The tread on car tyres wears down as you drive, reducing your grip on the road. When the tread wears down too much, it's time to replace the tyres.
Discover how long the average tyre lasts and what to consider when buying new car tyres.
When should I change my tyres?
Replacing your tyres should be common practice for every road safe vehicle but sometimes it gets delayed because of cost or inconvenience. You should aim to replace your car tyres when the tread depth gets below 3 mm and before it gets below 2 mm.
Find out more about the legal tyre tread depth.
Tyres don’t usually last long enough to be replaced due to old age. Usually, the tyre tread wears down quicker than that. For older tyres, you can:
Check for signs of cracking on the sidewalls of tyres 4 or 5 years old if your car's parked outside for prolonged periods.
Replace them if the cracking is severe
Any car tyre specialist will be able to give you advice if you're not sure.
How long should I wait for tyres to cool before checking pressures?
According to AA President Edmund King, it's best to keep a tyre pressure gauge at home. Make it a habit to check your tyre pressures every couple of weeks when the tyres are cold – perhaps on the weekend before using the car.
Michelin recommends waiting two hours after a journey before you check tyre pressures unless the journey was only a couple of miles at low speed.
If you’re checking tyres on a petrol station forecourt in the middle of a journey, then as a rule of thumb add 4 or 5 psi to the (cold) pressure figure quoted in the handbook.
How do you tell the age of a tyre?
You can find out how old your tyres are by checking for a code on the side of the tyre:
- Check the sidewall for the letters DOT
- Next to this, there’ll be a 4-digit number code
- The first pair of numbers is the week of manufacture
- The second pair of numbers is the year of manufacture
For example, 0720 means the 7th week of 2020.
Tyres manufactured after 2000 have a 4-digit code. If you see a 3-digit code, this means they were made before 2000 and should be replaced immediately.
How does age affect tyre lifespan?
If your vehicle doesn’t get driven much, it's possible for the tyres to need replacing due to ageing rather than wearing out:
- Tyres degrade naturally through exposure to heat, sunlight (ultraviolet or UV rays) and rain
- Environmental damage can cause them to crack if tyres are left outside
- The amount of damage depends on the exposure and the severity of the weather
- They’ll last longer if they’re kept indoors in a garage out of the sun and rain
Damage through ageing is more common with caravans, trailers and other vehicles that are only used occasionally.
How does wear affect tyre lifespan?
As you drive, the tread on your tyres will start to wear. Some factors have a big impact on how long tyres last before they wear down.
- Vehicle weight - Heavier cars wear tyres faster, and carrying excess weight around will cause faster tyre wear
- Driving style – Aggressive cornering, acceleration and braking increases wear
- Position – The driven wheels wear faster, i.e. front wheels on a front-wheel-drive and rear wheels on a rear-wheel-drive
- Speed – Driving at high speeds increases temperature and wear
- Pressure – Under or over-inflated tyres will wear quicker
- Alignment – Tyres will wear quickly and unevenly if wheel alignment is wrong
Find out more about tyre tread and wear.
How long should tyres last before cracking?
Since tyres are made from rubber, they can wear out over time, even if you don't use your car much. It's a good idea to have your tyres checked by a professional every 5 years. Most tyres will need to be replaced after 5 to 10 years to make sure they are safe to use.
Basic legal requirements
Remember that your tyres must always meet these basic legal requirements:
- Match the other tyres on your car
- Be in good shape with no big cuts or bumps
- Be pumped up to the right pressure
- Have enough tread – at least 1.6 mm deep in the central three quarters of the tyre
- Always include the spare tyre (if you have one) as part of your checks.
The more tread your tyres have, the better your grip on the road and the shorter your stopping distances.
Tips for buying new tyres
Tyres must meet a lot of different, and sometimes conflicting, requirements. That means there are a few things to consider when you’re choosing what type of new tyres to buy.
- Tyres designed for long life are made from harder compounds, but these may make more noise
- Tread pattern can affect noise too
- Tyres made from softer compounds will give a quieter ride but will wear out more quickly
- First fit (original equipment) tyres often last longer than replacements
We wouldn’t recommend buying part-worn tyres. You don’t know the history of the tyres, like how they’ve been stored or looked after. You may not know how old they are either.
We provide 24/7 roadside assistance.
Are tyres over 10 years old illegal?
From February 1, 2021, it became illegal to operate a heavy vehicle or certain types of minibus with tyres more than 10 years old. The same rule doesn’t apply to smaller vehicles like cars, but we highly recommend getting your tyres replaced every five years to be safe.
Read more about replacing tyres:
Original fit car tyres
We’re often asked if it’s important to stick with the same tyres your car came fitted with when it was new.
There’s no legal requirement to stick with the same tyres. But car and tyre manufacturers do work closely together during the development of a new car model to pick the size and tread pattern best suited to the car.
They’ll consider things like noise and handling as well as the look of the vehicle. Changing brand or pattern could affect handling or mean more noise.
New tyres to the front or back?
Check your handbook first for guidance. If it doesn’t give any specific advice, the best or newest tyres should be on the back. That’s a good rule whether your car’s front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive.
Making sure you have your best tyres on the back will favour ‘understeer’ rather than ‘oversteer’ when grip's limited, like in very wet or cold conditions.
- Understeer – The car tends to go straight on even though you’re turning the wheel
- Oversteer – The back end breaks free and the car is likely to spin
Tyres with deeper tread grooves are less likely to puncture too. So if you put your new tyres on the back and worn tyres on the front, you’ll be less likely to get a punctured back tyre. It’s easier to control a car that has a damaged front tyre than one with a damaged rear tyre.
Spare wheels and new cars
Don’t assume that any new car you’re buying has a full-sized spare in the boot. Many cars now have a 'skinny' spare or just an emergency tyre sealant kit. There may not actually be enough room to carry a full-size spare.
If you do have room for a full-sized spare, then it may be possible to buy one as an optional extra. You may also have to buy a modified boot floor and/or a jack, and wheel removal tools.
Your spare wheel needs to be in just as good condition as the wheels you drive on. So make sure your spare is in good nick and don’t use an old worn tyre as a spare.
Are 7-year-old tyres ok?
Even if your tyres seem ok and you haven't used them very much after seven years, they're still likely to have degraded significantly in quality over that time. You should get the tyres replaced at the earliest possible opportunity.
Want to get back on the road?
If you find yourself broken down with tyre issues and in need of immediate support, don’t buy breakdown cover online. Instead, call us for instant breakdown cover and we’ll send a patrol to you.
Last updated: 17 January 2025 | Author: The AA