problem with Gates serpentine belt kit

U

UNC174

Joined
Mar 3, 2026
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Recently bought a gates serpentine belt kit for my 14 crv, k24. Gates replacement belt was just a bit shorter, roughly 1/4" or so. I didn't like this so I called gates to confirm. They insisted its the right belt. So I installed it with a bit of a fight due to its length. New tensioner and idler pulley as well. Not 3000 miles. Later belt has degraded. Way too, much tension on the belt. Bought a bando belt from Honda and it fit like a glove. I just wanted to share my experience with gates aftermarket junk and poor customer support in order to save someone else On here the hassle. Gates used to be half decent..

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UNC174 said:
Recently bought a gates serpentine belt kit for my 14 crv, k24. Gates replacement belt was just a bit shorter, roughly 1/4" or so. I didn't like this so I called gates to confirm. They insisted its the right belt. So I installed it with a bit of a fight due to its length. New tensioner and idler pulley as well. Not 3000 miles. Later belt has degraded. Way too, much tension on the belt. Bought a bando belt from Honda and it fit like a glove. I just wanted to share my experience with gates aftermarket junk and poor customer support in order to save someone else On here the hassle. Gates used to be half decent..

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Always bought Bando belts for our Honda's. Cheapest option and they are the OEM if I'm not mistaken. 100K easily on them and they still look good when replacing.
 
Personally I've never had any bad luck with Gates, but I have been buying Bando belts lately because they are priced so well. Normally under $20 on Amazon or RA. They are good belts. Ones for my Ram and F-150 were both made in Japan.
 
Belts are weird for me. I have never had good luck with Gates. Bando has worked great (Kia Rio just got one) but I typically use Continental belts (the new Gatorbacks) in my Hyundai and Kia's. My old Ford Ranger perfomed best with....AC Delco. I know, weird, right?

No idea what I'll use in my Mazdas when the time comes.
 
Do you have a picture of the new Honda Bando belt you got? What does it say on it? Besides the Honda part number, it will also have a part number similar to the 7PK1683 number on the Gates belt. :unsure:
 
With one exception, no Gates products going on my Honda vehicles. Used the Aisin TB/WP kit on a 7th gen Honda V6, substituted a Gates "Unitta" TB made in Japan for the Mitsuboshi belt in the kit. Imo, the latter would have been fine, just felt better using the OE TB part. I also purchased a Bando accessory belt, Mitsuboshi was OE. But, I was confident with the former and significantly less than the latter. I've just read too many negative comments/reviews on Gates parts now. It's been a while, and all belts and kit parts working well (knock wood).
 
jayjr1105 said:
Always bought Bando belts for our Honda's. Cheapest option and they are the OEM if I'm not mistaken. 100K easily on them and they still look good when replacing.
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I<3oil said:
Where you been buying them at?
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I use Bando on everything if I can get my hands on them. Gates hasn't made a decent belt in years.

I'm currently running Bando's on my '96 Seville and our '06 Spectra, and plan on installing one on our Jeep this spring. Rockauto's pricing on Bando belts is hard to beat, which makes the decision even easier.
 
Have a 13' CRV with the K-24. Used a Gates for a belt, and installed a Honda tensioner.... The belt was also too short, but managed to get it installed. Then the smooth side started showing signs of splitting about a month later. Ordered a Bando belt, and it fit perfect. Done with Gates. They use to be a good belt. No problems with the Bando.
 
OP, sorry to hear of your troubles. Funny timing as I literally just replaced a Bando belt with a Gates on my CX-5 due to squealing coming from the Bando which had roughly 6k miles on it. The Gates has only been on 3 days, but she’s been noise free so far. Will keep an eye on how it wears.
 
RamFan said:
OP, sorry to hear of your troubles. Funny timing as I literally just replaced a Bando belt with a Gates on my CX-5 due to squealing coming from the Bando which had roughly 6k miles on it. The Gates has only been on 3 days, but she’s been noise free so far. Will keep an eye on how it wears.
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Did you get a good look at the hydraulic tensioner? They sometimes (often) leak after a few years.
 
Gates and Bando are both excellent. I question whether there was a real 1/4 inch difference between the two belts. Also, is there a possibility that the Gates belt was actually a knockoff/counterfeit? Was/is the tensioner in proper order, as replacement helps. Were the pulleys straight, unbent and unworn? There is a lot going on with seemingly simple serpentine belt replacement, and it really isn't usually a quality problem with a new belt... but I guess it's not impossible. For the record, in my experience, serpentine belts come off and go on with relative ease, especially when compared to V-belts.
 
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