Tire crack. Fix or new set of tires?

It looks like dry rot to me. How old is the tire? If you don't know, then DOT number on the sidewall will tell you the manufacturing year and week. If it is more than 6 years, it's time to get new tires.

 

Regardless of age or anything else, that is a flat tire (or worse) just waiting to happen. New tires would be at the top of my list of items to purchase, if that were mine. I've seen MUCH smaller cracks than that start leaking.

Also, there is no repair or fix for tire damage on a side wall, other than replacement.

 

Is it really dry rot? Seems like UV damage and natural aging/drying out of the material... But it's not rot... Rot is something that happens to food and biomass that is digested by bacteria and fungus and tires are indigestible by living things, which is why they're considered hazarous waste.

 

To clarify anyone/everyone is going to give you advice to get new tires because risk of failure is much higher, but just for perspective keep in mind this is deterioration of the outer most layer of petrochemical-rubber and there's lots of additional layers underneath. So if it's going to take a while to get the money for new tires and you're just driving around town slowly and staying off the freeways, you're probably going to be ok for a little while longer.

 

Did you buy it used from an individual seller? If you bought it new from a store, I would complain.

 

Don't focus on the word rot. Wouldn't bio stuff be considered wet rot.....

The photo provided by the OP with the large crack? That is NOT minor. That crack is dangerous.


Stop the Rot: What You Need to Know About Tire Dry Rot - Evans Tire & Service Centers.Stop the Rot: What You Need to Know About Tire Dry Rot - Evans Tire & Service Centers.

 

New tires, Anytime you see sidewalk cracking the tire is failing.

 

Wow, incredibly bad advice.

 

What, in particular, is incredibly bad advice?

 

> It's a tire that is clearly compromised (cracked on the sidewall). Whether it seems superficial or not, a tire is a complete assembly where all parts make up the reliability. The fact that there are signs of degradation on the sidewall is surely an indication that the rest of the tire is beginning to fail elsewhere.

> To say that he should continue driving slowly for a little while. How slow and for how long? What if he drives through a pothole, needs to maneuver quickly, or brake suddenly? Don't those forces count?

> The OP already stated that the tire is approaching 7 years old, which is when most manufacturers would recommend replacing a tire regardless of wear or appearance. Most actually say not to exceed six years.

> The cost of a tire in comparison to the liability or cost of an accident, or potential harm to others is small. Owning and operating an automobile involves the responsibility of assuming regular maintenance costs.

Tires are one of the most critical components of an automobile.

 

@KennyGS, I agree with your points. Thanks for clarifying.

 

I just move weather checked tires to the rear, if it blows it’s a minor aggravation, that is what my spare is for.

now far more concerning is when the tire bulges and cracks right in the middle of the tread, had a newish Michelin tire do that on the rear of my volt

Totally screwed up my tire rotation/ schedule since they (Michelin) no longer makes the proper tire for my car so now I have one Continental mounted with 3 Michelin’s

Worse still continental no longer makes a tire that matches my spare.

 

Depends your driving style and how much money you have in your bank account... If you're a cautious driver with no history of accidents and like majority of Americans you have less than $500 dollars in emergency savings and you stay off the freeways the outer most layer starting to crack isn't going to be too much a problem until you can afford to replace new tires. Also slowly changing out the worst tire first and slowly swapping them all out rather than all at once maximizes lifespan of existing tires and is way less wasteful.

 

No.
But it is common for people to call ANY tire degradation "dry rot".
Modern tire compounds do not "rot" like they did 50 years ago or more.

7 years is on the outside edge of the life expectancy for tires.
Those look pretty bad. I wouldn't be getting that brand again.

 

No it does NOT.
Did you actually LOOK at his pictures ?
That is not just a little "surface checking", which can occur really early in the life of some tires.
That is the outer layer completely failing.
I agree, incredibly BAD advice.

 

Strange that even Good Year uses the term weathering and dry rot interchangeably.........

How to Help Prevent Dry Rot in Tires | Goodyear Tires

and NAPA

How to Tell If Your Tires Are Dry Rotted And Need Replacement

and Popular Mechanics

Do You Really Need To Replace Those Tires?

and hundreds of others like this...

What is Tire Dry Rot? | Tire America

 

This is just good evidence that NONE of the people who wrote any of those articles is old enough to have actually SEEN real "dry rot" in a tire. Or they didn't pay attention to it at the time.

Real "dry rot" causes the entire structure of the rubber to break down and it literally falls apart.
The surface has a powdery mildew kind of coating at first and then starts to crumble at the slightest touch.
Much the same as a piece of wood that has laid on the forest floor for years.
Hence the name.