When to Replace Your Tires | Consumer Reports

The lifespan of a tire can range anywhere from 25,000 miles to 100,000 miles. The experts at CR show you how to check your tires so you’ll know exactly when to replace them.

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[petetran]

I use the Penny test. What's with the quarter now?

[stephenhendricks]

One additional issue I recently encountered. I bought a 2012 Volkswagen CC from a private party with only 44K miles on car and its original tires. The tire tread examination revealed no problems and the owner who had purchased the car when it was new had taken immaculate care of it in terms of tire rotations and inflation. Nevertheless, I replaced the tires. Why?

The car is meant as my 17 y/o daughter's daily driver and despite the relatively low mileage the tires are nine years old. (Other comparable models I looked at had at least 100K miles on the clock.) As my mechanic put it, "Rubber gets old whether a car is driven or not." Admittedly replacing the original tires was out of an abundance of caution. If I were the primary driver, I might well have given the tires another 10, 000 or more miles. But I'm a dad and having a new set of tires is reassuring when my daughter drives the car.

[swerne]

I wish you had included something about whether and when a tire should be replaced because of its age even if the tread depth is still acceptable

[malabo]

This is what I call necessary content

[josephneurauter]

What about the issue of age of the tires, regardless of mileage or wear? I know there are many factors that play into that, but seems to me it is worth mentioning as another factor to consider when thinking about tire replacement.

[rynemoots]

Most tires come with wear bars that say when they're due to be replaced

[alanmruben]

In cross section a tire is close to perfectly round. The recommended inflation pressure is the pressure that allows the maximal cross sectional surface area to be in contact with the road. If a tire is under-inflated a portion of the sidewall that is not designed to bear the weight of the car comes into contact with the road. This increases the friction between tire and road as the tire rotates. The results are excessive tire wear and reduced gas mileage. If the tires are inflated above the recommended pressure the portion of the tire tread that contacts the road is reduced. Picture the very small surface area of a fully inflated balloon that contacts a flat surface on which the balloon is resting. The diminished amount of tire tread in contact with the road reduces breaking efficiency and increases tire wear in the middle of the tread.

[CookiePepper]

Just touch the wear marks with your finger and compare with left/right and front/rear. Rotate tires if you clearly feel the difference. Coins are obsolete.

[learningpuppets]

Awesome video, so easy to follow and engaging.

[leatherindian]

Two things I’ll spend for the best are tires and brakes. We have a lot of rutted asphalt which pools water making it easy to hydroplane so I always replace tires early.

[biggun]

How about benefits on mounting? I’ve had great treadlife and wear when using a company that uses a road force balance vs a normal spin when balancing new tires. Thoughts or data on this?

[flybyairplane]

WHENI bought my last car it was a1 owner 2013 FORD TAURUS, in 2016, it had 21k miles on it, all 4 had EXCELLENT TREA LIFE, BUTI replaced then next year as they had some subtle sidewall cuts, also replaced the battery, , I did NOT replace the identical ones, but same brand, same M+S also been using a full synthetic oil 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[jcguy]

I wish CR would do a report on run flats since so many OEM are putting them on their new cars, advantages and disadvantages and what really happens when you get a flat with theses tires.

[dwighthartmark]

One critical thing overlooked, unless I missed it. Tires should be replaced regardless of amble tread remaining as they turn six years old. Tires rot, especially the sidewalls from exposure to the sun and weather conditions and can be dangerous to drive on if not replaced.

[DavidEssex-femx]

"When to replace your tires" I don't replace my tires till they get bald headed. As soon as they look like giant chocolate donuts, I replace them. OK?

[denali]

We used to use a penny to measure tread depth; now we have to use a quarter. Guess there really is a problem with this inflation thing - talking about the economy, not air pressure. 😁😁😁

[MM-qvlf]

Why use any coins to measure the thread depth? Just use the treadwear bars on your tire, that's what they're there for.

[GlennC]

Tell me what to do when I have two sets of good Michelin tires, both from Costco, that are nearly but not quite down to the wear bars, and I'm driving on what look like nearly bald tires in an area where it's very frequently snowing, icy or slushy; but Costco says they won't warranty them. That last millimeter of tread seemingly takes longer than the entire rest of the tire's life to go away, and in the meantime I have to put my family's life at risk or forego the treadwear warranty.

[TheUsflow]

What performance all season tires are currently being tested? Very interested to know about the CrossClimate2 if it's not already part of the test. And when will the ratings be published online, and which print issue? Thanks!

[BillBarnum]

Why bother measuring with a coin when you can get a depth gauge for six dollars?