My tires have expired

Make a long story short got the Michelins in 2012, inherited a 25 mpg car in 2016 and mainly drove that for economic reasons. Tacoma was driven occasionally like trips to my place one state over and around town.

Time rolls by fast, I never would have considered replacing these just looking at them, 6/32 tread 36K but I just realized they're ten years old.

Think I could hold out a year or two or should I be safe?

P1000837

P1000833

 

No - change them immediately. After 6-7yrs the rubber deteriorates rapidly regardless of tread condition

it’s just not worth the risk

 

Could you around town, yea...should you is a different answer (no) since those obviously have quite a bit of cracking and definitely a hard pass for me one state over, assuming highways, etc.

I have a vehicle a barely drive with Michelin PSS that are 9 years old and 50% tread, no cracking..i decided to remove them 2 weeks ago since i didn't want to deal with a failure on the road.

 

My tire dealer told me this is pure bull shit . When this first came out.

Just a market ploy to sell more tires.

michelin sidewalls have always cracked like that.

Go by the overall condition of the tires . Yes being exposed to the sun is hard on the tires.

I have brand new tires I bought in the eighties.

your call do what you think is right.

 

Any signs of cracking due to age?
If not drive like you stole it. The compound doesn’t suddenly melt when it hits an expiration date. It’s aging that matters and you can see it.

Update: I zoomed in on the last pic and see the cracks. I would replace fairly soon but no need to panic.

 

Cracking on the tread edge or tread surface is a much higher concern.

I'd say another year easily on those tires. I usually like to have more than 5-6/32nd on any truck tire anyway.

 

Side wall cracking is significantly more dangerous than losing tread. Ever have a sidewall blowout?

 

Definitely replace. 5-6 years is the max irregardless of mileage. Michelin/BFG are known for using very soft rubber compounds.

 

They look like may-pops to me.

 

Now that I think of it those tiny cracks have been there quite some time. There is zero cracks anywhere above one inch from the rim.

 

The deterioration is cased by both sunlight and ozone. If you lived in Los Angeles and parked outside, your tires age faster than if you live in a rural area and park indoors.
The calendar age is a useful indicator, but a visual inspection is important. If you are seeing lots of cracks, time for new tires.

 

Well I just bit the bullet, 4 Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S 265/65R17. Question, what pressure do you run at, door says 29 but I find that rather mushy. Ran my Michelins @ 34-35 and that worked out well for twelve years.

 

I run 32 in front and 34 in rear.
I have 265/70/16 tires.
I tow frequently, if you don’t tow often maybe try 32 psi.

To be honest, I have 35 psi in all of them now. But that’s because I have life time rotation on my tires. I told the tires shop to just do 34 all around to make it easy in them. My gauge says 35 on a cold tire.
So……that’s what I left it at.

 

Look like regular old Michelins' to me

 

I’m not usually a fear-monger but I would be hesitant to run those tires with those cracks. Not because of the age, but because of the cracks.

 

Those tires are on their way out with the sidewall cracking and this is coming from a guy that just replaced 30 year old [original tires] on his 93 vehicle. They were also totally unchecked [cracked] anywhere, sidewall or in the tread area. Car spent it's life in garages if not being driven. New rubber [10 years old is new compounding] will never go that long, they removed some of the more expensive materials [carbon black] that made them last longer because they now don't care about longevity since the government gave them a 6 year and a free pass due to age out.

I would have had no issues driving the 30 year old tires on my ride across country, those tires I would have an issue with doing the same thing.

 

I had to run out to my property in PA so didn't have time for a proper photo op. lol
Not enough mud to give a real traction assessment but on dry hills they are fine. They sure ride nice and 17.5 mpg on 70% freeway driving. And I lost a hubcap. And I need new rims.

 

I had at34s's they were really impressive for the price. Ultimately they couldnt handle the abuse I gave them (daily gravel roads), but for a daily driver and limited offroad they are an amazing choice.

 

Iirc Michelin has one of the higher recommendations at 10 years for replacement and you’re at ~11. It’s time.

 

What’d you go with for the abuse?