Expired Tires May Be Cause For Concern

[charliekilothree]

Serious Crashes Blamed On Old Spare Tires

The problem often lies with the spare tire in the trunk. Even though it may look new, it could be dangerous, Target 5's Lisa Parker reported.


Three years ago, Rose Munoz, of Texas, was riding in a sport-utility vehicle that was riding on a spare tire. According to a lawsuit, the spare tire had minimal use, and was on the car for only three days when the tread came off.


The SUV rolled three times and left Munoz a partial quadriplegic.


"I don't remember when I first woke up, but I remember somewhat that I was in the hospital," Munoz said. "They said I had an 80 percent chance never to walk again."

Munoz's lawsuit is one of dozens that allege a widespread but little-known problem called tire aging.


"Just because your tread looks good on a spare or any other tire, it doesn't mean the tire's safe," attorney Roger Braugh said.


Safety consultant Sean Kane is working on his 70th plaintiff's case involving expired tires, Parker reported. Kane said the age of the tire is crucial.


"The problem is, it's a hidden defect. You can't see it, you can't feel it. So when you have a tire that appears to be new, it is hard to convince someone that tire might be dangerous," Kane said.


A growing number of car makers agree, Parker reported. This year, Ford began telling its customers that "tires degrade over time, even when they are not being used." The company recommends that tires "generally be replaced after six years."


Several foreign car makers are sharing the same warning, some since the early 1990s, Parker reported.


But some people in the tire industry disagree about the dangers of older tires.


"Tires are not milk. Milk will go bad in maybe 10 days or so. Tires, their performance, are affected by a number of issues," Rubber Manufacturers of America spokesman Dan Zielinski said.


Officials with the RMA believe there are too many variables to set a timeline for tire expiration.


"Right now, there is no information that points to a specific date when tires will no longer be able to perform solely due to age," Zielinski said.


But one member of the RMA has stepped away from that viewpoint. Last month, Bridgestone Firestone issued a technical bulletin recommending that "all tires (including spares) that were manufactured more than 10 years previous, be replaced."


The code that shows the age of the tire is stamped in the rubber on the inside of the tire, making it hard to locate and decipher, Parker reported.


At the end of a Department of Transportation code is a long sequence of numbers. If the tire was made before 2000, the last digit is the year, and the numbers before that is the week it was made, Parker reported.


If the tire was made in 2000 or after, the last two digits is the year it was made, and the digits before is the week.


"All of this is very counterintuitive. It's hard to find, and it's not something the average consumer is going to know how to decode," Kane said.


The federal government is now studying the issue and whether there should be guidelines for expiration, Parker reported.


"It takes a catastrophe. It takes a body count to get regulations changed," Braugh said.









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I would advise you to include the full size spare tire in your tire rotation if you want to get the maximum usage and tread life of your tires. As for donut spares, they are only for temporary use and normally 50 miles or so at 50 mph. If you have an old full size spare stored on the outside of your vehicle, it has a greater chance of becoming dry rotted if you don't use it.

[Corals]

A growing number of car makers agree, Parker reported. This year, Ford began telling its customers that "tires degrade over time, even when they are not being used." The company recommends that tires "generally be replaced after six years."

That is interesting news.

[saraphen]

This is good to know.