Auxiliary belt on RX450h

[Vadim]

RX450h 2009-2015 has a rubber belt, which drives the water pump. All other aggregates are either part of the eCVT (starter/alternator) or are fully electronic (air conditioner compressor).

The auxiliary belt is 7PK810, and generally does not require much attention.

I decided to replace mine at 186k miles, as part of a major service.

Access:

remove the front right wheel, unscrew the plastic panel which covers the main shaft and the water pump shaft, loosen the tension pulley with a 14mm key (turn counter-clockwise), remove the belt from shafts.

While working on the belt, look around the shafts for coolant leakage - water pump is one of the week spots in the car. 

After 10 years 186k miles the belt appeared to be in good shape without any cracks or excessive wear.

The only issue was a few small stones and sand stamped into the belt contact surface. It would be possible to keep using the old belt after cleaning, but I replaced it anyway because a new one had already been bought.

The original appeared to be Bando Toyota, which is one of the top quality makes. In RX450h it does not take much load and does not bend outwards, which is the reason of its longevity. In 2015 RX upgrade the belt tensioner was removed, which implies that the belt does not need to be changed for a long time. I would say it should only be inspected after 100k miles.

Belt scheme:

Original belt (Bando Toyota 7pk810) removed:

 

Stones and dust on the working surface, no cracks or heavy wear:

New Gates 7pk810 belt fitted (double check that all teeth are properly on all pulleys):

 

The belt is £7-10 on eBay/Amazon.

Mechanical skill required: moderate

Time required: 20min