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Do Tires Expire?

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Dear Tom and Ray:

I just bought a new Jeep, and the owner's manual says that all tires, including the spare, should be replaced after six years, regardless of condition or usage, to avoid a sudden failure during use. I don't remember seeing this recommendation before. The spare in my last Jeep is now more than 10 years old. Should I replace it? What is the reasoning behind this recommendation?

-- Eric



TOM: What's the reasoning? Well, the Goodyear pension plan is seriously underfunded.

RAY: Actually, it's about the deterioration of the rubber, Eric. If you take a rubber band and toss it in your kitchen drawer, when you go to stretch it a year later, what happens? It's all dried out, and it breaks.

TOM: There's a similar, though much slower, process happening with your tires. Over time, the ozone in the air degrades rubber. Just from being in Earth's atmosphere, tires dry out, crack and, eventually, fail to hold air.

RAY: So how'd they come up with the six-year time frame? Well, it's somewhat arbitrary. They looked at a number of factors: the rate at which rubber decays, how the average person cares for his or her tires, the real-life data on tire failure and the tire sales numbers for Q4. They put it all together, and they came up with a guess of six years.

TOM: So, it's a guess. Your tires may last longer or may fail sooner. But it's a reasonable guess that errs on the side of safety. And in reality, most tires have their tread used up in less than six years anyway. So it's only an issue for people who don't drive much, and for spare tires that don't get rotated into the mix.

RAY: You may have a little more leeway with your spare, since you're not actually driving on it every day. But in an emergency, if you were forced to use it, you'd have to drive slowly and carefully, and then replace it as soon as possible. If it were me, I'd replace a spare that's 10 years old.

TOM: And speaking of replacement tires, you now have one more thing to think about at the tire store. Like bread and milk, you now have to make sure your tires are "fresh."

RAY: Right. If tire manufacturers are telling us that tires have a six-year shelf life, regardless of use, then you don't want to buy tires that have already wasted a year of their useful life stacked up in a retailer's showroom or an overheated storage trailer.

TOM: How do you know when your tires were made? It's on the tire. One of the numbers printed on the sidewall is a four-digit number, like 1711. That means the tire was made in the 17th week of 2011. Now, wouldn't it be easier if they took a lesson from milk and printed an "expiration date"?



Comments

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Degas1900

Thu, 2012-02-16 07:36

Please take this warning seriously--the rubber compound deteriorates even if the tire never touches the road. Warnings on aging tires go back more than 20 years in the industry, although the public is clueless. I've seen the internal documents. I've also seen more than my share of accident reports and photos where an old tire failed only hours or days after being put into service on a vehicle and someone died or was seriously injured.


StuLesley

Thu, 2012-02-16 11:29

A few years ago I had a need to use the spare of my 97 Saturn (retired shortly thereafter with over 203k miles) and when we took out the spare the tread was literally falling off the tire and this was the first time we had used the spare. That would be about 10 or so years ago so add a safety margin in and 6 years sounds reasonable. Love the show!! Stu


dky

Thu, 2012-02-16 11:40

If you include the spare in your routine tire rotation, this won't be a problem.


Trombenik

Thu, 2012-02-16 11:40

Last year, I replaced the 4 Michelin tires on my '99 Ranger, but not the spare. The truck had less that 45,000 miles, and the tires were recall replacements in 2000 or so, but had plenty of tread. The spare has not come out from under the bed, ever. I don't feel like spending $200 for a tire that will likely never be used. I promise to drive real slow if I ever have to put it on, though.


tireguy

Fri, 2012-02-17 08:00

Sure tires will deteriorate over time, but telling people to make sure the tires are "fresh" before buying them is somewhat irresponsible. When people start going to tire stores and refuse tires that may be a few months old, can you imagine how much tires are going to cost, when the wholesalers & retailers have to scrap "old" tires?


santa

Sat, 2012-02-18 11:04

I have an old, classic Mustang. It lives in the garage, and the tires are always shiny and black when it is out (thanks, armor-all). The pony does occasional parades and rallys, and modest trips to car shows in-state. The last tires I put on it lasted more than twenty years, and still appeared almost new. I replaced them for appearance's sake. Under these circumstances, are tires still likely to deteriorate?


Fireflite

Fri, 2012-03-30 22:55

Santa, In a word, yes. I've seen nasty-looking set of tires on a '21 Buick that were probably 60 years old hold air when they were pumped up. I've also seen more modern tires that looked good on the outside that were disintegrating on the inside. Six years might be a bit conservative, but ten years seems more than reasonable took get out of a set of tires. Think of as insurance. What's a few hundred bucks to protect your baby for ten years? By the way, my buddy wasn't stupid enough to drive on those 60 year old tires...but we did get it onto the trailer!


60Vettegirl

Mon, 2012-05-07 12:35

I will say Santa that I am exactly in your shoes, and have been on the negative side. I had a "unfresh" treads on my Corvette that decided to "untread" themselves going 60 mph on a nice curvy back road. When this happened it also decided to take my entire fiberglass fender well with it. Put the money into new tires - it will handle better and you wont have to worry that you may be on the side of the road crying like I was....


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