Question on drive belt...

[Klackamas]

So Wednesday I bring in my 2011 Altima sedan (CVT auto transmission with 3.5 V6) in to the Nissan dealer for new brakes/turn the rotors/flush brake fluid, rotate the tires and most importantly, change the drive belt. It has 70,000 miles, so it's time for all that.

I pick it up Wednesday night, drive it and everything is fine and Thursday no problems. Friday night leaving work, the car kinda hesitates ruh ruh, but starts and I get home no problem (about 10 miles). I don't drive more than 25 miles a day on average.

Anyway, this afternoon the car won't start. It clearly didn't have the power to turn over, battery nearly dead. Dome lights and stuff like that worked OK.

Could that have to do with the drive belt change? That's wrapped around the alternator. Maybe the tension isn't right or something? I always thought if a serpentine drive belt doesn't have the right tension, bad things happen, but I've had no dash light warnings and the car ran fine after starting.

I'm charging the battery up now and will bring it in Monday, but I wonder if the work done might have something to do with that. 

Oh yeah, battery is like two years old. The last one had a bad cell and they replaced it for free under warranty.

[MX793]

If the belt tension isn't right and it's slipping, you'll usually smell burning rubber and likely hear squealing.  And if the alternator isn't charging, you should get a warning light in the dash.  It's possible you have another dud battery.

[shp4man]

Do you have a DC voltmeter? If so, hook it up to the battery with the engine running- it should read about 13.1-14.9 volts with the engine running. Another possibility is something is drawing current with the car turned off. But common things happen commonly, it's likely the battery.

[giant_mtb]

Yeah, is there a volt meter in the instrument cluster? 

[Klackamas]

I can't find my voltmeter, but sure enough the battery isn't holding a charge.
It's an 84 month Nissan branded battery, that replaced the original one that failed under warranty in April 2013.

That'll be three batteries in four years. I guess YMMV is true.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Your first problem is buying a Nissan with a CVT. You cannot fix your drive belt. You can get a new crappy transmission and see how long it lasts, or do a proper manual transmission swap.

[Klackamas]

The car handles well and zooms. No complaints there.

I drove out to New Mexico in 2013 and around Lubbock Texas, I had it at 135. Steady like a rock and begging for more.

If I have to pay 220 for a drive belt every 60K, no biggie, plus I'm hearing the redesigned Altimas are out in November. 

I used to drive cars until they die and then resurrect them and drive them some more, but why bother anymore.    I'm done with that phase.

[MX793]

I can't find my voltmeter, but sure enough the battery isn't holding a charge.
It's an 84 month Nissan branded battery, that replaced the original one that failed under warranty in April 2013.

That'll be three batteries in four years. I guess YMMV is true.

Makes me wonder if there isn't something going on with your car that is causing premature battery failure.