Sidewalls cracking...

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I purchased 4 Yokohama AVID TRZs in August of 2005. I bought them because of their long treadlife warranty. I bought them right when they appeared on Tire Rack. I hope I just got a bad batch, because although we have only put ~20k miles on them since new, the sidewalls on two of them are showing numerous cracks around the lettering. The other two are fine. I have been very disciplined at keeping them properly inflated and rotated.

Discount Tire told me they are defective and to check my warranty to see if I can send them back for a new set. 9/32 of the tread is still intact, so they said I would probably qualify.

Does anyone know about Yokohama's policy on this?
 
My Yokohama Avid Touring tires started cracking after about 3 yrs. I just replaced 2 of the more cracked ones with BFGs.

Sounds like I am not the only one with this problem.
 
There are two kinds of cracks in tires: Weather related (commonly called "weather checking") and ... ah ..... let's call them "the other kind".

Weather checking starts off as an impression of a random pattern then grows into a small cracks that gradually get worse. They may tend to concentrate at edges and changes in the surface, like grooves and sipes.

By 3 years, this to be expected - and perhaps that is a good thing. Old tires ought to look old.

However, the "other kind" are distinct cracks that tend not to follow the molded pattern. They may be circumferential or on a diagonal, but not confined to the tread area. Those need to be taken care of right away. Some of them are dangerous (some are not!)

"Weather Checking" might not be covered by the warranty - or it might only be for a period of time. Check your warranty paperwork. Be sure you get the one applicable to the tire that you have and the time period when you bought the tires, because warranties change over time and the one that's applicable was the one "THEN" - not "NOW".

BTW, "The other kind" of cracks are always covered.
 
You can see the weather cracking style issue if you use a silicone based tire shine product heavily as well. It dries the tires out and causes a dry rot cracking effect.
 
Reminds me of one of my earliest car memories: My uncle's truck didn't pass Florida inspection because of cracks in the sidewalls, so he painted them with flat black paint and passed. He thought he was SO clever!
 
Originally Posted By: drewjp
the sidewalls on two of them are showing numerous cracks around the lettering. The other two are fine.


The two tires with cracks, are they on the same side of the vehicle?
 
I have owned two sets of Yokohama Avid tires that have exhibited the sidewall cracks. They were also purchased in the 2005/2006 time frame from the Tire Rack.

I never had any failures due to the cracking but I no longer use this brand of tire.
 
I have had a set of Yoko S.drive tires for a couple months. Obviously I can't predict if there'll be any cracking, but I'll be watching. Of course, a set of tires lasts only about 1.5 years...
 
If you are patient zero, and a obvious immune carrier(typhoid mary cum malodorous mori), well you first, lets not bother to wait for pesky test results. You may be right, I have had to talk my PC down off the roof a few times now.
 
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