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BMW M550i xDrive Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement at your home or office.

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Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement Service

How much does a Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement cost?

On average, the cost for a BMW M550i xDrive Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement is $290 with $38 for parts and $252 for labor. Prices may vary depending on your location.

CarServiceEstimateShop/Dealer Price
2020 BMW M550i xDriveV8-4.4L TurboService typeSerpentine/Drive Belt ReplacementEstimate$417.24Shop/Dealer Price$444.22 - $507.34
2019 BMW M550i xDriveV8-4.4L TurboService typeSerpentine/Drive Belt ReplacementEstimate$339.02Shop/Dealer Price$361.38 - $421.04
2021 BMW M550i xDriveV8-4.4L TurboService typeSerpentine/Drive Belt ReplacementEstimate$397.42Shop/Dealer Price$420.57 - $480.82
2022 BMW M550i xDriveV8-4.4L TurboService typeSerpentine/Drive Belt ReplacementEstimate$397.42Shop/Dealer Price$420.56 - $480.81
Show example BMW M550i xDrive Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement prices

What is a serpentine belt and how does it work?

A serpentine belt is a relatively long, flat, multi-ribbed belt that is driven by the engine’s crankshaft pulley. The belt drives many, and often all, of the engine accessories such as the alternator, air conditioning compressor, power steering pump, water pump, and air pump. The serpentine belt is tensioned by a hydraulic or spring-loaded automatic tensioner. Some older cars use a serpentine belt to drive most accessories but will also have a shorter v-style belt to drive, for example, the power steering pump.

Belts

When to consider replacing the serpentine belt:

  • Regularly scheduled maintenance. Typically, belt manufacturers recommend belt replacement at 90,000 miles. However, the belt must be inspected for wear or damage at regular intervals prior to this high mileage.
  • Squealing noise, belt slippage, visible belt damage. Should the belt fail or wear out prematurely, you may hear noise or you may see visible signs of deterioration such as missing chunks of rubber, excessive cracking, or a shredded appearance on the edge of the belt.
  • Battery Light. A loose belt, perhaps caused by a defective tensioner, may not drive the alternator at adequate speed and thus the battery may discharge, causing the warning light to illuminate.
  • Engine overheating. Often, the serpentine belt drives the water pump. In those applications, if the belt breaks the engine will overheat in seconds to minutes. If the belt is inadequately tensioned, you may notice higher-than-normal engine operating temperature.

How do mechanics replace the serpentine belt?

  • Prior to removing the belt, the mechanic must run the engine to determine if the idler pulley and the belt tensioner are noise-free. Those rotating components have grease filled bearings and are subject to wear. In addition, the mechanic will ensure that all pulleys and accessories are turning in the same plane. These steps help make sure your new belt will operate trouble-free for its full-service life.
  • The belt’s routing path through the various components is noted. The belt tensioner is released, usually with a wrench or lever, to release the tension from the belt. With the tension off, the belt slides off the pulleys.
  • All rotating components — that is the alternator, air conditioner compressor, etc. — are checked for smooth operation and no noise.
  • If everything checks out, the new belt is slipped over all of the pulleys while holding the tensioner away from the belt. Once the belt is centered on all pulleys, the tensioner is released and the installation is complete. The engine is run to ensure normal operation.

Is it safe to drive with a serpentine belt problem?

No. Should the belt have visible damage, you risk unexpected and sudden breakage that could potentially leave you stranded. Serpentine belt problems that result in the alternator not charging may cause the battery to discharge, which will result in loss of electrical power to the vehicle. Additionally, if a deteriorated belt breaks and that belt drives the water pump, the engine will overheat in a matter of seconds.

When replacing the serpentine belt keep in mind:

  • On many cars, the expected service life of a serpentine belt is around 90,000 miles. Should the belt fail well prior to that, a very careful inspection should be performed to check for out-of-alignment pulleys, a possibly out-of-position crankshaft harmonic balancer on which the drive pulley is mounted, binding pulleys, or a defective belt tensioner.
  • Attention should always be given to serpentine belt routing, since proper routing is critical to proper belt tension, and function of the driven components.
  • Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish serpentine belt related noise from other engine noises. In these cases, a mechanic will determine the origin of the noise by momentarily running the engine without the serpentine belt attached.

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Number of BMW Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement services completed
2728+
services done by our mechanics
TOTAL NUMBER OF EXPERT BMW MECHANICS
1200+
experts on our platform
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Meet some of our expert BMW mechanics

Real customer reviews from BMW owners like you.

Excellent Rating

(248)
Rating Summary
237
2
4
1
4
237
2
4
1
4

Anthony

21 years of experience
17 reviews
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Anthony
21 years of experience
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by Timothy
BMW 528i L6-2.8L - Serpentine/Drive Belt - Decatur, Georgia
Mr. Clark definitely went out of his way for me. Especially after having so many issues with the yourmechanic parts department. I’ll have him come back soon to keep working on the things my car needs replaced

Rohon

49 years of experience
147 reviews
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Rohon
49 years of experience
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by David
BMW 528i xDrive L4-2.0L Turbo - Serpentine/Drive Belt - Springfield Gardens, New York
Rohon is simply fantastic! He's an expert in his field and it shows in his work. He was very thorough, easily detected why my serpentine belt failed, and also alerted me to other issues with the vehicle. I highly recommend him!

Adam

17 years of experience
64 reviews
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Adam
17 years of experience
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by Vince
BMW 750iL V12-5.0L - Serpentine/Drive Belt - Plano, Texas
I highly recommend Adam to anyone needing work to their car or truck. I own 2 old BMW 750iL 12 cylinder sedans. I'm talking 25 and 28 years old. They both have been in storage for about 6 years. One of them had a broken fan belt which I called Mobile Mechanic to send some one to replace it. The person they sent was Adam. Adam was on time for our appointment. He called the day before to introduce himself and disgusted with me the work to be done. Upon his arrival the day of our appointment, he was very polite when he introduced himself to me. He then went to examine my car and what needed to be done in my presents. After his examination he informed me that my water pump may had seized up and it was what was causing the belt to break. He suggested there also may be other things wrong such as the fan clutch that is attached to the water pump may also be froze up. He suggested that I not put the belt on but take it to a garage for further examination. We agree to this and he left without charging me anything. What an honest guy. I did take his advise and the next day had the car at the garage and they found that Adam was right. Both fan clutch and water pump froze up and that is what caused the belt to break. Adam not only saved me the cost of replacing another fan belt which would have broken if he replaced it but also the possibility of getting stuck on the road when the new belt would have broken because of the other 2 problems. Adam was honest enough to inform me of the possible additional problems even at the cost of him not getting the original job he was sent to do. When I get the other car out of storage it is my intent to call Adam to check it out and let me know what needs to be done.

Corey

13 years of experience
511 reviews
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Corey
13 years of experience
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by Hunter
BMW 525i L6-2.5L - Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement - Huntersville, North Carolina
Extremely helpful, persistent, skillful

Excellent Rating

(248)
Rating Summary
237
2
4
1
4
237
2
4
1
4
Number of BMW Serpentine/Drive Belt Replacement services completed
2728+
services done by our mechanics
TOTAL NUMBER OF EXPERT BMW MECHANICS
1200+
experts on our platform
Yourmechanic was featured in

New York Times NBC CBS Forbes INC Tech Crunch

Learn more about us

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