2006-2012 Rav4: Serpentine Drive Belt Replacement 

Man o man I owe you the world. You were the only one gave step by step details. Before watching your video I was lost and was stripping out but like crazy. I’ve been working on this car for at least a week and just couldn’t figure out how to get the serpentine belt on and off easily, after watching your video, it all made sense. It took me less than 60 seconds to get the belt off and about the same time to get the new one on. After watching your video, I had to return serpentine belt removal kit to Harbor freight . I also returned a Rachet wrench to AutoZone but your method made it so easy. Thank you for taking the time to educate us RAV 4 owners.

These modern designs are really something: No working room, special tools required, half the car needs to be taken apart to get to the stupid belt... Nice.

Thank you so much. Just did this myself and really couldn't tell where the tensioner bolt was at. The diagram was absolute gold! My belt was a bit tight and had a nasty time getting the new one back one but finally did it. Put a new one on at the same time I replaced the struts, thought it was a good idea. Really appreciated the route info you provided.

The best video for change the belt

Great video - very helpful! One suggestion you may need a short wrench for the tensioner. Put that on pretty low and then pull it up until the open end is visible and then put the larger wrench on it. I also found that using some tie wraps on the wrench to hold it once the tensioner was relaxed (pulled up) made it so this was a one man job. Thanks again- great video.

Did that too with the tensioner foolishness. Thanks for the headsup!

Good video. Succinct and to the point. Nice tip about taking off the front tire. I'll do the same to my daughter's RAV.

I had the same problem, I ended up getting the serpentine belt tensioner tool kit from Harbor Freight with a 20% coupon. Doesn't break the bank for a tool rarely used. Thanks for your informative videos especially the tip for the 10mm body fasteners.

You made the tensioner looks so easy to compress, I couldn't barely compress it

U make It look very easy

Thanks for that video!

Not sure what year this works on, but did not work on my 2008 Rav4. I viewed every Utube video and none of them worked, however each one gave me a little bit to work with. Here is how I did it. To start I cut the old belt off so I could see the area better. 1. Took the new belt and used heat gun to even out the folds. Also hung it up with a heavy steel block to weight it down. That way you are working with a belt ready to go on. 2. I jacked up the engine with a small hydraulic jack with block on wood on top. Pulled the passenger tire and access panel. Removed the front motor mount. Not difficult except there is a hidden nut on the bottomside of the mount that mounts on the engine. 3. Routed the belt so that the slack was on the tensioner pulley. 4. I was able to move the tensioner with a short 19mm socket with a long handle 3/8 drive ratchet and jambed the handle against the cylinder head so it stayed without anyone holding it. 5. Laying on the ground I used a 14mm socket on the crankshaft to move the engine. I watched the direct of movement of the belt. Using that movement I pushed on the belt in such a way that the movement of the pulley helped to bring the belt onto the pulley. Not easy, what was Toyota thinking!!!!

My 09 V6 with 185,000 miles just started squealing. It goes away after a while, but I need to look at this when I do my struts. Not sure I want to try the belt myself.

Two things id like to point out. On these type of tentioners, always use a 6 point socket or wrench. And its designed to be easiest with the handle of the breaker bar or wrench in the five or six o clock position and turning it clockwise, instead of the 12 or 1 o clock position and turning it clockwise.

Always draw a diagram of the belt before doing this and remember the smooth pulleys with out a Grove is the for the back smooth part of the belt.

Good job overall; but I would simply use a small punch or a tiny screwdriver to push down the center "button" on the plastic clips that hold the plastic cover on over the radiator. As plastic becomes more brittle over time you're eventually gonna start breaking them when you pry them up vs. easily releasing them. I'd also suggest you guy a a set of "offset" metric wrenches which would have made taking the pressure off the belt very easy, vs. the creative multiple wrench method you employed. I just did my 2009 yesterday and the background you provided was very useful. thx.

Good job

Thanks you boss.

Vidéo vanne EGR Toyota RAV4 2.2 d4d 150cv 2010??

Hey guys I just did this job and let me tell you that its IMPOSSIBLE to put the serpentine belt back on from the top. You have to go from underneath the vehicle to do this inorder to finish replacing the alternator or serpentine belt. ALL YOU NEED IS A 14MM COMBONATION WRENCH THAT RATCHETS!! PLACE THE WRENCH ON THE TENSIONER PULLEY'S CENTER BOLT FROM THE BOTTOM, KEEP TURNING THE TENSIONER PULLY UNTIL YOU CAN PLACE THE WRENCH ON TOP OF THE BOTTOM LEFT WHEEL. Step 1: Reinstall new alternator Step 2: Using a 14mm combination wrench (with ratcheting function), put closed end of wrench on the center bolt of tensioner pully (not the top one closest to coolant reservoir) Step 3: Going in a clockwise direction, turn tensioner pully to give you slack all the way. keep going until your behind the bottom left wheel and place the wrench on top of the wheel so you no longer have to hold it. (Trust me you will see what im talking about) Step 4: Fit the serpentine belt around all wheels except the bottom right wheel. Step 5: Put a socket wrench on the BOTTOM LEFT WHEEL NUT Step 6: Turn bottom left wheel and feed the belt onto the bottom right wheel until it snaps itself on. (like putting on a bike chain) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! Here's a video with a picture of a diagram displaying the proper alignment for the belt. He also states putting the belt back on by turning the wheels. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1AakUBbs2uY.html

Do you need to check the tensioner as well?

My v6 I used 14mm wrench pulled from bottom. Insert new belt from top kind tight.

After driving on the freeway for 3 hours without stops I got to my first stoplight. As I accelerated away from the intersection, the engine began to lug and loose power. I pulled over and opened the hood to find that there was no serpentine belt or oil cap on the engine. Oil was everywhere (!) is it worth replacing the belt or have I done irreparable damage to the vehicle? 1999 Toyota Rav4 2WD with 230k miles

Anybody have a replacement interval for this belt. Or have a 3rd gen rav4 where the belt failed. They seem to last, but not something you want breaking. Just wondering when we should have our belt done. THX

Did you not know how those clips work? You probably destroyed half of them. But thanks for the good video and no annoying music. Got to swap out an alternator.

Geat, really useful

Will this affect the ac?

What is the Toyota key for? I thought it was for the pulley to loosen the belt but the key won't even fit on the pulley. Is it to adjust the tension? I have a high output alternator with a smaller pulley

Does anyone know of a video for a 6 cylinder? I really don’t want to take the engine bolts off but every video I see is a 4 cylinder

no perfect 10 without telling which way the tensioner moves

great clip, How long did this take you? I'm a skilled at home mechanic looking to do this. Just trying see how much of my day this will take. I was thinking not more than a hour?

Removing the engine mount (while supporting the engine with the jack under the oil pan) gives you more room.

I just did this today. I used a standard serpentine belt ratchet tool - I got to the tension pulley bolt by coming from the opposite way you did. Still came from the top, just inserted the wrench on the windshield side. I did it this way because I didn't have enough room to rotate the wrench enough to release enough tension. Didn't have to remove the coolant reservoir or anything. My friend applied pressure on the wrench while I slid the belt on. I did have a problem, though, with rerouting the belt, if you could shed some light on it for me. It was extremely hard to slide over the crank shaft pulley. I barely got it, had to use a screw driver on the last couple inches. I'm wondering if my tensioner spring is messed up or something - it didn't seem to want to collapse all the way. There is also a slight squeak coming from the drive belt area, even after the new belt. I spun all the pulleys when the belt was off and everything seemed fine. The air compressor pulley did seem to not spin quite as well as the other pulleys, but that may be the way it's supposed to be. I am going to check tomorrow and see if the belt is lined up properly after watching some ChrisFix videos on the topic. The noise only happens in drive while idling. It's so strange - any tips are much appreciated. Edit: After rewatching your video it seems like you put the belt on starting from the top of the crank shaft pulley. I was starting from the bottom - I wonder if that was the difference.

We have a 2011 Rav4 with 96k. Do you have a maintenance list of everything that you are doing?

could you make a video change the back pulley (idle pulley) .... thank you

Can I print off the diagram for the serpentine belt, it won't let me off the video?

....or you can take off the motor mount. It's a pain but you will have all the room you need. Just support the engine.

So if I get the Toyota tool can I do it from the top?

Is 100k the recommended interval?

Qual é a referencia da correia

I did an 01 rav4 and it was impossible to do without 2 people I'm sure the belt is way to tight.

my belt was cut after that i think i made it too hard

Yea,,, saved my ass

Spent NOT so much Toyo belt removal tool likely has long extension bar n it would be worth spending n won't be that much and carry with Ur trunk with spare belt n no more worry on being broken up on the road in hot summer or bloody winter.

This is the worst location for a belt tensioner ever. I found it's much easier if you put a jack under the oil pan, remove the passenger side engine mount completely, jack the engine up a bit at the oil pan, this allows the tensioner 19mm bolt that you have to turn to compress the tensioner to have direct access so you can get a 19mm socket and breaker bar on it to easily loosen the belt tension. Crazy that you have to resort to all that for a belt change though. Toyota engineered this generation Rav4 in the USA, can you tell? !

You put the jack stand in the wrong place.

Why Japanese made giving hard time to fix or replace parts

Toyota quoted me £260 to change it lol.

Ap

L..

You aren’t much of a mechanic if you didn’t notice there was no water in the reservoir.

Nissan cars sucks !!