Knowing When to Replace Tires

A tire doesn’t have to be obviously bald to be unsafe: sometimes the rubber may appear to be adequate, but a tread gauge will tell a different story. Even if you haven’t measured the tread depth, you may notice signs that your tires are ready to be replaced – for instance, you may feel a loss of traction on wet roads. At the first inkling that it may be time for a new set of tires, you can take the vehicle to the certified service technicians at Pohanka Hyundai of Fredericksburg, and they will put a professional eye on the situation and let you know how much life may be left in the tires.

Life Expectancy of Tires

How long a set of tires will last depends mostly on your driving habits: how many miles you drive and in what conditions, as well as how aggressive your driving habits are. The contributing factors are how often you have the tires rotated, and whether the vehicles is front-wheel, rear-wheel, all-wheel, or four-wheel drive. An average driver who doesn’t make a habit of peeling out or braking aggressively and sticks to recommended service intervals should expect all-season tires to last from three to five years. If you switch between summer and winter tires, that lifespan should be extended, since each set will only be on the car for half the year. (Keep in mind, though, that a car that isn’t driven much can still experience degradation of its tires, mainly from exposure to extreme temperatures.)

Ensuring the Longevity of Your Tires

The theme of this subject is that maintenance is the key to maximizing the life of your vehicle’s tires. A tire rotation should be included as part of a service visit every time you get an oil change. In between those minor service visits, you should make a point to look over each tire about once a week. An easy way to make this a habit is to check them every time you stop for gas: just walk around the car and look closely at each tire, checking for obvious issues such as uneven wear, bulges, bubbles, scrapes, or punctures. Don’t forget to check that each tire is inflated to the correct psi (pound per square inch) as well. You can buy a small gauge that reads this, or you can take it in to our service department for the peace of mind of professional attention.

Your routine tire rotation will reposition the tires so that the ones taking the brunt (that would be the front wheels in a front-wheel-drive car, for example) can be moved to a less-strenuous location on the car. This smart practice allows the tread on all four tires to wear more evenly, and – as we mentioned – it gives your service technician an opportunity to get a close look at your vehicle to make sure no mechanical problems are developing.