Beware the age of your tyres

[Harley Dave]

I hadn't noticed (or even checked), but the rear tyres on our recently new to us, 2013 Jazz EX-L were the original Dunlops supplied on the car from new.

The car has only done 16,000 miles, so there was plenty of tread showing, but I ought to have looked closer...

Following a rear wheel puncture, that I wasn't aware of, and a subsequently destroyed tyre, I realized both rear tyres were perished and had cracks in the tread and sidewall.

That needed 2 trips to ProTyre, who fortunately are just down the road from me, with a loose wheel each time, for a pair of nice new Falkens.

I also decided that I ought to get a space-saver to pop in the space under the boot floor.

A quick search on eBay found a company that specialize in exactly that product (no names no packdrill) and I ordered one, without the tool kit, as I have a jack and wheel brace already.

£85 later and the wheel arrived in 2 days (post free)

Although advertised as "Used" the tyre (Continental CST17) had not been used at all and the wheel looked in perfect condition too.

All looking good so far.

I checked the pressure of the tyre, which needed a little top up to 60psi, and noticed the date code for the tyre was 2607.

I looked up what that meant (June 2007) and double-checked to make sure it was 07 and not 17 - it was 07...

So the seller was selling 14 year old tyres!! (I assume by listing them as "Used" they get around the age problem.)

I appreciate that the tyre wouldn't deteriorate as fast being stored in a nice dark space in a Jazz boot but even so it would have just naturally aged and lost some of its anti-oxidising properties.

I contacted the seller and, to be fair, they were OK about it, and offered me a free return and refund

I would imagine that many of us on here do not do high mileage in our Jazz and our tyres (especially on the back) will go out of date before they wear out...

Check your tyres!!

Cheers

Dave

[Jocko]

My spare has never been on the car (2006). Contacted the tyre manufacturer and was advised it would be okay.

[embee]

I went through essentially the same thought process when getting a space-saver for my Jazz last year. FWIW this is how I viewed the issue, other views will vary.

I have space-savers in 2 other cars, one dating from 1995 and the other from 2000, neither have ever been fitted to the cars. I managed to pick up one for the Jazz which is dated 2010.
Everything said about the age of road tyres being significant is of course correct. I view space-savers slightly differently however. They are built much more robustly, they live in the dark not exposed to the elements, they don't generally get the load cycling of being in use. If/when I ever need to use one (haven't so far, but sometime maybe), I will drive a minimum distance on it and pretty carefully at that. I will treat it as effectively an "emergency" measure and get it off the car again as soon as possible.
Working on the basis (of my experience) that I'll be very unlucky to need to use one, I'm content to have 10 or 20yr old space-savers in the boot along with some goo and a tyre pump as additional options.

Normal road tyres I have often replaced with loads of tread still left but what I considered to be time expired, no question.

"Your mileage may vary".

[Kremmen]

My tyres are 2013 OEM fit and have no cracks. I check them regularly.

My car is also low miles, 24k, but is garaged. I've never applied any tyre dressing products as they can cause premature ageing and I never get too close with the power washer.

[richardfrost]

This story concurs nicely with my comments in another thread. When you buy a used car, you are buying four part worn tyres. You need to pay attention to them. Thanks for sharing.