expired tires
 

I didn't even know tires had an expiration date.

what happens to the rubber if it's been sitting too long ? Is the expiration date really that important ?

there is no expiration date on tires...

there is only a manufacture date...

the two largest manufacturers warrant their tires for 5 and 6 years from date of manufacture or date of purchase... vehicle manufacturers and many other sources recommend a maximum life of 6 years from date of manufacture...

there are more important things to be worried with when it comes to tires... age is definitely a concern, however wear and overall condition are much more important... I'd rather drive a tire that is 5 years old and no dry rotting, versus a tire that is 3 years and lots of dry rot...

this might be of some help


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

I'll let you in on a secret. One of my rear tires is about 6 years old from the date of purchase. It was a Michelin CrossTerrain that I used only twice as a spare for only a few miles. However, when I had a blowout after hitting road debris in Mexico on the way to Florida, we adopted it as a full time tire and I eventually replaced the remaining 3, can't say that I saw anything internally wrong with this tire when it was put on a normal rim, but I did make sure to fill it up with nitrogen. The spare tire had been spending most of its time in my storage area at my apartment building in Mexico (didn't keep it with me since you could find a tire repair person on any corner in Mexico).

Just make sure the tire hasn't been sitting outside enduring a few seasons of sunshine/rain/snow etc. I've seen tires sitting outside (hot weather) for a few months only to have the sidewalls all cracked. I wouldn't mount those tires on my car.

Lexmex brings up a good point, how many of us know how old our spare tires are? More importantly, what condition are they in? Do they even have air pressure? Now that would make for some good TV!

but you can't blame anyone for that other than the consumer themselves...

it's not good news unless some retailer is doing the wrong thing...