Is this too much dry rot?

[Rolomoto]

01 Echo. I went to get a tire replaced today that had a broken belt and the guy told me my tires are dry rotted and all should be replaced. They're Hankook 175/65/R14 w/ about 36K miles and about 3 yrs. old. The salesman told me tires only last 4 years. What do you think?
Thanks

 

[CKN]

I would not run them.

 

[Danno]

Originally Posted By: CKN
I would not run them.


This.

 

[turtlevette]

Tires should last more like 10 years, however those are pretty ugly. OK for use around town. Long hwy trips in summer could be a risk.

 

[beast3300]

Replace soon.

 

[Dan55]

I would check the manufacturing date on the tire, cracks seem excessive for a 3 yr old tire.

 

[Kool1]

My Michelin tires looked like that in only 2 years. I brought the vehicle back to Costco, where the tires were purchased and installed. The Costco tire shop manager visually inspected the tires and told me that they are fine with only surface cracks which don't affect the integrity of the tire. I drove the vehicle like that for about 30,000 more miles, without any problems, and then replaced them.

 

[Rand]

Depends on how much tire shine you spray on them.
Most accelerate aging/dryrot


but I certainly would replace them.

sounds like they should be under warranty.

also is it an 01 or 02 echo?

 

[Warstud]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
OK for use around town. Long hwy trips in summer could be a risk.


What he said.

 

[53' Stude]

Yes, that's UNSAFE. At my job; those get replaced NOW

 

[Wolf359]

Depends where you live, the standard advice is supposed to be 6 year old tires but in colder climates you can do up to 10 years. What the DOT date code on the tires? Some tire shops sell tires that are really old

 

[SrDriver]

Have a tire shop check them - they need replacement.

 

[eljefino]

I'd replace because of the bad belt, and the idea that the rest of your tires are from the same batch run. I don't like the smarmy sales guy saying "4 years" though, that would almost make me go somewhere else out of spite. Ask him to back that statement up with something from the rubber association.

Modern cameras are real good at close focus and making stuff look dramatic when blown up. I've run tires like that with great luck.

 

[BobsArmory]

Originally Posted By: Warstud
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
OK for use around town. Long hwy trips in summer could be a risk.


What he said.


Yep, what he said. Risk vs. reward. They could run another 2 years.

 

[69GTX]

I'd be uncomfortable at high way speeds with those. My last set of Michelins had less dry cracking than that at 50K miles. Those were worn out on tread too and were 12 years old. Pennsylvania should be a lot easier on tire cracking that SoCal, AZ, TX and other hot climates.

 

[Michael_P]

Get yourself a 50 shot of nitrous for your Echo, light em up and give those tires a proper death and funeral. Maybe throw in some e-brake turns in there too. Please post links to your YouTube video.

 

[xxch4osxx]

Lots of curb rash on the rim in that one pic. I would replace the rest of the tires, but that's just me.

 

[camrydriver111]

If that's how long Hankook last before dryrot I won't be buying any Hankook tires.

 

[Tdbo]

I think you need to do some serious tire shopping/purchasing.
Sooner rather than later.

 

[NormanBuntz]

That surface cracking is disturbing. A tire industry rule of thumb is that auto tires have a six year useful life before the rubber CAN become degraded. Decipher the date code on each tire to figure how old they are. They could have been old stock at your last tire installer. If more than 6 years old, replace them. With the surface cracking, it's only a matter of time before the tires start losing air or blow out at highway speed.