Hey all, just wanted to pass this on. Had a flat after running over something in the road, and when I pulled out the spare, this is what I found:









Background info for context: I've only used the spare once in the 3 years I've owned this car (about 18 months ago), & I drove slowly and cautiously while it was installed (less than half a day, no more than 20 miles total).

Its a US spec car that's been over here in the Middle East for about 5 years, so that's 5 years of 100+ heat about 9 months out of the year. I normally pull it out and check the pressure every month, and the last time it was check was by the dealer in May, and I was home stateside for a good while after that.

 

Wow. That's pretty catastrophic tread separation. A good warning to us all. Many OEMs say a tyre should not be used once it's six years old. Keeping the spare in the boot inside that metal 'box' means it bakes really hot in the heat - even more in your part of the world I expect. So I think that has prematurely aged it. Does the spare have a 'DOT' number on it? That tells you the age - last four digits are the month and year of manufacture. Eg 0509 is May 2009

I'll be checking mine this week! Never taken it out and it's prob 6 yrs old...

 

damn! thanks for the heads up

 

You just made me run out and check mine. My car has been in Oregon all of its life, so no heat damage. I did check for mold and algae growth, but that was clear as well!

 

I service mine on every trip to Vegas, and have used it once, no issues so far but I'll probably replace it soon as even a spare ages.