Tire Service Life

The Cooper Tire Company recommends that all tires, including full-size spares, be replaced with new tires after 10 or more years from their date of manufacture.

However, it is not the age of the tire that determines useful tire life. The service life of a tire is a function of maintenance and storage conditions. For any one tire, this service life is effected by many factors, including temperature, storage conditions, and conditions of use such as load, speed, inflation pressure, blows and road damage impacting a tire throughout its life. You cannot really predict the length of a tire’s service life in months or years because the service and storage conditions can vary greatly.

Any recommendation for a “maximum” service life can never be thought of as equal to the “expected” service life of a tire. There are many causes for the replacement of a tire: excessive tread wear; damage such as cuts, cracks, bulges, impact damage, vibration; or signs of abuse such as under-inflation, overloading, improper repair, and the like.

Some vehicle manufacturers recommend tire replacement earlier than 10 years for certain products based upon their analysis of the specific vehicle applications and characteristics. If this is the case, you , as the consumer, should follow those vehicle manufacturer’s specific recommendations for their vehicle.