Uhhhhhh...y'all...the tires are already mounted on "spare" rims/wheels, as indicated in the OP, so they don't have to be mounted by Firestone. So why would this be a problem for Firestone to just bolt them onto the hubs? But yeah...I agree with gpbst13. If you want to risk running the tires, put them on yourself.

But what I'm hearing is (and not to detract from or "steal" this thread from the OP), I should replace the original OEM tires that are still on my 2011 Venza despite the fact they have only 44,500 miles on them? Ouch...so much for that 60k or 90k tread life. Seems my mechanic shop would mention that to me, so I'm thinking they're not too concerned about it?

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Uhhhhhh...y'all...the tires are already mounted on "spare" rims/wheels, as indicated in the OP, so they don't have to be mounted by Firestone. So why would this be a problem for Firestone to just bolt them onto the hubs? But yeah...I agree with gpbst13. If you want to risk running the tires, put them on yourself.

But what I'm hearing is (and not to detract from or "steal" this thread from the OP), I should replace the original OEM tires that are still on my 2011 Venza despite the fact they have only 44,500 miles on them? Ouch...so much for that 60k or 90k tread life. Seems my mechanic shop would mention that to me, so I'm thinking they're not too concerned about it?

Firestone would be liable because they are still installing them onto the car.

In your situation, most mechanics aren't going to take the time to look at the small date code on the side of the tire, unless they are working on the tire (plugging it or similar).

The most important thing regarding safety with vehicles, are tires.

^^^^^
Agreed about tires being #1 safety aspect. Had a catastrophic blow out on the RR of my rockin-roll-a Corolla one day going down the highway in excess of 65MPH. Glad it was the rear and not the front...

when I purchased my "04" LeSaber it had the original tires on it. ( it was in the garage the whole time)

the were 12 years old but still with 40% of the tread on them.

the ride felt very rough for this type of car.

Sam's club had a pretty good sale on tires ,
( right around christmas time)
so I had them put
4 new tires on the car.

the ride quality was 50% better , immediately.



the side walls had become very stiff, over time , the new tires sidewalls were very flexable.

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
^^^^^
Agreed about tires being #1 safety aspect. Had a catastrophic blow out on the RR of my rockin-roll-a Corolla one day going down the highway in excess of 65MPH. Glad it was the rear and not the front...

Same, I was approaching the CA Grapevine from the North and a 'good clip', at least 85+ (just keeping up with traffic. Rear left completely shredded. I was a in sedan, so I don't think a front would have led to a roll, but I was really glad it was the rear.

Y’all are crazy. I couldn’t imagine a tire lasting more than a couple years, but then again I live in the land of 365 days of sun.

Anyways I can understand where the tire places are coming from. Anything they touch is a potential law suit in today’s world so they have a blanket rule that covers their asses

I believe I’m hearing that nobody would approve of my 1950s vintage Mohawks running on my military M116 utility trailer. That’s right, these tires are 70 years old. However, I never go over 30, and there’s no real weight on the trailer. Don’t even know where I’d get replacements, nor do I know anybody that would touch my ancient split rims. As long as these still roll, I’ll keep using them.

I was curious so I went to Michelin’s website. They recommend not running tires longer than 10 years from the manufacture date.

Also keep in mind tires age faster in warmer climates. Better safe than sorry. I know my life is worth more than a few hundred bucks. I don’t run tires more than 7 or 8 years old.

Was this a Firestone corporate location? They have a lot deeper pockets to sue for than the single-location independent dealer.

Part of the reason I sold my car and bought a new one was that it had 7+ year old tires on it. Still 80% tread (I don't drive much), but small cracks forming on side walls. Didn't feel like wasting another $1,000 on tires for a car I didn't want to keep. My personal car only gets driven ~3,500mi per year.

quote:

Originally posted by Phelen_Kell:
Didn't that Paul guy from the fast movies die because the car had dry rotted old tires?

Nothing conclusive, but according to reports, the car still had it's original tires which were nine years old. There are educated opinions out there that they were likely the main culprit for the loss of control (of course if the driver had been going the speed limit...etc, etc). On new rubber, I have read experienced drivers saying that skilled drivers, which the crash driver was, shouldn't have any problem in that turn at that speed.

But as I said, it's all in the realm of opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Uhhhhhh...y'all...the tires are already mounted on "spare" rims/wheels, as indicated in the OP, so they don't have to be mounted by Firestone. So why would this be a problem for Firestone to just bolt them onto the hubs? But yeah...I agree with gpbst13. If you want to risk running the tires, put them on yourself.

But what I'm hearing is (and not to detract from or "steal" this thread from the OP), I should replace the original OEM tires that are still on my 2011 Venza despite the fact they have only 44,500 miles on them? Ouch...so much for that 60k or 90k tread life. Seems my mechanic shop would mention that to me, so I'm thinking they're not too concerned about it?

Firestone would be liable because they are still installing them onto the car.

In your situation, most mechanics aren't going to take the time to look at the small date code on the side of the tire, unless they are working on the tire (plugging it or similar).

The most important thing regarding safety with vehicles, are tires.

Yep. Say Firestone does install the wheels/tires for him, he gets into an accident and someone gets hurt or killed.

Then it's "why didn't they look at the date code and refuse to do the install?"

It's a lose/lose for them.

Replace the tires on the Venza.

As time passes by, the tired degrade. Even faster if a petroleum based cleaner is used.

The key factor is the ability to dissipate heat.

I never was a big fan of Firestone because everything I ever bought from them turned to crap, but...they were right. Ten years is too old.

Once had a big ass 1979 Ford LTD Brougham and it could not make a trip between Oklahoma and California without a new set of tires, usually somewhere along the Baker Grade just west of Los Vegas. It had Firestones on it when I got it and the sidewalls would always crack. They would always replace them.

New Michelin's in May 1998 at 49,226 and retired in March 2012 at 166,802 and tread was still good but some cracks in side wall. Lucky or stupid??

That is 117K miles and the tread wear was even and 6/32. Best tires I have ever had.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I believe I’m hearing that nobody would approve of my 1950s vintage Mohawks running on my military M116 utility trailer. That’s right, these tires are 70 years old. However, I never go over 30, and there’s no real weight on the trailer. Don’t even know where I’d get replacements, nor do I know anybody that would touch my ancient split rims. As long as these still roll, I’ll keep using them.

There must be something that has changed in the last say, 40 years regarding tire manufacturing/materials.

When I was young(er) we had businesses that used WWII, Korean and Vietnam Era surplus military vehicles, Land Rovers, Jeeps, Power wagons, military trailers, large military four wheel drive trucks and FWD (brand) Korean era military trucks. As well as WWII aviation tractors and agricultural tractors all the way back to the 40’s.

The majority of these vehicles had their original heavy-ply tires (many with split-rims), which were in most cases 35+ years old with virtually little to no cracks and they did not leak air. As well, now- (modern day) I see vintage tractors at tractor pulls- many with their original tires… again- little to no cracks and don’t leak air.
I just sold one 50's era CJ2A Jeep about five years ago that still had the military high-ply tires from when I was in high school. (Those had a few cracks but did just fine).

While it is true that none of these vehicles travel on interstates at 70 mph, they were/are used almost every day and performed. I'm not disagreeing about high-speed road use, just observing that tire life has reduced in general.

I put a set of new expensive Michelin tires on my diesel truck in 2017 and within two years they began cracking and now have slow (lose a pound or two a week leaks).

Something’s got to be different in the materials/processes.

There's a tradeoff between longevity and performance. I'm betting those super-hard ancient rubber tires wouldn't be very grippy taking a curve at 70 MPH, and I sure wouldn't want to be driving on them in the rain.

quote:

I put a set of new expensive Michelin tires on my diesel truck in 2017 and within two years they began cracking and now have slow (lose a pound or two a week leaks).

Michelin has a real problem with sidewall cracking (not necessarily losing air), so much so that they have a little chart or guide with photos of progressively worsening cracking to show what is an acceptable level or amount. In general, tires seem to develop dry-rot faster if they sit for a long time rather than being driven.