Hi everyone, new to these forums and had an issue with my Fiesta! 

Had my Fiesta now for a bit and took it to have a fan belt replacement by a mechanic I don't really know. 

After having the belt replaced, I then took it for an MOT a month and a half later with the same mechanic. 

Now, a few weeks later, I went to do my usual oil and water checks, and noticed the replacement belt has once again become worn and frayed, and in some sections only half the belt remains. 

The mechanic I spoke to is saying it could be the pulley. I don't know all too much about cars, and would like to know how likely it is that someone performing this work wouldn't have known about an issue prior to the belt fraying a second time? 

I don't have a lot of money and am left wondering what the actual situation is. It seems strange that it this amount of damage to the belt wouldn't have picked up during the MOT. 

I've attached some pictures but I couldn't get a good view of the bottom side of the belt. 

Please help! I'm at my wits end and not sure what to do about this 

Hi,

Belts aren't actually checked as part of the MOT.

One of three things has happened here.  Either one of the pulleys is faulty.  Or the mechanic damaged it when fitting.  (These are stretch belts, so they have to be stretched on carefully, there is no tensioner on these).  Or it is the wrong size belt and is too wide for these pulleys.

Unfortunately we can't tell which of those it is from the pictures.

Hi Tom, 

Thank you so much for your reply. Do you think the mechanic would necessarily have been able to tell if the pulley was damaged when they were replacing the belt? 

I've had a damaged belt before, it was fitted by a garage that I trust. When I took it back they examined it and the pulleys and said "sorry we must have damaged the belt when we fitted it" and then fitted a new one without charge. The new one was fine after that.

11 hours ago, FeistyFiesta said:

Hi Tom, 

Thank you so much for your reply. Do you think the mechanic would necessarily have been able to tell if the pulley was damaged when they were replacing the belt? 

I doubt they even looked tbh.  A worn belt on an old car is to be expected through age anyway.  They probably didn't suspect any other cause.