MOT Advisory

Rolandtheroadie

Worth looking at the date on the tyre? See how old it actually is?

facade

Rolandtheroadie said:

Worth looking at the date on the tyre? See how old it actually is?

You can see them in the pictures, the first is 42/18. It is only week 14 of 2022, so less than 4 years old.

400ixl

They would be remiss to not raise an advisory if they saw cracking on the tyres. The whole point of an advisory is to bring your attention to a potential future issue so that you can investigate further and identify if and when you may need to take further action. That action could be in the very near or far future depending on when it will get to a point where it is an issue.

Kumho did have issues with some tyres a while ago and did have to do a recall in the US because of this. It was well before your car was made though.

Whilst they may be OEM, Kumho are not a premium brand, so the tongue in cheek "kwick-fit" comment isn't totally wide of the mark. They are popular with tyre sellers as they give them a high profit margin. They are equally not the worst mid-range tyre out there either.

Just keep an eye on them and monitor them for getting worse and if they do, have them inspected. At your current annual mileage it is likely to be a case of replacing them for ageing before wearing out of tread.

Jenni_D

Thanks the replies guys - always good to get alternative viewpoints.

Tranboy

Take it up to Kwik Fit for a free tyre safety check, I bet even they wouldn't try to convince you 4 new tyres were needed.

shiraz99

facade said:

Rolandtheroadie said:

Worth looking at the date on the tyre? See how old it actually is?

You can see them in the pictures, the first is 42/18. It is only week 14 of 2022, so less than 4 years old.

Yes, 4 years old but very low mileage. In other words has been sitting around a lot, which is just as liable to lead to cracking of the tyres than age alone.

400ixl

Tranboy said:

Take it up to Kwik Fit for a free tyre safety check, I bet even they wouldn't try to convince you 4 new tyres were needed.

Neither has Arnold Clarke, they have just advised there is cracking on the tyres and they should be monitored with the owner prepared to replace when needed.

Goudy

I think most of it's been said already.
Lack of use and what the tyres are actually made up of are the main causes of cracks on tyres.

The rubber has some anti ageing, anti oxidising compounds (emollients and waxes) added to it and the more budget focused tyres tend to have less so tend to crack sooner.

These compounds are ment to protect the rubber from things like ozone, sunlight and other chemicals but temperature, kerb scuffing, tyre shine products etc all take their toll.
You usually spot these types of problems on the outer sidewalls of the tyres first.

Classic signs of under use are the cracks between the tyres treads as well as the sidewalls.
You often notice this on a lot of front wheel drive cars over a certain age. The fronts both steer and drive so tend to wear away while the rears just keep the cars bum off the road.

After a while the owner notices the fronts are just worn but the rubber is uncracked though the rears which are the same age have plenty of tread but are now starting to crack up, this is down to "Using" the tyres actually is working these anti ageing compounds within the rubber which helps prolong the rubber life.

It's thought the average life of a good quality tyre is around 5 years or so but obviously budget focused tyres that don't get worked regularly just won't last as long.

chrisw

I've never bought a car from Arnold Clark but we've taken all our cars to them for an MOT for many years, mainly because they are nearby and we can drop the cars off and walk home.
To be fair to them, we've never had an issue with the MOTs and always found them to be a fair assessment.

shiraz99

At the end of the day it's simply an advisory so just keep an eye on it and see what they look like in 12mths time.