Out of date tire alert!

[Warren Faidley]

Since its the off season, I thought some of you might want to view this video about tire issues, re: companies selling out of date tires. I have seen tires blow out while traveling, with a least one fatality some years ago.

http://abcnews.go.Com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

Warren

 

[Benjamin Rock]

I have a as well and there is a new problem. The valve stems may be bad as well. The company in China that produces them sent a bad batch and they dont know where they are or far they've reached. The stem cracks in the rubber causing rapid air loss. There was a story on the news about it last week. Its very scary. i just purchased a new set of tires and as soon as my other half gets home Im going to check them... Thanks Warren!

 

[Tom Tackett]

Discount Tire sent me a Recall Message this week for some tires through their company. Many have faulty valve stems and the company reported several incidents including one fatality attributed to this defect. Thanks Warren for this thread.
Tom in Ft. Worth.

 

[Susan Strom]

What brand did you buy, Tom?

 

[Susan Strom]

That gentleman from the Rubber Mfg's Association is a slippery fellow isn't he.

That's a pretty outrageous story. Sears didn't fare so well either.

What I like about the video is that it tells you how to crack the tire's age code, that is extremely helpful.

Thanks for posting that.

 

[Clarence Bennett]

This was an awesome post. It just stopped me from buying a set of low mileage tires from Ebay that were over 7 years old. Thanks for the post Warren!!!

 

[Greg Campbell]

Yea, The Suit they interviewed had clearly been rolling in the mold release agent...

Despite the weasel words, the guy does have a valid point: There is no abrupt 'drop-dead' date at which a tire will suddenly become unsafe. It seems likely that tires, as they age, will grow less robust and become more sensitive various stresses such as underinflation and overloading. The detached tread looks very similar the Ford / Firestone issue. In that case, intentional underinflation caused the arguably sub-standard tires to fail. The report made a big deal of the kid's death (natch!), but didn't really investigate the accident in any depth. I have to wonder if those tires were properly maintained and inflated.

As for the overall issue, the tire manufacturers are clearly negligent, failing to self-police this issue in any way. The Suit is full of ****; I'm sure he has access to plenty of statistics and 'scientific data' regarding rubber degradation over time.

Of course recalling and scrapping old tires would interfere with their shareholder's profit and bliss... Time for a law, methinks.

FWIW, I looked at my Costco Bridgestones. They were built only a few weeks before I bought them.

-Greg

 

[Jason Boggs]

I just went out to check mine. I have 4 Pathfinder SUV Sport tires that I got installed this past spring that I bought at Discount tire here in Amarillo. The oldest tire had the code 5207 which is of course the 52nd week of 2007. I'm happy that I wasn't sold old tires. I will definitely look at the code before I ever buy a tire. Thanks for the heads up Warren.

 

[Tom Tackett]

Susan:

My apologies for a slow reply. I am not sure what brand I purchased last year but it was not the brand. It was the valve stems that Discount Tire installed on the new tires. Discount Tire has a problem with the specific commodity valve stems that they installed on many new tire sets, regardless of the brand name of the tire or tire set. Ironically, since I last wrote on this thread, I totaled my truck and am looking for a new vehicle. No injuries thank goodness but definitely a wounded heart. That truck was my babe. I drove her for 17 years and she had given me 388,000+ miles. Guess that the Discount Tire recall no longer applies to me...lol.
Wish me well on trying to find another vehicle. Looking for a used "light truck", Nissan, Toyota, today is like looking for a needle in a haystack.......lol. No joke. OR it is like looking for a Tornado in Texas in August
Tom in Ft. Worth

 

[Susan Strom]

eep, oh no! Sorry to hear about your accident :/ Certainly glad you were not injured.

Happy shopping Tom, and good to hear you walked away unharmed!