Just saw this piece on ABC news about tire expiration dates. Those who know me have always heard my mantra about buying a good quality tire, after all it's the only thing that's between your car and the road. According to this piece on ABC news, the rubber compound in tires dries out over time and becomes brittle after 6 years or so. This can lead to blowouts, nasty rollovers and to the premature pushing up of the the old daisies! The scary thing is that potentially dangerous tires are sold as new at major auto outlets like Sears. Legally they are new, having never been used and having no tread wear at all. A pal of mine just bought new tires for $20 each, so I'm suspecting that they may be old tires, yikes! (Note to self, don't go on extended road trip in car with $20 tires)
How to figure out how old your tires are - Determine the manufacture date
All tires have a manufacture date stamped on the side of them but this number was never meant to be easily read by the general public as it's somewhat criptic to decipher:
- Date will be most likely be on the outside rubber wall of the tire but I found that on my winter tires I had to look on the inside wall of the tire
- Dates are normally 3 or four digits long and stamped in a recessed roundish rectangle on the sidewall of the tire
- Before 2000, the date code had three digits so if your little code only has 3 digits then you're already in trouble, your tires are a minium of eight years old and could potentially be deadly.
- For tires that have four digits the last two are normally the year this is what you need to look at
- First two digits are the week so 0504 is fifth week in 2004
Just looked at the tires on my ride and the code I see says 0504, this means the tire was made in 2004 so I'm ok and shite, these are high performance Z rated tires @ $200 + each so I'm happy there haven't gone stale yet. So peeps it's time to grab a flashlight and go and check the age of your rubber, EVEN IF YOUR TIRES ARE NEW or the tread looks good!
Some examples from the tires on my Audi
Here are the dates from my rubber! Starting out with my summer tires (firth week of 2004):
My winter ties (35th week of 2005)
Counter view?
Alarmism or under reported? Seems like from a science point of view rubber can break down with age and think about the loss to the tire companies if they have to recall all the new tires older than 6 years. Comments below the video please?
Video
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MyLittlePortal.com is Richard's personal blog. Richard is a video producer and Drupal web developer who lives in Boulder, Colorado USA. 
February 13, 2010 - 10:04pm
I WOULD LIKE TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY NEED TO CHECK THE DATE OF MANUFACTURE . ON THE TIRE SIDEWALL THERE ARE DOT NUMBERS. THE LAST SET OF NUMBERS READ LIKE THIS( 4204 ) TO READ THE INFO THE FIRST SET OF NUMBER MEAN THIS ( 42 ) MEANS THE WEEK OF THE YEAR 42ND WEEK. ( 04 ) MEANS THE YEAR THE TIRE WAS MADE. IF THE TIRE READS THIS INFO, THE TIRE IS OUTDATED AND COULD CAUSE A BLOWOUT. THE TIRE IS OVER SIX YEARS OLD. AND PROBABLY DRY ROTTED.IF THE YEAR IS 2010. THE TIRE NEED TO BE TAKEN OFF. YOU SHOULD NEVER RUN A TIRE OVER TEN YEARS OLD. I WORKED IN THE TIRE INDRUSTRY AND KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT. THANKS AND GOOD LUCK.
July 26, 2008 - 8:32am
This article is very interesting as is the video. I've looked up several similar articles on the internet and they all say about the same. I believe that rubber can deteriorate over time, but I think the process can be accelerated or delayed depending on conditions. For instance, an old car out in a field will usually lose air in the tires and they will rot in a relatively short period. Tires on a similar vehicle that is driven around will not deteriorate in the same manner. If tires are properly maintained, they seem to function like everything else... take care of them and they will last longer... don't take care of them and they won't.
I have driven vehicles with tires that were more than 6 years old and they give me no problem or reason to worry. The whole thing is an enigma, because so many vehicles DO have older tires that don't cause problems. It just makes you wonder.... maybe even worry a little. Sigh.
July 15, 2008 - 2:06pm
I think this is rubbish, my 14 year old tires are perfect!
August 24, 2010 - 1:35am
A good way to gamble with your life is to keep a 14 year-old rubbish. In the theory of materials, metals corrode, plastics degrade, and rubber (being a natural material) ages. Try stretching an old rubber band and see what happens. Ever seen bad o-rings that cause your fuel injectors to leak? How about old radiator hoses that blow up and cause engine overheating? The list can go on. The point is, the news and the original claim is totally true. The U.S. Navy change aircraft tires based on flight hours. It doesn't matter if the aircraft tires are still looking new. If it has flewn the set hours and even only a few hours old, it will be replaced. No matter what. We threw away brand new o-rings and related rubber products if they passed their shelf lives (normally 18 months from date of manufacture).
November 2, 2009 - 7:13am
Well like it's been said already, it depends on more factors than just age. Usage is a big one. Have you ever had a rubber band that you play with all the time? Rubber is weird in that sense that the more you use it (within its limits) the more it seems to last. Sun protection is a big one - we have all seen those covers on RV's tires. And I suspect some products like Armor All do to. The same as the black sealer on your asphalt prevents cracks and extends the life of your driveway. For most of us, in the end, user's maintenance is probably the most important factor. Inspect your tire frequently for pressure, wear, etc. If you see cracks, start shopping...
May 6, 2010 - 1:11pm
I purchased a set of brand new low profile proformance tires for my car and kept them in beautiful shape with armor all tire spray, in about 2 years the tires started to dry rot. I was told by many sources that the products intended to keep rubber shiney, acutally pulled the moisture out of the rubber and caused the dry rot. I am not an expert, just passing on what I was told.