Don't Tread Lightly: A closer look at your vehicle's tires

by Mark Lorenzana

What is the least appreciated part of a vehicle? A good answer would be the tires.

Most people don’t give much thought to their tires until it’s too late-- until they fail. And when tires fail, it could mean just two things: either you get a minor inconvenience that might involve getting stuck in traffic, missing work, while putting on your spare, or a scenario that could be much worse – a life-threatening accident.

If you own a vehicle, perhaps it’s a good idea to give more importance to your tires. Be sure to check the condition of the tires you are currently using and look out for any defects or faults. Check the spare, too.

Or better yet, continue reading this article. It will delve more deeply on safety issues concerning vehicle tires.


Looking out for serious defects in your car tires.

This should serve as a warning for the driving public. There might be hidden defects in tires that could cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles on the road.

It is not enough for tires to look good, be properly inflated, and have a good amount of tread. It’s a good idea to check the age of your tires.

Because tires are the most under appreciated part of a vehicle, drivers often neglect how old their tires are as long as they still look good. This might be true especially for spare tires—some could be up to a decade old or more. A very old spare tire, believe it or not, could deteriorate to the point of having its interior rotted. One can just imagine the disastrous effects this could lead to when driving at extremely high speeds.

In tires, the rubber materials that hold the belts together will eventually degrade and lose its elasticity. It will get to the point where the tire can no longer hold together. Research shows that tires six years or older tend to break down. And it’s not just the spare tire in your trunk that can be dangerous. Even tires bought from the shop or the showroom can be just as dangerous – who knows, these might have been sitting in a shelf for more than a decade waiting to be sold.


Avoiding accidents brought about by old, faulty tires.

Many vehicle makers now put warnings in their car manuals against using tires that are more than six years old. Some experts, however, advocate for expiration dates to be stamped on the tires not unlike other consumer products like milk.

The tire industry disagrees, stating that expiration dates will only give consumers a false sense of security. They stress that this might lead consumers to use the tires and wear them down to the nub as long as the products are still within the expiration date.

Tire makers say proper maintenance is the key to safe tires and that there is no reliable data that tires become dangerous after six years.

How to make sense of all these contradictory views by the experts? Here is an important tip for the consumer: on the outer wall of the tire, the side that faces away from the car, are a series of digits and letters. The last series of four numbers actually shows the tire’s date of manufacture. For instance, if it shows 1202, this means that the 12th week of 2002 is the tire’s date of manufacture. By checking the date of manufacture, you can determine on your own the age of the tire. You can then decide if it’s time to buy new ones.