In May, Ford Motor Company became the first U.S. automaker to warn customers that they should replace older tires, even if their tread is not significantly worn. Ford's warning to customers on its website www.ford.com states: "Tires degrade over time, even when they are not being used. It is recommended that tires generally be replaced after 6 years of normal service. Heat caused by hot climates or frequent high load conditions can accelerate the aging process." According to Ford, the warning is a result of a growing body of research showing that tires deteriorate with time and may be subject to tread separations and other failures "even if they look robust". On May 25, 2005 Chrysler joined Ford in warning customers of the dangers of driving on "aged tires".

While there is indeed a growing body of research, it should not be implied from Ford and Chrysler's recent warnings to customers that the problem of tire aging is news to the tire industry. Auto manufacturers in Europe, including DaimlerChrysler, have warned European customers of the dangers of driving on aged tires. Additionally, U.S. automakers, U.S. tire makers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have all engaged in studies of the effects of aging on tires. As early as 2001, the British Rubber Manufacturers Association, whose members include most of the major tire manufacturers operating in the United States, made the following public recommendation about aged tires: "BRMA members strongly recommend that unused tires should not be put into service if they are over 6 years old and all tires should be replaced in 10 years from the date of their manufacture". 1

According to Sean Kane, the president of the Massachusetts based vehicle safety research firm Safety Research & Strategies (SRS), tire aging is an "invisible hazard" that "[t]he industry knows a lot about it, and they have recommendations that they've hidden from the public for years. Just about every other product, from food to paint, has an expiration date on it". 2 According to comments submitted by Kane's firm to the NHTSA on September 17, 2003, "manufacturers have performed extensive testing dating back many years and have a clear understanding of the performance degradation that occurs as tires age".

Strategic Safety and consumer advocacy groups such as Public Citizen have recommended NHTSA advisories to consumers, requirements that manufacturers provide more information to NHTSA regarding their own internal testing, lawsuits, etc. and that manufacturers be required to stamp an easy to read "born on" date to alert both consumers and tire dealers that a tire has reached a certain age. Currently, the date on which a tire was manufactured can only be determined by decoding a long Department of Transportation code that is stamped, in small print, on the tire.

The higher number of failures in aged tires can be attributed to degradation of the rubber causing hardening and loss of elasticity and corrosion of the steel webbing inside the tire. The number of injuries and deaths associated with tire aging are growing, which may indicate an increase in the use of aged tires or an increased awareness of the factor of aging in analyzing accidents caused by tire failure. A disproportionate number of tire failures, many of them tread separation failures, have resulted in tires that had been used as spares for a number of years, had sat unused for long periods of time, or that were either sold used or sold "new" after sitting in warehouses or on dealer shelves for a period of years. The anecdotal evidence that there is a higher number of tire failures among aged tires than tires that are, say, 1 to 6 years old will certainly be backed up by research that is currently underway by manufacturers and NHTSA.

Newsome Law Firm has handled and is currently handling a number of cases involving tire aging. For more information feel free to contact us.

Footnotes:
(1) BRMA recommended practice June 5, 2001.
(2) Consumer Group Worries About Tire Age, USA Today, November 11, 2004.