Recently both of the vehicles we own have had the comment about the age of our tires (by the same tire store). We do live in MS where it will get hot in a few months and the tires are 8 years on one vehicle and 5 years on the other. The shop admits they look good but say tires only last about 5 years. What do you think.

 

I think somebody wants to sell you some tires. IMO if the tread is good and the tires are not weather checked, let them roll.

 

One of the tire stores here won't even work on older tires (repair a leak, etc) unless it's to replace the tires. I'm sure they're working under some corporate directive to maximize profits. I agree with Tolyn- if the tread is in good shape, tires are holding air, and above all, they're safe, then no need to replace the tires.

 

Old tires start to lose their elasticity, and while they may still look okay on the outside, you can't see what's on the inside. I like to get all the life I can out of my tires, but earlier in the year I had a front tire blow out on the interstate while going about 83 mph downhill. Thankfully i kept it on the road and didnt hit anyone. Needless to say the chrome rim was shot by the time I got stopped. Being cheap ended up costing me a new rim and set of tires.

If your tires are getting check marks on the outside or ever slowly lose air that's a good sign their time is up. If the shop says they still look good then they probably are. But don't wait too long, you're on borrowed time.

 

10 years is the guideline, high performance tires would be much less.

This is up there with tire stores recommending you replace a second or entire set due to having to replace a single tire!


Even if there are no signs of rot, the industry standard is to swap out tires before they hit 10 years.

 

Tires do go bad from age but I wouldn't think a five year old tire would be in any danger yet.

 

If I run the interstate I'd be more inclined to replace them sooner but on vehicles like my pickup that rarely sees speeds over 50 mph I'll run the tires until either the tread is gone or they look bad [cracks in the rubber] A lot depends on how you use your vehicle.

 

If the tires see a lot of exposure to the sun (like camper tires and trailer tires), yes they can deteriorate from age. Typically cars tires are run enough to keep the elasticity and prevent flat spots. I don't think the tire stores are pushing for new tires just for the sake of making money. But they are protecting themselves from possible liability. I would follow Marksr, advice and if run at low speeds, no problem, but if using at highway speeds, would not recommend.

 

We had 7-8 y/o tires on our Tahoe. DW mentioned a odd sound when driving. I did not hear anything. Went to Les Schwab and they tried balancing...but their efforts did nothing. They dismounted the 4 tires and we looked inside. The belts were worn.

Their quotes for new tires seemed high. I paid LS $65 for their work and got some tires a lot cheaper elsewhere.

 

One thing to consider...don't base age on when they were installed. Check the numbers on them and see when they were manufactured. I once had tires installed that were well over a year old. Who knows the storage conditions?

You said one set was 8 yrs old...could be closer to 9 and that might warrant considering replacement.

 

Thank you for all the responses. Each one only gets highway miles a couple of times a year. Maybe I will look into the one that is 8 years old that I know since I am sure it was manufactured well before it was put on our car.

 

That would be a good idea. Tires do breakdown internally even thought they look very good on the outside at 8 years I'm going to change them. For myself I figure my wife is worth more than the cost of new tires, that is a gamble I'm not willing to take.

 

Valentines day is coming up so sounds like the perfect gift to say I love you!!

Probably the most practical gift but we all know how that would play out!

 

I'm going through the same quandary right now. The Goodyear Wranglers on my Explorer have been on it for 18 years, but they only have around 30,000 miles of driving on them, and the tread depth is 10/32". Vehicle is always kept in the garage, so no weather checking.

And of course new tires, plus the mounting and balancing and alignment, will cut into my budget to the tune of $850. I thought about trading up to a newer SUV, but anything two years old will have 60,000 miles on it, necessitating a tire replacement.

 

Beachboy....I'd say you don't even NEED that vehicle if you have 18 y/o tires with 10/32 left....unless they started with 26 of course.

And 18 y/o tires can still degrade even if not exposed to direct weather. I bought some tires that had supposedly been taken off a new vehicle 6 yrs earlier and stowed in the back of a shed. I helped pull them out from under the tarp and they still had the "nibs" on them. Great deal, perfect size, even the tire store guy that mounted them said they looked like new, inside and out. 2 weeks later at moderate speed on the freeway, horrible vibration like a flat from the front. Nope, still had air, but sidewall looked odd. Back at store, dismounted tire and interior was messed up, guy said looked like a belt had separated.

Called manufacturer (this was before everything was on the Internet and things like DOT codes weren't common knowledge) and an engineer told me the tires were 12 yrs old...not 6 and that even under ideal circumstances of storage or care they should never have been sold/used. This was one wife ago...so about 1991-92?

Tires aren't like holiday fruitcakes and SPAM, they don't last forever even under the best circumstances. Lesson learned....cost just $100 (in 1991 dollars). Could have been much much more.

 

Gunguy, I only average around 750 miles a year on the Explorer. I mostly use it to haul grass clippings to the dump site, since 30 gallon trash cans won't fit into my Ford Fusion's trunk. I've considered trading in both my sedan and SUV for a new compact SUV, if I could find something that handled and rode as well and was as quiet as my Fusion.

 

Rover has some nice compact SUV options...as does Audi and Jaguar. Lol

 

I'd agree those are good suggestions, but unfortunately (maybe fortunately) there are no dealers for those brands anywhere near me. Toyota or Honda is as exotic as I'd dare go, here in the backwoods.

 

Actually, if you want a domestic brand most are made overseas but if you want a foreign brand, Honda and Toyota are in fact made in the USA. Almost all parts come from overseas regardless of brand.

 

Similar situation here: I have a 20 year old F250 with light truck tires. The previous owner put Michelin tires on it in 2001 and with very low mileage, 13 years later the tires had a lot of tread left and looked like new-always parked under shelter so minimum sun exposure.

My wife occasionally pulls a horse trailer with the truck and although the tires looked excellent I just could not take the risk of using those tires longer and having the possibility of a tire failure causing an accident. Cheap insurance.

 

Here is Tire Rack's recommendation https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret...jsp?techid=184 down at the bottom

Also a lot of great information at Barry's webpage Barry's Tire Tech