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With spring approaching and your Citroën tires having aged another year, we would like to urge you to ensure that they are not a hazard to you and others. Fresh rubber is critical, not just for proper grip (especially in rain) but for safety. Handling will be compromised on old tires and that alone can be dangerous!
Over the years we have seen Citroëns appear at Rendezvous, actually driven there (not trailered), that have experienced blowouts and caused considerable damage. They were running on tires that were in horrendous condition:
Witness the photo below of a DS tire, where the belts separated.
Or this Traction Avant where the rubber was so old, the sidewalls gave away.
Here’s a 2CV tire that should never have been on the road.
Some years back, an aged rear tire gave way on a GS causing the tread belt section to fly up and rip open the entire rear quarter panel. Good thing it wasn’t on the side where the fuel neck was located.
One owner who drove home from Rendezvous at Saratoga Springs, NY blew an aged rear Michelin XWX on
Not only are people with old tires causing a hazard that can hurt them and others, but when it comes to insurance claims in the event of accidents, bad tires give insurance companies the perfect excuse avoid a pay-out.
We hate to see more fuel being added to the movement to legislate the age of tires that can on a road vehicle as a result of people people with such disregard tires that are obviously in poor condition.
Tires deteriorate over time, even if they are not used or driven on. They may appear to be in like-new condition on the outside, but inside the rubber is slowly deteriorating. This may dangerously weaken the tire and increase the risk of a blowout at high speed or during hot weather.
Strategic Safety, a research firm in Arlington, VA says based on their findings, motorists should replace tires that are more than ten (10) years old, including their spare tire.
And many European vehicle manufacturers typically recommend replacing tires that are more than six (6) years old. (Drive the Alps or the coast roads of Italy and their reasoning becomes obvious!)
How old are the tires on your vehicle? The date of manufacture is indicated by the last group of digits in the DOT manufacture code on the sidewall of the tire. The number is often stamped in a recessed rectangle. The DOT code tells who manufactured the tire, where it was made and when. The last group of digits in the code is the date code that tells when the tire was made.
Before 2000, the date code had three digits. Since 2000, it has had four. The first two digits are the week of the year (01 = the first week of January). The third digit (for tires made before 2000) is the year (1 = 1991). For most tires made after 2000, the third and fourth digits are the year (04 = 2004).
While we’re at it, what do the first numbers on the tire sidewall mean? As you might expect, they refer to various dimensions of the tire. Take 245-70-17 for example, the first number, 245, is the tire width, in millimetres. The second number, 70, is the aspect ratio – between the height and width of the tire – expressed as a percentage.
Suffice to say that we don’t agree with blanket legislation on tire age because tires do age at varying rates by factors such as; geographic location, storage methods, temperature and humidity, inflation pressure, and wear and tear. The majority of us have decent tires on our cars and we don’t want to be dragged into more regulation because of people that ignore the age and condition of the tires on their cars.
The point of this article is that you should take responsibility for the condition of the tires on your car. Are they cracking (ever so slightly), giving a hard ride because of aging rubber, and are they providing sufficient traction if you have to make a sudden stop on a wet road surface? If answering yes to any of these 3 points – it’s time for a change!
Good article, thanks.
Ozone have something to do with the tires aging, I had read it , a fine article on the Rock Auto Parts about the effects of the *Ozone – how the rubber boots and other like the drive shaft boots deteriorate due to this*
I was driving to go and see my late DS21 Pallas VIN#4660839 that I had purchased from Mr.Bick , this is going back in time as in when I had emigrated to 🇨🇦 from 🇬🇧 back around late ’89/’90.
This same vehicle , I still have a set of OEM keys, looking for the owner- lost and found , but by this time that DS was being auctioned as is where is condition.
As I was driving up the Highway 400 North , just before the King Road Exit, no sooner did I pass the service stopover before the King Road, I had felt some roaring sound , low frequency hum, since I am hard of hearing mid ~ high frequencies, I had only heard the lower end of the audio spectrum.
I didn’t realize it at first that it was one of the front tires that had a blowout, the tire was hanging or riding along the edge of the alloy wheel.
I had nowhere to stop, as the 50% of the hard shoulder near the service stop was consumed by the Road Workers, although I had no choice , just barely pulled inside but the rear quarter of the left side still partially onto the slow lane way.
I was followed by some British collector cars , I would have thought that since I had my hazards on and blinking, they would pass by me, but all 10 to as far as I could see in my rear view mirror,
One fellow had come over , as he was trying to help me get onto the hard shoulder further up the road, whilst he followed me, fortunately a tow truck looking to make a fast $$$ had come by and helped me to tow the XM to a local tire shop, his quoted rate was $150 , but I think that , it was just the initial hookup, thereafter adding $3.50/Km for 19Km had added to the bill.
Service Ontario have it posted that the new law is in effect, that any tow trucks running on highways could help, also they take credit cards, as not everyone carries hoarders of cash these days.
He wouldn’t accept Visa/Master for some reason, but he had called into an O.P.P to get me a ref# so that I could use it to get reimbursed via my CAA Premier membership latter.
I really had no choice in the matter, but phew, it was well worth to have had a helping hand just in dire straits that I was in-:(
My lesson learned , no doubt that I will replace a set of Tires with new ones every 7th year.