Does this Serpentine Belt Pass the Smell Test?
 

I bought a Dayco serpentine belt from Pepboys today. The first thing that caught my attention was what seems to be poor quality. Some stitches along the belt are visible and some are not. The belt has "Poly Cog Gold Label." I did some research and this person (see link below) who in 2011 claimed to work for Dayco said "Poly Cog" was changed to "Poly Rib" design "a few years ago." Also, there is a bar code label on the belt that says "DT: 11/01/12." I am not sure what this means, but if the belt was manufactured back in 2012 and has been sitting around for so long, there is no way I will put that darn thing in my car.

What do you guys think?

Link:
https://www.svtperformance.com/threa...g-belt.793491/

Pictures:
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...bb37ba07f5.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...98825f792c.jpg

There is also a second label showing part of another date code as well. Take it back. I would not install a 6+ year old belt.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) states in RMA Bulletin IP-3-4, that the quality of a belt will not change significantly within seven years of proper storage. It is important to note that in order to achieve maximum storage life that temperatures are required of less than 85 Degrees and relative humidity below 70%. Equally important is the absence of direct sunlight.

I would follow Tech's recommendation, return it to the store.

Thanks for your replies. My friend had a 2010 (?) accord which i understand also had J35Z in it. And if I remember correctly, that car had a much longer serpentine belt.

At 47 inches, this serpentine belt does not seem to drive the steering pump. But I couldn't find a second belt in the RDX that drives the steering pump. Am I missing something? Sorry for the novice questions.

New info:
Found a "J35Z2" picture in a wiki page, and the part of the serpentine belt driving the steering pump is right there. Am I missing something?
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...0cb7d7e0fe.jpg

The power steering on the RSX is EPS (Electric Power Steering). All vehicles that have Lane keeping use EPS because they can easily add a torque motor to help keep the vehicle in the lane.