How Old Are Your Tires

[growe3]

Below is an interesting news article regarding hazards of old tires. On my STS it is'nt a problem but I do have a couple of other cars and trailer, that have low milage and high years, that I need to check.

"It's the worst kind of accident. The Howeedy's were on a family trip when a tire blew. Their van was broadsided.

"My two kids died and my other daughter, she has a brain injury and I was paralyzed," says Imany Howeedy.

As CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports the possible culprit was invisible: a tire that looked new but was more than six years old. They bought it used, not knowing that tires can degrade with age no matter how good they look.

Consumer safety analyst Sean Kane has spent years looking into the issue and says tires should come with a six-year expiration date.

"Clearly not all tires are going to fail when they hit the six-year point, but it's a good point in time when you start to see a disproportionate rise in failures," says Kane.

So far, he's turned up 52 deaths and more than 50 serious injuries in accidents where an old tire may have been a factor.

That may only scratch the surface since nobody officially tracks the cases. Spares are especially vulnerable because they can sit around for years.

The tire industry has been unwilling to set an expiration date, saying many factors besides age impact how long a tire will last.

"There's another concern, we don't want to give consumers a false promise that an expiration date means they will get that much tire life out of their tires," says Daniel Zielinski of the Rubber Manufacturers Association.

Where tire makers aren't taking action, automakers are stepping in. Ford recently led the way in warning customers that tires should be scrapped after six years or drivers risk injury and death.

In the meantime, you can check your own tire's age by finding the four digits of the tire's "DOT" number if the tire was made in 2000 or after.

The first two digits correspond to the week the tire was manufactured; the last two would be the year.

On older tires, there are only three digits. Just look at the last number: a "9" means the tire was born in 1999.

"I think the message should be out to everyone in the U.S. be aware of the age of the tire," says Mustafa Howeedy.

It's too late for them, but not too late for millions of others who have never given a second thought to their tire's birth date."

-George

[Scotty]

Age is never an issue for me. I get a HUGE belly laugh over my cousin who DEMANDS that he attain the warranty the tire manufacture advertises (65,000 miles). He is the cheapest person I have ever met and has his recess money from kindergarden. I told him that I rarely go over 45,000 miles because beyond 45,000 miles the tires wet weather handling abilty if GONE...(of course he thinks I am frivoulous). Tires to me are the most important item to pay attention to, its not a place to skimp to save money and its not the place to ignore till they are bald. I NEVER want to be doing a 360 on the expressway in the rain thinking I should have replaced my tires....

[KHE]

So far, he's turned up 52 deaths and more than 50 serious injuries in accidents where an old tire may have been a factor.

Out of how many millions of older tires on the road???? I would think running tires with too low of air pressure would contribute more to failure than age - especially if the car sits in a garage. That would hold true for the spare tire as well.

I can understand why Ford is endorsing an expiration date considering the Firestone issue a few years back.....I seem to recall that Firestone repeatedly warned Ford that the inflation pressures on the door sticker were too low.

[jackc]

The problems of older tires are more widely understood in the RV community where its common for tires age out rather than wear out. Seven years is the rule of thumb for an RV tire. Degradation of the rubber seems to be the big problem.

Thanks for sharing this info George. Its good for this to reach a wider audience.

To me, its easy to see that tire makers would not their products to have a "shelf-life" that could lead to having to destroy unused inventory, so their resistance is understandable.

[JimD]

Is this aging the result of UV ray exposure?

Hard to control how otherwise "new" tires might be stored in inventory for several years before they are placed in on-the-road service.

Let's hope the tire makers and their industry association can arrive at a solution before a government mandate is hatched.

[franey]

OCcasionally when my wifes car is down she borrows her dads 97 FORD F 150 truck. HE bought it 5 years ago with 49000 miles on it from my brother in law who had bought it new. IN july of 97 , with 17000 miles on the truck he put a new set of goodyear tires on the truck. Now this july the truck tires will be 8 years old. My wife borrowed the truck last month and her father warned her not to drive in wet weather , that the truck breaks lose at the slightest throtlle . He asked me to take a look at it. Now the tires still have plenty of tread left on all four tires, truck mileage currently 61000, . BUT THE tire rubber has hardened with age and I am kidding you not in wet weather the thing is a death trap. not only will the tires break lose when you try to accelerate , the truck just slides when you try and stop. I went by GOODYEAr and they looked at the tires and said that due to age the rubber had hardened , and that all warranties from goodyear expire after 5 years , since they figure all tires would be worn out by then. I informed my father in law of this and as usual his aswer was " WELL I GUESS I JUST WANT DRIVE IT IN THE RAIN ANYMORE , I AM NOT GOING TO SPEND A DIME ON THAT TRUCK", another classic statement from one who has enough money to burn wet elephants .

I AGREE with SCOTTY, the time to change tires is before your spinning out of control on the freeway, and the time to work on them is in your garage not along side the freeway.

[OynxSTS]

Sorry, this looks like more media hype slathered onto some common sense… Yes time and UV rays will harden the rubber in your tires and yes this impacts their grip and blow-out resistance.

And as usual the media removes common sense and personal responsibility and creates a rule of thumb that will result in a lot of money being wasted replacing perfectly good tires…

Tires that have been religiously rotated, balanced, cleaned and never run at low pressures will last until they wear out… Further tires on a car that has been in a heated garage will resist "dry rot" a lot better than tire that have lived in a carport or outside…

A better article might be the number of people who have died who never looked at their tires... IMO dried out, hardened, “UVed” tires are really easy to spot…If they are cracked, replace them… If the tread is getting thin, replace them…

Otherwise, maintain them like you would the rest of your car…

I did read in Car & Driver that Honda's have nicer tires than Domestics!

[growe3]

It is not "hype". While the story with the article on tire aging is meant to get your attention, tires will harden and crack with age. If a low use vehicle can get at least some frequent, though low miles, the rolling/massaging action will keep the oils in the tires moving and help keep them more flexible.

I have a 26' Ciera Sunbridge by Bayliner that sits on a twin axle trailer. I bought them both brand new in 1992. Within two years all four tires were showing small sidewall cracks, by five years or so the sidewalls were troughly cracked while the tread is like new. The trailer just does not get any miles racked up on it. Folsom lake is only five miles away and I don't go that often any more. Right now the next trip will be to get new tires, before taking the boat anywhere.

I spoke with a Bayliner dealer (one I did not buy the boat from) and he said that often the trailers with tires, are bought when the price is right and can sit in warehouses for a long time before the actual sale of the boat trailer. Apprently this happened to me, as to many others I think.

As for my daily drivers, they never get a chance to crack.

-George

[OynxSTS]

Correct, tires age and harden and crack...

The hype part is that any tire older than 6 years is "done"... Pure BS IMO...

As you note it is easy to find a set of two year old tires that are "Dangerous" and sets that are >10 year that are just fine...

My point... ignore their age... replace tire based on their condition...

[JasonA]

For RVs and trailers that don't get moved often, you can purchase tire covers that are supposed to protect them from the UV rays that can quickly rot them out. As stated, the normal use of tires helps to keep them oiled, but the least you can do, if your trailer is always parked, is to cover the tires if you don't do that already.

[bobnsue2]

Trailer tires have a different compound which I think I read includes more oil.

The sun apparently sucks the oil out of the rubber. I have a fifth wheel trailer and when the tires were 8 years old, and they still had a lot of tread, I had one blow out sitting in the yard. So I bought all new tires. The trailer tires have a different designation and not reccommended to use regular car tires.

BTW It is very common for a motorhome to have a blow out with very new looking tires that have been in storage lots for years.

Bob B

[poopdeville]

Given the idea to contemplate tires and tire life just simply scares me.

If one considers that the only thing you have between yourself and a mishap is a small combination of 4 patches on the road measuring a few inches in size. We hurtle ourselves down roads and into corners driving heavy hunks of steel under total blind faith... sometimes.

People will spend $500 a year to have their grass sprayed for weeds or having their house cleaned by Molly Maid yet drive for 10 years on rubber that is 'tired' but "looks good"... sorry for the pun.

Your life and control of it and your vehicle rests on the contact between the tire and the road... in all conditions; not to say one might be a panic swerve. Lose it and lose a lot... all for the sake of a few hundred bucks.

Buy new tires every 3 years max. and sell the old ones to somebody in a far-away town that hopefully you will never meet on the road. Cheap Life Insurance.

... off my soapbox now... lol

Mike P