www.Edmunds.com is reminding
motorists that “even if you don’t drive much,
your car's tires – including the spare – could
still deteriorate and they may pose a safety
hazard on the road.”
According to Advice Associate Ronald Montoya,
“People often rely on a tire’s tread depth to
determine its condition, but the rubber
compounds in a tire deteriorate with time,
regardless of the condition of the
tread.”
He goes on to note that “like an old elastic
band, a tire’s rubber can eventually develop
cracks on the surface and on the inside wall.
This cracking can cause the steel belts in the
tread to separate from the rest of the
tire.”
There’s no hard and fast expiration date for
tires, and that makes the decision to replace an
old tire much more difficult, the site says.
Factors that can accelerate a tire’s
deterioration include excessive heat and erratic
driving conditions. Even a spare tire could be
at risk, especially if it’s been exposed to
degenerative elements like water, dirt or
extreme heat.
Some carmakers recommend that drivers replace
their tires six years after their production
date, regardless of tread life. Tire
manufacturers, meanwhile, insist that a tire can
last up to 10 years provided that it receives
annual inspections after the fifth year.
Motorists can determine a tire’s age by
retrieving the four-digit code on the tire’s
sidewall that indicates the week and year that
the tire was produced. But tires made before
2000 are trickier to identify; the site offers a
guide to translating those and other numbers on
the sidewall.
A visual inspection can offer clues to the
degree of a tire’s deterioration. Motorists are
advised to check tires regularly for any sign of
aging, such as tread distortion or cracks in the
sidewall, including hairline cracks. Vibrations
or a change in the dynamic properties of a tire
could also be an indicator of aging
problems.
For more information, visit www.edmunds.com.
