Tyres 5 years+ old
Discussion
Had a well known mobile tyre fitter round today to take the winter wheels off a car and put the summer wheels back on. This car does a low mileage (we've had it since new in 2008 and it's done 30k miles so far). He noted that the summer tyres were marked 2010 and thus were 5 years old and that this was a MOT fail and I should change them. Is this correct? I'm not aware of any law which says tyres must be less then 5 years old? There's loads of tread left on them but even if they're legal is it advisable to renew them? Thanks for any replies.
djohnson said:
Had a well known mobile tyre fitter round today to take the winter wheels off a car and put the summer wheels back on. This car does a low mileage (we've had it since new in 2008 and it's done 30k miles so far). He noted that the summer tyres were marked 2010 and thus were 5 years old and that this was a MOT fail and I should change them. Is this correct? I'm not aware of any law which says tyres must be less then 5 years old? There's loads of tread left on them but even if they're legal is it advisable to renew them? Thanks for any replies.
He's trying to sell you tyres. There is no MOT use by date for tyres. You can only fail if they are worn below the minimum grip, damaged or completely perished. Get a new tyre fitter - this one is a travelling cowboy.
Oh - and loads of people will pipe up and say they drive £500 cars, but change the tyres to premiums every 6 months for fun. They are plonkers - tyres are fine for general use until they are MOT fails.
No age check on tyres in the mot, one of the tyres on our Clio was original with the car in 1999, just been passed by Halfords. They did suggest changing it, and the other original tyre on the other side had to go due to cracks in the sidewall, but as long as they have tread and are in good condition (no cracks or lumps) then I can't see the issue come mot time.
I'm sure companies that specialise in selling tyres may disagree though :-)
I did have to replace the fronts on the 1 Series as they had got too old, but they were cracking in between the treads and rode bumps like they were made out of granite, so you may want to consider replacing them if you have run flats.
I'm sure companies that specialise in selling tyres may disagree though :-)
I did have to replace the fronts on the 1 Series as they had got too old, but they were cracking in between the treads and rode bumps like they were made out of granite, so you may want to consider replacing them if you have run flats.
I've recently put some wheels on my car that have tyres that are at least that old (pothole wrecked my usual set), and I haven't slid off the road yet. So long as they aren't obviously perished I can't see what the problem would be?
The whole "5 year rule" is something that has come up before I think, with various people saying they thought it was about to come into force, or whatever, but I can't find any concrete evidence that it has. It's likely that improperly stored tyres would show signs of cracking etc that would be a MOT fail anyway, leading some to draw the specious conclusion that tyres over a certain age are an automatic fail, when they aren't.
The whole "5 year rule" is something that has come up before I think, with various people saying they thought it was about to come into force, or whatever, but I can't find any concrete evidence that it has. It's likely that improperly stored tyres would show signs of cracking etc that would be a MOT fail anyway, leading some to draw the specious conclusion that tyres over a certain age are an automatic fail, when they aren't.
hunton69 said:
Some say 5 some say 7, my motorhome ones blew up at 10 years and looked like new.
IIRC the manufacturers say about 6, so that's not far off. Rubber goes brittle and hard with UV exposure, and given that they're the only thing between you and going backwards through a hedge, I'd give some thought about new tyres next spring. 
davepoth said:
IIRC the manufacturers say about 6, so that's not far off. Rubber goes brittle and hard with UV exposure, and given that they're the only thing between you and going backwards through a hedge, I'd give some thought about new tyres next spring.
Very valid concerns, but given that the tyre fitting industry appears to regard an unused tyre that's up to three years old by the date on the sidewall and has been stored correctly (which includes limiting UV exposure I'm sure) as 'new', a default position of binning them as early as 6 years without a thought to wear, condition or how long they've actually been out in the elements seems a little strict.davepoth said:
hunton69 said:
Some say 5 some say 7, my motorhome ones blew up at 10 years and looked like new.
IIRC the manufacturers say about 6, so that's not far off. Rubber goes brittle and hard with UV exposure, and given that they're the only thing between you and going backwards through a hedge, I'd give some thought about new tyres next spring. The tyres are legal providing they meet current requirements as to tread, cuts, splits etc.
This is Bridgestone's take on tyre age: http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/passenger/care... Well worth a read as it talks about weakening & deterioration of the tyre's structure as they age. This is unlikely to be visible & does raise concerns about the safety of older tyres.
This is Bridgestone's take on tyre age: http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/passenger/care... Well worth a read as it talks about weakening & deterioration of the tyre's structure as they age. This is unlikely to be visible & does raise concerns about the safety of older tyres.
RemaL said:
So my Kit car with tyres that have only done 10k in 8 years, have loads of life left and lives 48 weeks of the year in the garage would need to be replaced due to age? not useage, miles or where it is stored
Getting there, yes. The rubber compound internally degrades, even without UV light etc. They go hard, lose grip, and start to crack and craze.We binned a set of 10yo Michelins a few years ago that'd always been stored in similar condition to yours. The replacement Michs - exactly the same, just newer - transformed the grip.
It appears the tyre fitter was either trying it on or he may have noticed cracking...
Either was the vast majority of tyres are built 6 months in advance and normally any longer, that has not always been the case but Michelin have seemed to adopt the 'Just in time' model for business that works.
There are so many variables on tyres and road surfaces it has to be dealt on a case by case basis, you may have a set of Michelin Cross Climate that will last for 40K then the second set only lasts for 15K. There is no real time limit, the 10 years is what testing proves and I back Michelin.
Either was the vast majority of tyres are built 6 months in advance and normally any longer, that has not always been the case but Michelin have seemed to adopt the 'Just in time' model for business that works.
There are so many variables on tyres and road surfaces it has to be dealt on a case by case basis, you may have a set of Michelin Cross Climate that will last for 40K then the second set only lasts for 15K. There is no real time limit, the 10 years is what testing proves and I back Michelin.
paintman said:
This is Bridgestone's take on tyre age: http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/passenger/care... Well worth a read as it talks about weakening & deterioration of the tyre's structure as they age.
Although Australia does have differences in climate to the UK, tbf.paintman said:
This is unlikely to be visible & does raise concerns about the safety of older tyres.
Slightly stronger than that, I think...http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greate...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23320526
sorrel said:
I was told by a tyre fitter friend that the five year rule applies in some EU countries and will probably become law here in the next couple of years - but at present there is no age limit.
VW dealer told me my tyres were nearly illegal and should be changed. They measure 4-5mms. "Ah", they said, "that's close to the EU legal limit of 3mm."Car's next service (and MOT) was at a VW indie. No comment at all about the tyres.
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