A couple of weeks ago I picked up a nail in a tire, so off I went to Discount Tire. In the event the tire couldn't be fixed due to damage to the inside of the tire and, until the new tire arrived at the store to be installed, they were going to put the space saver spare on. But first a question from the employee; "Is the spare tire less than ten years old?" "No, no it's not" I say. "Sorry, sir, if a spare tire is ten years old, or older, we can't put it on the car." From what he further explained it is due to the tire drying out and cracking. Fortunately the tire on the car was holding air well enough that they were able to put it back on the car until the new tire arrived after a couple of days. Which brings up another I had no idea moment, I had no idea until then that space savers can be replaced, I assumed that they were some sort of unitized item and that when the tire wore out an entirely new tire and rim had to be purchased.

Its a liability issue for them. Has nothing to do with whether the tire is good or not. Tires do dry rot and expire but for a spare, you are probably fine.

The corollary is that all tires have a shelf life, as do things like rubber hoses, gaskets, and o-rings.

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Originally posted by Aeteocles:
The corollary is that all tires have a shelf life, as do things like rubber hoses, gaskets, and o-rings.

Yep, if you own a performance car of any kind that’s not driven regularly, you are especially cognizant of tire date codes; it’ll break your heart to find yourself replacing a set of Michelin Pilot Sports when the ones on the car still have good tread depth.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
The corollary is that all tires have a shelf life, as do things like rubber hoses, gaskets, and o-rings.

A valid point, sir. I recall my aunt having to purchase new tires, due to cracks in the sidewalls. She was not very happy, because the tires still had lots of tread depth. I don’t recall how old the tires were, but I thought that was because of UV exposure in that case. And I have had other things made of rubber that have failed due to age, I guess I just didn’t apply that line of thinking to a tire.

I found this out several years ago when I went to Discount Tire for a new set. When the vehicle was ready they came back with a different total than I was told. They said the spare was out of date and they replaced it and was charging me for the tire. Well first off you didn’t ask or say anything to me about replacing it. They ended up giving me the tire even ended up giving a little discount on the new set.

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Spare tires have a shelf life. Who knew?

Sigforum. Several posts a year for many years with the most recent being Dec '22.

Yup, I'm sure there's a DOT tag on the spare just like on the rest of the tires.

When I had my Mercedes, I had to replace a tire & it didn't have a spare.
Discount pulled a takeoff with decent tread on it & mounted it for free while I waited for my tire to come in.

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it’ll break your heart to find yourself replacing a set of Michelin Pilot Sports when the ones on the car still have good tread depth.

Not if you're abusing them properly when you realize they are out of date and about to be replaced regardless of tread depth!

And on a related note, how many of you know that you should not use "summer only" tires in winter?

Tires that are marked for summer use only (common on high-end luxury cars and sports cars) should not be used when temperatures are consistently below about 30-40 degrees F. Instead you should use all-season or snow/ice tires in these cases.

The reason is that the rubber compounds in summer-only tires are soft. in very cold weather, they stiffen. This can lead to tire damage that is not covered by the tire manfuacturer's warranty.

Admittedly, when I found this out, I had summer only tires on my Lexus. But I used them even in winter, until this year when they needed replacing - and I replaced them with All-Season tires. I never had problems with summer-only tires in winter, but for maximum safety you should not do this. I tried to avoid driving the Lexus when temperatures were below 30 degrees, but now with the All-Season tires I don't have to worry about it.

The space saver spate on my wife’s 2008 Acadia is definitely dry and cracked. Searched several years ago for one and couldn’t find one due to the oddball size. Even my normal tire store could not locate.

I thought this was a weight loss thread...

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Yep, if you own a performance car of any kind that’s not driven regularly, you are especially cognizant of tire date codes; it’ll break your heart to find yourself replacing a set of Michelin Pilot Sports when the ones on the car still have good tread depth.

While not Michelins, the tires on my old Pickup get changed while still having a lot of tread depth as I don't drive it much. I still feel the pain each time I do it.

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Originally posted by btanchors:
This can lead to tire damage that is not covered by the tire manfuacturer's warranty.

Can also lead to body damage as well, since the tires are hard as rocks and slick as snot, severely compromising traction.

And God help you if you get caught in an unforecasted snowstorm in a RWD, no traction control car with these on. On the interstate. With accumulation fast enough that ruts form and you sure as shit can only change lanes once, and that to get off, pry your hands loose and wait for it to turn back to rain and clear the roads enough to proceed.

Hypothetically speaking....

Not applicable to most smaller cars, but if you have a vehicle with a full size spare or room for one, then the way to go is to buy a wheel and tire that matches your vehicle and do a 5 tire rotation.

Might be true, but probably an income incentive at the tire store.

Sort of thing some of us learn a hard way.

Was on a road trip through Texas one summer when the temperatures were really high (100+). Two of the tires started delaminating (not sure that's the right technical term). The spare had dry rot. Luckily was just a few miles from Ft. Stockton and was able to limp into a tire store.

I don't remember the brand of tires I had at that time. They were supposed to be quality tires but were not a premium brand tires. Last time I purchased any tire that didn't have high temperature and treadwear ratings.

At that time we were living in Austin. I'll have to say that I was impressed that the local tire store stood behind the tires. They gave me a large credit to defer the costs I paid in Ft. Stockton.

So on my 2014 Buick LeSaber front wheel drive ?

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Originally posted by bendable:
So on my 2014 Buick LeSaber front wheel drive ?

Yep, that's a FWD car. Also a forgery since they stopped production around 2005.

Ah, fudge.
The spare under my truck came with the truck... 21 years ago.