Is it time for new tires?

So, I was adding air to the tires on my Saturn, noticed some cracking of the tread - the sidewalls seem to be free from cracks.

The DOT code is 1007, so they are a little more than 5 years old. I have probably put almost 50,000 miles on the tires.

Tread depth is still extremely deep, and they seem to handle just fine - don't feel like they are sliding in any corners, or any other wet or dry traction issues.

Researching the question, some recommend to replace the tire if there are any cracks visible, and some recommend to replace if over 5 years (especially in a hot AZ climate).

Is it time for new tires? If not, what should I watch for as a sign it is time for new tires?

(Not knowing how close attention is paid by service folks, I did just have the tires rotated by the same Toyota dealership where I take my Tacoma, and they made no commend to me about the tires.)

 

From the looks of that picture it just looks like regular wear and tear on any tire. I think you should be fine with those for a while and thats good tread depth for 50K plus miles!

 

So, light cracking of the tread is normal, but if I see cracks in the sidewalls, I should be worried?

It is nice to know that I don't have to figure out how to budget tires right now

 

Yeah I would be a little more worried about the sidewalls but even the sidewalls will crack a little bit from the heat and sun. But honestly from the picture of that tire, it just looks like normal wear and tear to me.

 

This /\. The cracks look more like heat induced wear.