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Ford's new tire recommendation

I have noticed that Ford is recommending that tires be replaced after six years, regardless of the remaining tread. Apparently, they have determined that the tire's internal components are subject to failure after 6 years and the tires are no longer safe. Ford also says to discard the spare, even if it has never been used.

This article was in the Wall Street Journal, 5/31/05.

Chrysler has apparently had this recommendation for some time; European autos also carry this. GM is not recommending a tire change after a specified period at this time.

My Michelin XC LT4 tires have some very small sidewall cracks. The tires are about 5 years old now. The tire date code on the sidewall says 12001, meaning it was made the 12th week of 2001.

Just wondering if I should change them now, or wait awhile. I still have some tread after 48000 miles. Summers are hot in Texas.

Reply to
stevie
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What do you think happens to those 5 year old tires that are "unsafe"? They are bought by used tire dealers and re-sold and used for the remainder of their tread life. I'm sure at some point tires are "too old" but I'm not at all convinced it happens anywhere near the 5 year mark, probably more like 10 years.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

Reply to
Big Shoe

It looks like there is a bit of ass covering going on here, at the expense of the consumer, especially in regard to the spare tire. I don't really blame them though, in light of their last tire debacle. H

Reply to
Hairy

I have some tires on farm equipment that are more than 20 years old. Heck, I have some truck tires on a home made farm trailer that are more than 50 years old. They look bad and I would not use them on a road vehicle, but they are still holding air.

There is one difference in modern tires. In a lot of cases the compounds have change to reduce rolling resistance. This may have a detrimental on resistance to aging due to exposure to sunlight.

Regards,

Ed White

Steve wrote:

Reply to
C. E. White

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