How urgent is this?

prowla

Don't panic!!!

If it was an extremely urget issue it would be an MOT fail and all you'd need to do would be to replace the tyre(s) in question.

It's a common approach with an older car to MOT it and see what needs doing, then fix those items and go back.

I'd always replace tyres in pairs.

I'd also get the tracking checked.

Bigphil1474

eskbanker said:

Bigphil1474 said:

You can't blame potholes for a tyre being devoid of tread on the inner edge - they are worn, not impact damaged.

I was going to say the same, but then realised that OP is blaming the potholes for the wheels being out of alignment and causing the tyres to wear unevenly....

Well spotted. My mistake 

photome

Bigphil1474 said:

You can't blame potholes for a tyre being devoid of tread on the inner edge - they are worn, not impact damaged.

If your car has 5 tyres and 4 are good, and one of those 5 only just made it through the MOT, then you put that one as a spare. My spare is the brand new tyre that came with the car in 2018. It is highly unlikely you'll ever need to use it. 

If the 2 rear tyres are evenly worn, leave them and put the spare on the front and replace the other front if needed or if they are now both similarly worn, then leave as is. You may need to buy 1, 2, 3, or 4 tyres depending on what you've got now. You need a simple depth tester that cost a few £ and remind yourself to check your tyres regularly (once a month, or a bit more frequent as they get older).

If your car only has 4 tyres, then you need to look at the remaining 3 and see what's best replacement wise. Look and see if any local schools or colleges do night classes on car maintenance.

A lot of places will do deals on 2 or 4 tyres so worth considering . I usually use Black Circle tyres - order online, get delivered to local garage, they fit. I will sometimes use Kwik Fit, they are fine for replacing a tyre if you price up online.

You can blame those speed humps that sit in the middle of the lane, that most people straddle, they are the worst offenders for wearing the insides of tyres down

photome

Rusty190 said:

Thank you all - much appreciated.
The diagram posted by eskbanker was particularly useful.
I'm blaming the multitude of potholes we have round these parts, most of which cannot be avoided. 

You do need to get in to the habit of checking your tyres regularly , there should never be any need for an MOT tester to warn or fail an MOT for tyre wear.

at the same time check your oil and water levels , if you don’t already

knightstyle

One thing I always do is to put the new tyres on the back and the old back tyres on the front.  This is for safety as the back can
loose grip when cornering in the wet.

CliveOfIndia

knightstyle said:

One thing I always do is to put the new tyres on the back and the old back tyres on the front.  This is for safety as the back can
loose grip when cornering in the wet.

Oh dear, you've opened a can of worms there !!

Yes, you are of course absolutely correct.  To pre-empt the impending questions, here's the reason.  Yes, it would seem logical to have the best tyres on the front, as the front does the steering - and, in an awful lot of cars, it's the front wheels that are powered.  Surely you put the best tyres on the front?

But put simply, if your front tyres lose grip you get understeer, which most reasonably-experienced "ordinary" drivers can make a decent fist of controlling.  If the back wheels lose grip you get oversteer - which is a lot harder to control, and potentially a lot more dangerous.

Several years ago I went on a skid-training session at a local racetrack, it was bought for me as a birthday present.  A variety of cars, professional instructors, it was brilliant fun.  They got us to do front-wheel, back-wheel and four-wheel skids.  Great fun in the safety of a purpose-designed section of the track, and I did get pretty adept at recognising and controlling the different types of skids.  But I still would definitely not want to have to try and control a rear-wheel skid on a real road, especially a motorway.

Rusty190

photome said:

Rusty190 said:

Thank you all - much appreciated.
The diagram posted by eskbanker was particularly useful.
I'm blaming the multitude of potholes we have round these parts, most of which cannot be avoided. 

You do need to get in to the habit of checking your tyres regularly , there should never be any need for an MOT tester to warn or fail an MOT for tyre wear.

at the same time check your oil and water levels , if you don’t already

I've received, today, a tyre tread depth measuring gadget though don't feel particularly confident in using it despite YouTube DIY education video.
It's tricky to see the readings. 
I'm widowed and all this type of malarkey was my late husband's area of expertise but I'm trying to get to grips with it and run a safe vehicle.
I do check the tyre pressures monthly and check the oil and screen wash ad hoc.
Is there water somewhere else that I should be checking?
The car is serviced annually and has never failed an MOT. 

Mildly_Miffed

photome said:

Rusty190 said:

Thank you all - much appreciated.
The diagram posted by eskbanker was particularly useful.
I'm blaming the multitude of potholes we have round these parts, most of which cannot be avoided. 

You do need to get in to the habit of checking your tyres regularly , there should never be any need for an MOT tester to warn or fail an MOT for tyre wear.

at the same time check your oil and water levels , if you don’t already

...and lights.

This is all really easy stuff that anybody can do.

 Checking front tyres is easy by parking with the front wheels on full lock. Rears, you just need to bend down and look under the bumper.
Tyres have "wear bars" in the tread.

If they're flush with the tread, the tyre is ready for replacement.
The cheapest tyres are rarely the best value.

If the tread is much more worn on one side than the other, you've got problems - probably the tracking, how pigeon-toed the car is. Very easily adjustable for a tyre place.

Also check tyre pressures - nothing accelerates wear like an under-inflated tyre. Plenty of tyre pressure gauges on Amazon or the 'bay for a tenner or less. You may prefer digital or you may prefer not to worry about batteries. More modern cars, of course, have tyre pressure monitoring on the dash, but lots of people drive around with that not working - again, MOT fail.

Rusty190

Many thanks @Mildly_Miffed - very helpful and much appreciated. 

Mildly_Miffed

No prob.

The front tyres are the ones that are most likely to wear faster, and most likely to wear unevenly.

On checking the lights, it's all fairly straightforward - brake lights are hardest without help (and most important!).

But they're often easy to check if you park back-in to a large window - just look in your mirrors at your reflection, especially in the dark. Remember, you're looking for three - one each side and the central one.

Or put something (doesn't have to be HEAVY) on the brake pedal and get out and look.

For fluids - oil (dipstick, but often on the dash display), screenwash (often has a dash warning), coolant (rarely on top of the radiator these days, but a tank at the back of the engine bay), brake fluid. Your owner's handbook will tell you what you're looking for. Screenwash is the only one that SHOULD ever need filling.