So the other day I was pulling my 2021 HRV EX into the garage, when I stopped, and put the car in Park, in order to move a few things out of the way. When I got out of the car, I heard a weird rattling sound coming from under the hood. I never heard it before while driving, since I always have the radio on or am distracted by passengers. The car has just over 26k miles on it, and I have enjoyed it the whole time. Long story short, I took the car into the dealer and they told me the belt tensioner has gone bad and needs to be replaced. Thankfully, it's covered under warranty, and the cost of just under $500 is on Honda. I'm curious now though, has there been many others with the same issue, or am I one of the few. Other than this issue, and a squeaky driver seat, I thoroughly enjoy the car.
Belt tensioner
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Usually the noise comes from a bad bearing, the bearing can be replaced for a few dollars. The one in the picture is the idler pulley, but there is a bearing also on the tensioner pulley.
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Well, the dealer replaced the tensioner earlier today. After I returned home and was able to listen to it, again it was still rattling. I made another appointment for it to be looked at again by the same dealership to see if they can fix it right this time. I'll let you know what happens next.
Good chance that it's the idler pulley, the dealer should have checked it.
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^^ Possible, but unlikely that the dealer mechanic swapped the old idler pulley onto the new tensioner assembly.
I recommend that the OP remove the serpentine belt and start up the engine to see if the rattle is still present.
Dependent on the OP's automotive skill level, it's very easy to pull the belt.
While the belt is off, check all the other rotating devices.
While re-installing the belt, check the belt tensioner guide marks to see if it is in the correct range.
Or else back to the dealer...
I"m talking about the idler pulley, item number 8 on diagram, not the pulley on the tensioner.
One of these works very fine also: mechanic stethoscope
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Took it back to the dealer last night and after an hour of looking at it, they decided they couldn't duplicate any rattle sound. So I played the video of it to the mechanic there. He definitely heard it that time. He wanted to schedule me to leave the car with them for a couple days to hear it after lots of driving, since he lives in a nearby state and would put some miles on it to get it show! I informed him the car is leased and I don't need lots of miles on the car. So, he promised he wouldn't take it home, but would drive around locally until it showed up. They of course would give me a loaner for no charge. I just need to get back to them and schedule a time to bring it in. I'm not sure if I want to take it back to them, but the rattle still exists.
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