Dry Rot on Michelin Tires

The other day I had my tires rotated and the mechanic said that my tires have dry rot. I took them to Costco where I had purchased them four years ago and they said that it's not dry rot but instead some kind of solar condition of the tire for being four years old. So I took it to Midas to have them give me another opinion on whether it was dry rot and they said the tires needed to be replaced and they said yes it is dry rot. Went back to Costco and went around with them again and finally got them to pay for half on a new set of tires. Has anyone run into an issue with dry rot on Michelin tires that are only 4 years old? Is the solar damage excuse just Costco's way of not giving me new tires or is that legit? I had never heard of tire dry rot till now.

 

Are you sure they’re 4yrs old or it’s 4yrs that’s you’ve had them? Tires need to be replaced within 10yrs of manufacture date (which is on the tire....it’ll say like 3211 meaning the 32nd week of 2011)

Wonder if you got older-but-still-ok-at-the-time tires installed? That does sound very unusual, especially for a good tire like Michelin

 

The rule of thumb was to replace tires after 10 years. Recently I’ve heard this has be reduced to 6 years. YMMV

 

If you park outside in the sun (even at work), 4 years on any set of tires is about right to start seeing this kind of thing. I’m surprised Costco gave you anything at all.

 

I replace tires minimum every 6 regardless of mileage

 

I purchased them in 2015. I didnt think Costco would stock anything but new but I might be wrong.

 

I’ve heard this 6hr mark too, but I think what they’re getting at is that they won’t install them after 6yrs past manufacture date so that you’ve got 4yrs of life left in them

Edit: assuming 12k/yr of course

 

The DOT # on the tires will tell exactly when the tire was manufactured.

 

Depending on the size, if they’re not popular enough, they very well may have bought them new and just had them in inventory for years

 

Honestly, I think you’re very lucky Costco gave you anything. The suns UV rays break down rubber.

 

I know that when using armor all, if you stop using it, it will cause the tires to crack and break down. you a mall crawler op?

 

Yes, petroleum based tire dressings cause the tires to breakdown prematurely. Armor All is one of the worst.

 

Dry rot, solar condition = same thing. Sunlight breaks down rubber. Generally 6-7 years is the average time, and even if you bought them 4 years ago they may have been 2-3 years old then. Check the date code on the tire. And while 6-7 years is average, depending on where you live and where the vehicle is stored it could be a lot less, or sometimes more.

 

The year stamp on the tires is 3014 meaning 2014. So they were new when I bought them in March 2015.

 

No Armor All or anything like that.

 

30th week of 14. So they were approximately 9 months old when you got them, so they’re 5 years old

 

A set of tires will not last me 4 years so I will never know

 

I use dirt to clean my tires

 

read link

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/learn/tire-aging

 

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/learn/tire-safety