Aged Tires

[78 Chevyrado]

Here's a video I found about buying new tires.  Turns out some of the tires sold as new can actually be up to 12 years old or older even though it's never been mounted.  This vid gives info on how to decode the dates on the sidewall..

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

[HAULIN IT]

Some of the people at work were talking about this the other day, they saw the show the night it was on. Kinda scary, I saw a show (Dateline, 60 min., ect.) a while back where they were doing the same sort of thing with eggs. Dating them, "re-washing" them then putting the new dates on & so forth. Hard to say what else is going on that we DON'T know about.  Lorne 

[rudedog67]

Check your dates!! Had a tire separate and bubble on me last week. Tire was a BF T/A and was 12 years old.

[Fordeatinz71]

man this is all over the net...mine are all from '06 so i'm good...

[78 Chevyrado]

All our cars and trucks have a date of 2006, so it's all good, but the car hauler's got 18 year old tires on it, and it's only 7 years old.   they have a 1990 date code.  who knew..

[Fordeatinz71]

and that's particularly safe on a truck that hauls a lot of weight!

[DnStClr]

Tires ought to be replaced at 5-7 yrs out. The chemicals in the rubber begin to deteriorate and cause separation in the treads and blowouts. !8 yrs service is awesome! Business must've been kinda slow! 

[VileZambonie]

ANY tire can blow out at any given time. I've had several brand new defective tires. I feel bad for that family that lost their son but I'd be willing to bet something happened to that tire. Hit something, had a bubble or had some sort of evidence that it was going to go and dad was probably too cheap to take it in for a service and inspection before sending his young inexperienced son off on a road trip. Sue happy lawyers can make it sound like it's so dangerous to sell a new tire that's dated because they see $$$$ signs. Don't freak out and run out and junk your tires because they're a few years old. Always inspect them for defects, excessive runout, cracking, wear etc.

[bmaier]

i've worked in a tire shop for the past 2.5 years and its not that uncommon to see new tires get bubbles or seperations. all you gotta do is inspect your tires regularly like you do fluids and whatnot on your vehicle. if you do see somethin that looks fishy, just bring it to a tire shop and they can check it out and probably won't cost you anythin to just get it looked at; i know we dont charge anybody just to pull off a wheel and check it out. plus if there is somethin wrong with the tire it will be covered under warranty and will cost you nothin or very little to replace it.

as for older tires being sold, when a new tread design comes out people tend to go with that and therefore the older style will just sit around or just get put aside and forgotten about til that random guy comes in lookin for that certain style.

that's just my .02

[VileZambonie]

Just thinking about that news story, saying that kid who wrecked and died that speed or alcohol wasn't a factor and totally putting the blame on the tire is just a finger pointing game. I had a Left front firestone tire peel on me on the highway doing 85mph in a chevy astro all wheel drive van. The tread smacked me in the arm which was out the window at the time and then the carcass disintegrated. I was able to safely get off the road and consider myself lucky but nevertheless expect the unexpected. We live in litigious society that's for sure.

[SUX2BU99]

^ That's a nutty story!

I saw this thing on TV a few months ago and while at a store that sells tires I was looking for this code. The numbers I found on some of the tires did not make any sense whatsoever and I'm pretty sure I was decoding it right. I'll have to watch it again but I'm wondering if it's just BS.

[frogman68]

I consider my self a good driver ( who doesnt  )

I recently (2 weeks ago) had a blow out of the right front on RT 301/50 outside of DC doing 75 mph I can tell ya if I didnt have 3 lanes to go over I would of been into the guardrail.
Between the loud bang of the tire exploding (thought I got hit at first) and the wheel wretching my arms to the right if I wasnt completely sober and awake I think the results could of been worse. All I needed (might need a strut ) at the time was a new rim. These tires were only 4 yrs old. Here is what is left 

[Skunksmash]

Just thinking about that news story, saying that kid who wrecked and died that speed or alcohol wasn't a factor and totally putting the blame on the tire is just a finger pointing game. I had a Left front firestone tire peel on me on the highway doing 85mph in a chevy astro all wheel drive van. The tread smacked me in the arm which was out the window at the time and then the carcass disintegrated. I was able to safely get off the road and consider myself lucky but nevertheless expect the unexpected. We live in litigious society that's for sure.

I freaking hate firestone. I hope they go out of business.

[camdenoilchange]

interesting story. i just checked, my 2008 silverado has tires from 03. as others have said, regular checks will help reduce any risks.

[Redneckchevy]

Well this post made me wounder....SO...I walked out to my 1997 explorer....the tires are from 1996...But i cant afford to replace them. Maybe income tax time or something