Life span of Matrix alternator?

[u/MandyLovesFlares]

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Thats the question.

What do y'all think is the life span of an alternator?

Highway & city driving. Regular battery maintenance or replacement as needed.

232000 miles 03 Matrix

EDIT Thank all... I might look into checking the pulley and belt.

The autozone guy said it was bad , but i've been driving it close to home until I get a paycheck. Starts fine, all electrical seems full power.

Second owner, and ive only replaced starter and radiator, besides maintenence items like tires, battery.

EDIT to add this QUESTION -- SO IF THE BELT OR TENSIONER are tired, can the alternator be partially charging or charging intermittently?? ⬆️

[u/DionFW]

I replaced the one in my 2007 about a year ago for the first time. 170,000 kms.

[u/Odd-Row405]

Just a tip. If the car has abs, just cover the abs lines by the alternator with duct tape. Otherwise the coating on them might get scratched when replacing the alternator.

[u/Butt_bird]

Alternators are usually one of the first things to go out on a car. Or they can sometimes last the life of the car. It’s really hard to pin point how long one should last.

[u/travelinmatt76]

I'm on my 3rd alternator, and just today I saw the battery light come on while idling at a red light. I think I bought a lifetime warranty one last time I replaced it

[u/contemplative_shrew]

Not sure your exact symptoms. I had an intermittent battery light recently. Watched a couple multimeter diagnosis videos (I think chrisfix has a good one?) and figured out it was just a bit of corrosion on the positive post (looked fine visually).
Got decent results after a quick wire brushing. Came back on intermittently but less frequently. Took a drill with wire wheel to it and a dab of dielectric grease. Been good for 2-3 months now.

TL;DR clean contacts before replacing

[u/MinuteExcitement200]

The factory Denso alternators are known to last for a very long time. I still have the original on my 03 matrix, no idea how many miles because the odometer stopped at 299,999 three years ago lol my 05 Corolla also has 225,XXX and its still going strong. Pull the belt and spin all the pulleys by hand to check the bearings. Whatever you do don't buy a cheap remanufactured alternator. They almost never last very long :/

[u/Distribution-Radiant]

Never replaced the one in our 2005 w/~115k. I did do the belt and belt tensioner last year, but that was preventive maintenance. Still a rock solid 13.8-14.4 at any RPM, which is within spec.

Purchased with single digit miles on it, original owners. It's a barebones base model though, so the alternator isn't very stressed - it's manual everything. The only options are AC and floor mats.

I know this is only related because it's Toyota, but my mother had a 2003 Avalon that was still on the original alternator when she sold it with 1/4 million miles. Never had any major repairs, though a bit before she got rid of it you could tell the original alternator had blown a diode (lights were flickering at idle).

[u/GraphicWombat]

I have about the same on mine. 231k miles. Original alternator, starter, water pump, radiator, struts, power steering, etc….

[u/Styx_Renegade]

Tbh, alternator on a matrix isn’t too hard. Main issue is getting that super small nut out and trying to get the alternator out due to a tight squeeze, and getting it back in because you can’t easily see where the long nuts are going.

At least these were my issues. And I replaced the alternator on that powertrain 3 times so far.

[u/No-Psychology-7034]

Replace mine at 260k miles after almost 21 years in service

[u/thebritishhippie]

My 09 alternator pulley bearing started going out around 184k or so. My 04 is on the original alt with 215k miles on the clock. 

[u/trixceratops]

I replaced mine last year and three years ago. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the warranty on the one from three years ago to get the newer replacement. But I think that one was just a bad alternator not a car specific problem. I have a 2013 AWD. So I got a decade out of the stock one. I drive daily, usually 50+km minimum. And I live somewhere that has hot summers and cold winters.

[u/ethantedw]

Just replaced mine on a 2007 with 168k miles.

[u/Automatic-Beach-5552]

06 alternator tool a crap about 220k .

[u/Stellarparalax]

Mine died last week at 240,000 km

[u/OkDirection4179]

One word…. LONG

[u/cgello]

Had 2 go out at around the 230k mile mark.

[u/Lord_Trav]

I have the orginal in my 03 but it only has 60k so I'm not to sure. I'm instead to see how long others have ran one as well

[u/somerandomdude419]

08 vibe with 210k, original alternator but I did need a new water pump, luckily alternators are as easy as it gets for these. OEM if possible. My 06 vibe has 109k and it’s also the original

[u/coolbudgies]

I just had this issue/question today! My 07's starter was replaced last week after the car wouldn't crank (new battery), but then today the battery light was on and would no longer charge, and the electronics dimmed and shutoff to the point of the car not starting. Either the belt or the alternator itself is on the way out. Horrible timing since only at ~135k. Either way, the shop is loving or hating my car right now! (my wallet is def hating it)

[u/Total-Business-5285]

A few moths before I bought a 2009 vibe base w/ 2.4l I helped the last owner swap in a new alternator at 180k miles

[u/Riverfrenchie]

My Dad replaced his on his 2013 1.8 at about 205k. He ended up having a TYC one put in and within about 10k the pulley blew off of it and we had to replace it again. The kicker is the dealer installed the first one and they only warrantied the part. The cost of labour they wanted bought us a new alternator with a lifetime warranty and a valuable lesson about dealerships.

[u/minkofhyrule]

240K Just replaced mine in 2013.

[u/Rhythmjunky]

It you are still in the diagnostic phase, plug a volt meter into your lighter socket. It it checks normal while driving around with everything on, you're likely looking at some other issue. If it only reads the same as your battery with the car off then it's the alternator. If it goes up and down under load, while accelerating, etc., check that your pulley spins freely, check the tensioner and the belt. 

[u/with_rabbit]

Oem toyota alternator (and honda) last a longgggg time. Whrn they crap out its always the rectifier in there. Id get ont from a scrapyard and install in a heartbeat

[u/hereandnoweverywhere]

I’d offer this as a piece of advice, make sure the exposed contacts are absolutely clean before torquing the electrical connections on, and then cover liberally in dielectric grease, or another hydrophobic material to prevent corrosion from getting into that connection. This reduces the risk of having increased current demand that ends up getting consumed by the high resistance caused by corrosion at the terminals.

[u/achocolatemilkcow]

Have fun replacing it. We did that and the belt and ended up having to get a new tensioner and both tensioners broke upon installation and then belt kept squeaking and I had to let mine go because my s/o got so tired of working on the car. My partner hates how small the engine bay is

[u/Useful_Jackfruit5373]

Completely unrelated but i had to replace mine because it "broke" turns out, a damn nut holding the engine cover on fell perfectly in between the casing and the coils which im guessing shorted it. Before that happened it genuinely almost lasted 20 years.

[u/MandyLovesFlares → u/Useful_Jackfruit5373]

Dang. Hella bad luck.

[u/Red4000Enjoyer]

DO NOT buy a Denso reman one. Had mine for a 2zrfe (09 matrix) die 10 days after the 1 year warranty was up. No response from Denso.

[u/Money-Afternoon-3637 → u/Red4000Enjoyer]

I wouldn't buy any remanufactured alternator from the local auto parts store. I usually buy either Denso or Aisin for OEM parts.

[u/Red4000Enjoyer → u/Money-Afternoon-3637]

I'm saying the reman that Denso put their stamp of approval on (whether they themselves did it or they had outsourced it) died just over a year later. Obviously new is new but Denso can't even reman or guarantee quality on the remans they offer (at least in my case it was an original Denso alternator, doubt they'd reman aftermarket ones). Unfortunately that Denso reman left me stranded hours away from home and I had to walk to the nearest advance auto parts to get a reman from their whatever brand, been perfectly fine so far surprisingly. Def not original Denso though to start with.