When to buy new car tires based on tire age
At a recent tire conference, an engineer from a major tire company was remarking on tire aging and the fact that tire age restrictions apply to tires in-service. That caught my attention, because some automobile and tire manufactures say unused tires six years or older should not be put into service. What did he mean by that?
The key words were “in-service” refer to any tire mounted on a wheel and inflated. So, even a spare tire sitting in the trunk of a car is in-service. The illuminating aspect of the discussion was if a tire is properly stored and not mounted on a wheel, it will not age appreciably.
So what does that mean for you when it comes to purchasing new tires? Should you accept whatever age new tires are available? Our take is still the same as before: purchase the newest tires possible – find ones that are no more than a couple of years old. Why take a risk without the knowledge of knowing how a tire might have been stored? Again, we think you should follow the recommendations of the automobile manufacturer if available. And certainly remove any tires that are 10 years old or older.
The tire aging recommendations are a best practice to follow. Tire aging is not based on a chronological order alone. Other factors affect tire aging including the material properties of the tire and heat, which is a key variable that ages tires. If you live in a warm climate, run on overloaded or underinflated tires, or drive at sustained high speeds, the heat generated from any or all of these conditions can cause a tire to age more rapidly.
Our advice: Replace the tires by the automobile and tire manufacturer recommendations. (Chrysler, Ford, and Volkswagen are just a few of the companies that recommend removing tires older than six years.)
Adhering to proper maintenance can help a tire maintain its youthful life and protect yours.
Read “Help keep your vehicle's tires safe.”
Before buying, be sure to consult our car, truck, and winter tire ratings and buying advice.
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Posted by: Greg | May 17, 2009 3:35:00 AM
I've replaced the tires on my 1990 Olds due to age, but what about the compact spare? The last time I replaced the (full-size) tires, I inquired about getting a new compact spare without success.
Posted by: Annie | May 18, 2009 10:30:09 AM
Why was there nothing mentioned about those very small numbers that tell "when" the tire was manufactured? Those numbers, many people simply do not know about, and tire salespersons do not, in some cases, know. Please add information about those numbers that are imprinted on all tires.
Thanks
Posted by: Chaks | Jun 18, 2009 5:31:52 PM
I have a spare tire that is dated 2002. It was never used. When I went to a dealer to replace an existing worn out tire with that, I was told that the tire is too old (7 years) and so he cannot do that due to his company policy. Is it safe to put the full size spare tire to use?
Posted by: George Dodd | Jul 19, 2009 2:11:14 PM
I am shopping for new tires. Walmart has Goodyear American Eagle H2 tires on special for 113.00 per tire. The likely reason for this is that the tire line will be discontinued. However, looking at the tire code date of manufacture I discovered that the tires were manufactured in the second week of 2007.
My question: Is it safe to buy tires that are 2.5 years old?
Thank you.
Posted by: Bill Dunne | Jul 22, 2009 6:49:19 PM
I just bought new tires yesterday and when I asked the sales person at firestone when the tires were made he had no idea what I was talking about. I looked at the tires and they were marked 1209 which means they were made in the 12 week in 2009 so I consodered them new. I just wonder how many consumers do not know about the date that there tires that they are purchasing were made so if you do not look at the tire you could be buying a tire made 2-3 years ago and just sitting on the shelf but are called new tires.
Posted by: S. Johnson | Sep 11, 2009 10:16:07 AM
Having just heard about the danger of old tires, I went to check dates on mine. I found May '08 on the 2 'passenger side' tires, but in the same position on the driver side tires, the little oval where I should have seen a date, was blank. Is it possible that the date is on the side of the tire that faces the under side of the car?
Posted by: Gene Peterson | Sep 14, 2009 12:00:18 PM
The date code is required on one side of the tire. The law requires all tires to have a complete DOT on one side (includes plant and date code) and the other side must have at least the DOT plant code. Only a few tire makers put the date on both sides.
Some automakers put the date code on the front side of the tire (if it is a whitewall, raised letter tire, or asymmetric), but they are not required to.
In your case, it sounds like the complete code is facing inboard on two of the tires. There is no regulation for how to mount the tires and I doubt few tires shops even consider mounting the complete coded to the outboard side.
Posted by: Sharon | Oct 26, 2009 2:01:13 PM
Within the past few weeks I brought my 2001 Honda in for service. I was told that my tires had been manufactured in 2002 and were now over 6 years old and therefore unsafe. I bought these tires Oct. 31, 2005 and they were manufactured in the 44th and 49th week of 2002. These were expensive tires with a high mileage warrantee. My trust in this tire dealer is now gone.