Cracking Tyres

[ToyotaFanDriver]

I made an interesting observation today when filling up air in the tyres.  I noticed some cracking in the tread on the outer edge horizontally. Very odd since I've only done 3400 miles so far and drive very sensibly. I then decided to look at the DOT code on the tyres and see they are from week 16 of 2020!

What are thoughts about trying to raise this with the dealer, I suspect they'll fob off and say its down to the tyre manufacturer and not Toyota (even though they fitted 3.5 year old + tyres at point of delivery)

 

[Nick72]

That's poor. Mention the word safety and ask for a guarantee that it's safe. Usually has a desirable effect in my experience.

[ernieb]

I’d certainly give it a go. Part of the problem with older tyres that have not done many miles is how they have been stored. My son’s car is really a ‘shopping trolley’ used very infrequently and spends a lot of time standing. He has to change the tyres based on age rather than mileage.

I’ve seen somewhere that unused tyres have a life of 5 years, could have got this wrong but feels about right. As always it depends on how they have been stored.

[Mojo1010]

Raise the issue definitely, not for a new car. Will never know if the dealer changed into this before delivery or at assembly.

Had Goodyear egp1 stored in the shed for 4.5 years before use for 18 months, no problem. 

[philip42h]

1 hour ago, ToyotaFanDriver said:

What are thoughts about trying to raise this with the dealer, I suspect they'll fob off and say its down to the tyre manufacturer and not Toyota (even though they fitted 3.5 year old + tyres at point of delivery)

Not quite sure what you mean here - RAV4 tyres are fitted by Toyota at the factory in Japan. The dealer simply supplies what he is given so can reasonably shrug shoulders and say that there's nothing we can do about it.

But do double check that you've read the date code correctly and take it up with the dealer - they should at least be aware so that they have a chance to take it up with Toyota UK. You never know ... 😉

The 'problem' probably stems from post Covid supply chain issues, but that 'excuse' only takes them so far.

Edit: Oh, and, do you have a Certificate of Conformity? What was the actual date of manufacture of your car?

[yossarian247]

As above, tyres are fitted at the factory not by the dealer. 

[APS]

2 hours ago, ToyotaFanDriver said:

What are thoughts about trying to raise this with the dealer, I suspect they'll fob off and say its down to the tyre manufacturer and not Toyota (even though they fitted 3.5 year old + tyres at point of delivery)

I'd raise it with Toyota CR and the dealer. It seems reasonable to expect tyres to be made less than 12 months before date of manufacture of the car. Particularly for a manufacturer that prides itself on just-in-time production principles. 

2 hours ago, ToyotaFanDriver said:

Very odd since I've only done 3400 miles so far and drive very sensibly.

Not so much to do with your driving but more down to the compound used in the tyre. Some crack after just a few years while others last for decades.

 

[ToyotaFanDriver]

Thanks all for the insights. My raising the issue I meant with Toyota via the dealer and not the dealership specifically. I wouldnt expect such old tyres to be fitted to the car. I will give it a go, appreciate the support all.

[Nick72]

Rubber products on an aircraft such as belts, seals, bushes etc. often have 2 life limits. Usage based and elapsed time since manufacture. So even if it is on a shelf you have to throw it away after a period of time which can be anywhere between a few years to a decade. 

[TonyHSD]

Of todays times car tyres once fitted to the car and particularly in uk can not last more than 3 years without developing a inner walls cracks and this is the time when they start to dry rot. 
The reasons are two: 

1. Rubber compound- latest technology is to use more organic materials like orange peel oils, and similar in the rubber compound 

2. Salt - winter time the whole uk road network is bombarded unnecessarily with salt and this melts and creates highly acidic environment that eats roads surfaces, kills vehicles tyres and suspension bushes, cause accepted corrosion . 
 

There are no tyres from one single tyre manufacturer that can survive these conditions. Even the so favourite Michelin cross climates, 3 years and that’s it, they are done.
If op tyres were made in 2020 and fitted to a car made in 2023 it will be not ideal but not sure dealers or Toyota themselves will be of any help. He should try his luck and get replacement if possible. 👍 

[Red_Corolla]

9 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

There are no tyres from one single tyre manufacturer that can survive these conditions. Even the so favourite Michelin cross climates, 3 years and that’s it, they are done.
 

I've just replaced the sole surviving original tyre on the wife's car this year. The cracks were starting to attract MOT advisories. The tyre had been on for 9 years 😆

[TonyHSD]

1 minute ago, Red_Corolla said:

I've just replaced the sole surviving original tyre on the wife's car this year. The cracks were starting to attract MOT advisories. The tyre had been on for 9 years 😆

Same with my dad”s car , and millions more all around the world. However if you take the tyres off the car for rotating or anything else like brake services for example on any car older than 3 years or tyres fitted 3 years ago or longer I can guarantee that there is very high possibility to find cracks on the inner walls., and some along the treads. 👍

[Nick72]

47 minutes ago, Red_Corolla said:

I've just replaced the sole surviving original tyre on the wife's car this year. The cracks were starting to attract MOT advisories. The tyre had been on for 9 years 😆

My wife is the same. Asked me to pump up her tyres the other day on her mini. 2 of them badly cracked walls. Other 2 ok but getting low on tread depth. The two cracked ones have been on the car for at least 6 or 7 years.

She's switching to CC2s all round next week.

[Paul john]

7 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Same with my dad”s car , and millions more all around the world. However if you take the tyres off the car for rotating or anything else like brake services for example on any car older than 3 years or tyres fitted 3 years ago or longer I can guarantee that there is very high possibility to find cracks on the inner walls., and some along the treads. 👍

What is the dot number for manufacture date?

[philip42h]

12 hours ago, Paul john said:

What is the dot number for manufacture date?

The DOT code is a four-digit number giving the week (two digits) and year (two digits) of the date of manufacture for a tyre. So for  tyre manufactured in the 12th week of this year it would read 1224.

See guidance from Kwikfit ...

They also suggest that it is acceptable for a tyre to be properly stored for up to five years before being fitted as new to a car.

[Rigsby]

My previous car was a Jaguar XE R-Sport with 19” Dunlop tyres fitted from the factory, after 18 months I noticed cracking around the area where the sidewall meets the tread, on all 4 tyres.

Jaguar told me to take it up with Dunlop, which I did, they said that they would inspect them if I removed the tyres from the wheels, put them on a pallet and returned them by carrier to them.

I explained that this wasn’t practical as it was my only form of transport, I offered to drive to their offices or any depot in the UK for them to inspect the tyres, they were insistent that they had to be returned on a pallet.

As this was massively inconvenient and would have cost around £1000 to have the tyres removed, palletised, delivered to Dunlop and decent quality replacement tyres fitted I bit the bullet and replaced them with Michelin’s.

My thinking was if I had have gone through the trouble and inconvenience of returning them, best case scenario would have been replacement Dunlop’s at a discounted price due to wear and tear.

Annoying but my family’s safety was more important, as a side note I wouldn’t have Dunlop Tyres on a pushbike in the future.

[Paul john]

1 hour ago, philip42h said:

The DOT code is a four-digit number giving the week (two digits) and year (two digits) of the date of manufacture for a tyre. So for  tyre manufactured in the 12th week of this year it would read 1224.

See guidance from Kwikfit ...

They also suggest that it is acceptable for a tyre to be properly stored for up to five years before being fitted as new to a car.

I know that. I was asking Tony what was the Dot code on that cracked tyre

[Rhymes with Paris]

Back in 2006 when I bought my 5 year old pug grandad wagon aka partner, I noticed the tyres were cracking on the sidewalls.

The indie dealer took a look, and agreed to replace all of them foc at his suggestion.

Sadly that dealer retired,or I would still be buying cars from him, I had bought another car from him since that time before he retired, that was a good car and a reasonable price.

I realise dealers like that are rarer than rare breed unicorns.

 

 

[TonyHSD]

3 hours ago, Paul john said:

I know that. I was asking Tony what was the Dot code on that cracked tyre

These Nexen’s were made late 2018 and fitted to the car. 
Cracks discovered spring 2022 when pictures were taken, 4 years old, and badly dry rotted. And the car pass MOT 3 months earlier in tyre place that they closely inspected the tyres and didn’t noticed any issues. I did myself when was servicing the brakes and rotated the tyres F to R.  
I put a blame on the brand first as for me was unacceptable. Later I discovered on my summer tyres Goodyear same things happened after similar time 3-4 years.  
Reading through tyres reviews and owner’s opinion many people talks about that cracks in many popular tyre brands. Particularly I was looking at Michelin., absolute the same story. 
My dad replaced a 10 years old tyres on his car and those were in way better condition without any cracks. If you don’t drive in the winter over salty roads tyres can last long, but if you do winter drives not longer than 3-4 years. 

[AndrueC]

On 9/17/2024 at 11:29 AM, philip42h said:

Not quite sure what you mean here - RAV4 tyres are fitted by Toyota at the factory in Japan. The dealer simply supplies what he is given so can reasonably shrug shoulders and say that there's nothing we can do about it.

I think you'll find that consumer law has something to say about that. Contract of sale is between the customer and the dealer. The dealer cannot shirk their responsibility by blaming their supplier.

Whether that's relevant here depends on what a court would consider 'fit for the purpose'. Personally I'd expect tyres on a new car to be good for several years as far as cracks are concerned. Tread wear is of course another matter.

[Paul john]

19 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

These Nexen’s were made late 2018 and fitted to the car. 
Cracks discovered spring 2022 when pictures were taken, 4 years old, and badly dry rotted. And the car pass MOT 3 months earlier in tyre place that they closely inspected the tyres and didn’t noticed any issues. I did myself when was servicing the brakes and rotated the tyres F to R.  
I put a blame on the brand first as for me was unacceptable. Later I discovered on my summer tyres Goodyear same things happened after similar time 3-4 years.  
Reading through tyres reviews and owner’s opinion many people talks about that cracks in many popular tyre brands. Particularly I was looking at Michelin., absolute the same story. 
My dad replaced a 10 years old tyres on his car and those were in way better condition without any cracks. If you don’t drive in the winter over salty roads tyres can last long, but if you do winter drives not longer than 3-4 years. 

Thats me done in then 😂

i normally find that my tyres start to fade way before min legal depth, so i replace them to retain sure-footedness. I really don't like wheel-spinning the Prius. This is normally around 3 years, so i guess i’m missing the cracking.

[Cyker]

Hmm, I never seem to get these problems, I wonder why...   

 

[TonyHSD]

3 hours ago, Cyker said:

Hmm, I never seem to get these problems, I wonder why...   

 

But did your tyres last 3+ years !?😉

[Cyker]

Lalalallala what I can't hear you over the tyres screeching