Aged-out Tires From 2011

[Number_35]

Yesterday I did a bit of a mechanical inspection on an elderly lady's 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe.

There was a sloppy ball joint, one cracked CV boot, and one split-open CV boot, but the really scary thing was the tires:

Adequate tread left, but those sidewalls are scary!

 

[Number_35]

And just because, here are shots of the CV boots:

Cracked but still intact:

Split open, and slinging grease

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Yikes

 

[eljefino]

Does she park next to a Van de Graaff generator?

 

[nwjones18]

Typical looking old Michelin.. Definitely dangerous!

 

[Number_35]

Does she park next to a Van de Graaff generator?

Perhaps instead of nitrogen they used ozone.

 

[IndyIan]

Wow, cracks are one thing, but chunks falling off the sidewall isn't something I've seen unless the tire is 2-3-4 decades old?

 

[Fitter30]

Remember Paul Walker the actor in Fast and Furious. Driving i think a Ferrari wreck it driving on old tires tires that looked good. Rubber got hard less traction.

 

[B1974]

I wouldn't hang those tires off a boat dock!

Not sure a 2003 Santa Fe is worth putting money into, hope she gets a safe vehicle.

 

[Lubener]

That elderly lady probably doesn't drive over 25 mph. From what I seen with elderly owned vehicles is very low miles appearing in great condition but with a rusted out frame and a lot of issues.

 

[02SE]

Remember Paul Walker the actor in Fast and Furious. Driving i think a Ferrari wreck it driving on old tires tires that looked good. Rubber got hard less traction.

It was a Porsche Carrera GT, and he was just a passenger. His buddy (who also died) was driving too fast for the conditions and lost control. Old tires on the car were likely a contributing factor.

Yes old tires such as those pictured in this thread, are beyond their safe service life.

 

[Number_35]

I wouldn't hang those tires off a boat dock!

Not sure a 2003 Santa Fe is worth putting money into, hope she gets a safe vehicle.

She is widowed, in her early 80s, and doesn't have a lot of money. I suspect it's keep this vehicle going, or do without.

Kal Tire quoted C$1000 all-in (mounting/balancing/new valve stems/eco fee/taxes) for four all-weather tires (i.e. winter-rated).

It does drive well, and the rust appears to be mostly cosmetic. If the paint weren't so bad, it would look a lot better.

I wonder whether it originally came from a place with intense sun exposure? The peeling clear coat and faded paint look like old vehicles seen in Colorado.

 

[John105]

I have 2008 and 2014 tires and I’m good with them. I go by tread depth.

Right off the bat. Tire mfg and auto mfg use two different service lifes, that’s a red flag to me. One goes 67% longer. That’s not even remotely in the same ballpark.

It’s interesting how everyone draws conclusions from a pic having never handled the product.

Jmoymmv

 

[Patman]

Remember Paul Walker the actor in Fast and Furious. Driving i think a Ferrari wreck it driving on old tires tires that looked good. Rubber got hard less traction.

They are now saying that it might have actually been suspension failure on that car (which was a Carrera GT). There is a recall on the Carrera GT related to the suspension because of these failures.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I agree with significant sun exposure. The Michelins installed back in 2015 on my truck have been garaged 99% of the time and still look brand new.

 

[B1974]

Take a look on marketplace for some good used tires on rims. I've had some luck finding (and selling) rims and tires on there for my kids cars and my Mustangs.

 

[CapriRacer]

Just so everyone understands:

Tire aging is very heat dependent and where you live greatly affects the result. That's why you will get different answers as to when to replace your tires.

Also, some tire manufacturers use a crack resistant rubber in the sidewalls, so cracks = bad, but no cracks does not mean the tire is good. That's why we use tire age. And it's age in service, not when the tire was made. New tires have waxes in them that greatly slow down the aging process, but they flake off when the tire is put into service.

And why is this important? Because internally the rubber deteriorates over time (oxidation) and can fail and cause a separation - very bad. We use the state of the upper sidewall to gauge the situation of the rubber internal to the tire.

 

[Kruse]

I live in northeast Kansas, but about three years ago I bought a 2005 Ford Explorer in Amarillo, Texas while visiting Texas in-laws.
The seller said it was his daughter's vehicle, but "she just didn't like it and wouldn't drive it." And there was proof of that. There were some Taco Bell pouches of sauce inside that had exploded, dried and were very aged.
The tires also had lots of tread, but were 12 years old. I bought it and drove the 8 hour trip home that day, but I made sure nobody was riding with me because I had three thoughts on my mind the whole time:
The oil was filthy and I wanted to change it before I drove it, but I couldn't schedule that in.
This vehicle didn't have Firestone tires on it, but I remembered the exploding tires on Explorers from 20 years ago.
The 12 year old tires that I was riding on had baked in the Amarillo sun for their whole life.

First thing I did when I got home was to change oil and put on new tires.

 

[supton]

Michelin, eh? I had them crack, not that bad, but only after 2 years, so would have been that bad after 10+. Will not buy again, lesson learned. Apparently UV is really bad in northern climates?

Have a 22 year old spare on the back of our CRV it was covered until a couple of years ago, so zero UV and zero cracks. I don't trust it and will finally get around to replacing it, but it looks way better than that.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Wow, those are bad. I just replaced my BFG KO2s from 2015, plenty of tread but starting to concern me. My 2000 Honda spare exploded in the trunk a few months back. Never been used, zero cracks previously. I kept it aired up every few months.