How old are your new tires?

[BMWDriver]

Just saw this shocking report from 20/20...

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

[angusbn]

My rule of thumb. If they're older than 7 years based on the date-stamp on the tires they go to the recycling depot. Others laugh at me for doing so, but it's the only thing between you and the road. Tires aren't that expensive especially Kuhmo.

[BMWDriver]

Yeah, now I'm a bit worried to find out how old mine all are...

[xspeedy]

I'd like to have more information on the specific tires that failed. Are these really cheap (generic) tires that are prone to failure anyway? Would a high quality older tire like a Michelin suffer similar issues?

[Russell]

I installed 4 "new" Michelin Exalto A/S tires in 2008 and 3 were made in 2005 and the 4th made in 2007. I was not as happy as I would like. BTW, I am not real imporessed with the tires in real wet weather.

[russiankid]

Mine were made in 2008 or was it 2007.

[BMWDriver]

I'd like to have more information on the specific tires that failed. Are these really cheap (generic) tires that are prone to failure anyway? Would a high quality older tire like a Michelin suffer similar issues?

I don't think they could publicly divulge that without getting a hell of a lawsuit.

[h2oyo]

I installed 4 "new" Michelin Exalto A/S tires in 2008 and 3 were made in 2005 and the 4th made in 2007. I was not as happy as I would like. BTW, I am not real imporessed with the tires in real wet weather.

I just checked my tires which are about 9 months old to me and found them to be either 07 or 08 according to the code. Then I checked my daughters car, I just bought 2 new tires for her car for the front and one of them are 9 years old! The other one was 3 years old. I cant feel good about this now as I didnt know this before. I will be going to discount tire tomorrow to see what I can do about this. I had a friend that just about died along with his family on the highway going to California. His tire just came apart. They too where fairly new to him. They all ended up be flown to the hospital in bad shape. This story ends ok as everyone got better and is well now.

[Ross]

Mostly hoo ha me thinks.
20/20 just loves to alarm people

[xspeedy]

Mostly hoo ha me thinks.
20/20 just loves to alarm people

Yeah, which is why I would like to see more detail. No specifics were given for the tires that failed. If you google on the subject though, there are others that say old tires are more prone to failure. Ford is one of them.

Leads me to wonder if that is related to the Ford Explorer tread separation. Maybe Firestone had a huge inventory of old tires in the required size :)

[russiankid]

There was one incident that I remember watching and reading about. Some teenagers went on a road trip, and the drivers father had just got "new" tires put on. They ended up crashing and I believe they all were dead. It was later discovered that the tires were I believe 8 years old, and the tread separated from the tire which caused them to lose control.

[Tiger]

What country was this?

[Ross]

The esteemed journalists at 20/20 always seem to do just enough research to lend some credence to their alarmist position and stir the pot. Grandma takes this as gospel and runs to the nearest tire store where she is promptly hosed.
About the same time Ford and Firestone were in deep doo-doo over the blowouts(of underinflated tires) the Indianapolis speedway was reconfiguring for Formula One. I had an opportunity to walk the course. Those tire barriers are all brand new Firestones in Explorer sizes, with holes carefully bored in every sidewall.

[Russell]

Your point?

[Russell]

I was involved in the Ford Explorer tire recall on our 98 Eddie Bauer. IMO, the Firestone Wilderness tires we removed were terrible tires from a handling point of view. Very slow turn in, wandered, side winds would blow you all over the road and well rode like a truck. The replacement Bridgestone Duel HL tires were the positive opposite in every respect. Plus the lasted 50,000 miles before I felt they were too old and showing dry rot cracks.

I could not believe that Bridgestone/Firestone could make both tires or that Ford would spec such a crappy tire for one of their, at the time, best selling verhicles.

Rant over.

[Ross]

That I don't put much stock in what 20/20 has to say and I thought it interesting that Firestone had found a customer after all for it's so-called defective tires.

[Ross]

It was a cheap tire with a tall sidewall and low inflation pressure to try and give a truck a carlike ride. At the expense of already dismal handling.

[BMWCCA1]

People here in the USA actually buy tires for their BMW from other than Tire Rack?;)

I bought four new Yokos from The Tire Rack for my E34 last spring and they were only three weeks old when they arrived at my house. Made in Virginia, too. If you're relying on your local gas station, local tire store, Sears, or WalMart for tires, you're gonna get whatever they have.

Anyone else catch the staged drama of showing blown truck retreads on the side of the road? That's a stretch to an automotive tire problem. How much damage is there to vehicles on our roads every year because of tread separation on re-capped truck tires, and you'd think that'd be a more regulated area. It's not.

[bubba966]

Anyone else catch the staged drama of showing blown truck retreads on the side of the road? That's a stretch to an automotive tire problem. How much damage is there to vehicles on our roads every year because of tread separation on re-capped truck tires, and you'd think that'd be a more regulated area. It's not.

Yeah, I saw that they showed a pic of a truck retread and acted like it was the tread off of a regular tire that had failed due to age. Bit of false advertising like what Ross was pointing at.

FWIW I buy my tires at Costco, and have for years. When I get tires they have in stock, they're usually only a month or two old. But I also pick out my own tires when I buy 'em and make sure I get the newest ones they've got. Though I had to order a PS2 a month back as none of the Costco's around here stock PS2's. It was a year old. No big deal though as I don't quite get 2 years out of a PS2 anyways.

[SC David]

Mine are 5 years old. Bought them about 6 months ago. This is a statistic I'll keep in mind when buying tires again.

[Russell]

Mine are 5 years old. Bought them about 6 months ago. This is a statistic I'll keep in mind when buying tires again.

I did not realize how often selling of "old stock' tires really was. I thought I was just unlucky.

[dennyg]

The best information from the 20/20 is the dot code. I was told this a long time ago but forgot about it. I think most of the problems are with truck/suv tires that have more aggressive and deeper tread patterns.

I also thought it was bogus to show truck retreads by the side of the road. Our press has developed the Rupport Murdock syndrome that dramatizes everything more just for ratings.

I think many of us are going to check those dot dates on all our cars very soon. At the very least if the tires are over six years old they should be changed out at half tread in my opinion. I have original spare p2000 from some cars I bought. Anyone want a deal on new tires lol.

[e34.535i.sport]

Well, you've got my interest... I wish I'd read this before I bought four new tyres today... Just going to check their 'age' now!!

[e34.535i.sport]

They were made 4008... whichI make as the 40th week of 2008... That'll do me!

[e34.535i.sport]

They were made 4008... which I make as the 40th week of 2008... That'll do me!

Brilliant thread by the way... Made me think twice.

[BMWDriver]

Thanks for the compliment.

Yeah... So now I have a 16 year old spare in my trunk... AFAIK.

[Tiger]

Buy a cheapo 'new' tire and stick it on your spare tire.

[paanta]

Ah. 20/20.

Lead with story about the death of a child or parent or elderly person or pet.
"Danger hidden in everyday object!"
Show graphic example of product failing in test conditions (whether relevant or not). Fake it if you need to.
Closeup of tiny sneaker, dog collar, family photo.
Describe pattern of government/industry coverup
Grill some industry insider/lackey
Give viewer 20 seconds of useful info
Go undercover to make 20/20 look tough
Wrapup.

Useful, though. Don't buy crappy tires and buy them from somewhere online with lots of turnover.

[Vanguard]

Was 20/20 the guys that did the chevy/gmc truck gas tank story? You know the one about the exploding truck that wouldn't explode so they put sparkers on to make it catch fire.

[xspeedy]

Was 20/20 the guys that did the chevy/gmc truck gas tank story? You know the one about the exploding truck that wouldn't explode so they put sparkers on to make it catch fire.

That was Dateline NBC - from Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dateline_NBC

General Motors

Dateline NBC aired an investigative report about General Motors pickup trucks allegedly exploding upon impact during accidents due to poor design of fuel tanks. Dateline's film showed a sample of a low speed accident with the fuel tank exploding. In reality, Dateline NBC producers had rigged the truck with remotely detonated explosives. The program did not disclose the fact that the accident was staged. GM investigators studied the film, and discovered that smoke actually came out of the fuel tank a split-second before impact. GM subsequently filed an anti-defamation lawsuit against NBC after conducting an extensive investigation. On February 18, 1993 GM conducted a highly publicized (view broadcast in 1993 section of GM 1990s history) point-by-point rebuttal that lasted nearly two hours after announcing the lawsuit. The lawsuit was quickly settled by NBC, and Jane Pauley read an apology on the program.

The following Dateline NBC producers were dismissed: Jeff Diamond, executive producer; David Rummel, senior producer; and Robert Read, producer of the report on the pickups. Michele Gillen, the reporter involved in the segment, was transferred to Miami station WTVJ. Michael G. Gartner, president of the news division, resigned under pressure.