!) but again I’ve never needed to do it.
Other than that, it’s going to a mechanic.
Don’t know where the fan belt is or what it might look like - if it’s broken I’m not trying to fix it myself!

chain is a timing belt, worlds apart

Thank you everyone. Our older one's car is extremely important to them, representing independence, they do look after it. Some supposedly knowledgeable person criticising them for not doing so hit hard.

Thank you!

Only 7 years old! And serviced yearly...

I've never checked mine. I do low mileage, drive sensibly and always get an annual service.

Tell me you know nothing about cars without telling me ….

I check nothing

My dad is a car mechanic and as soon as I got my licence I was taught car maintenance. So oil changes, fan belt tightening, tyre change...... still know how to after 40 years

in my old car it had a cam belt is that the same as a fan belt? And it was suggested at a service I got it done. Mentioned to dp about how my cam belt must be due replacing on my new car and he googled and said that this car had a chain instead. That’s as far as my knowledge about cars and belts goes