How Long Do Car Tires Last?

Rubber is a natural compound that degrades with age and environmental conditions. No matter the mileage—or even if they’re never used, such as a spare—tire manufacturers and experts recommend replacing tires at a minimum age of six years and no longer than 10 years. That’s straight from the engineers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A fateful example of this advice: The Porsche crash that claimed actor Paul Walker’s life in 2014 was due, in part, to several tires that were more than nine years old.

Tires degrade from oxygen, sunlight, and heat. Since there’s no place on earth without at least two of these attributes, no tire is immune. Temperature and humidity fluctuations from seasonal changes or movement to new locations also affect how tires age.

When the rubber breaks down, several things can happen. The tread can separate from the belt (the inner structure surrounding the tire) or the shoulder (the top of the sidewall). The tread, shoulder, or sidewall can crack or break off, the sidewall can split, or air bubbles can form in the sidewall. None of these scenarios look promising at 10, 50, or 100 mph.

Tire rot is also common on cars that sit for extended periods of time. That’s when the tread begins to separate from the shoulder because the vehicle’s weight loads the tire in one constant position for weeks or years on end. You can alleviate this problem by overinflating the tires a few pounds beyond the recommended cold pressure or parking atop specially-made ramps that better distribute the load. Even so, old tires are just old. They’ve got to go.

Every tire sold in the U.S. has a four-digit date code on it. For tires made after 2000, this number is the week and year of manufacture. This tire was produced in the 29th week of 2022. Photo: Getty

After all those aforementioned conditions, your vehicle and driving style have a large impact on the interval between tire replacements. These include:

• Overall mileage
• Load weights of passengers and cargo
• Under- or overinflation
• Suspension setup (camber, toe, ride height)
• Torque control at each wheel (varied by all-wheel drive systems, limited slip differentials, torque-vectoring)
• Driver aggression (accelerating, braking, turning)
• Original equipment tires tuned by specific manufacturers (they wear quicker than aftermarket tires of the exact same size and model)
• Initial tread depth

Finally, the type of tire ultimately determines how long that tire will last. The treadwear life, as noted and warranted for defects by the tire manufacturer, is one general indicator. Another is the treadwear number printed on the sidewall (the lower the number, the quicker the tire will wear). Treat both as guides, not as the final arbiters for replacement. If you see wear bars (horizontal lines between grooves) or perform a penny test (if the top of any groove doesn’t overlap Lincoln’s head when facing down), you need new tires.

Track and high-performance tires use the softest and least durable rubber compounds. They maximize grip but don’t have a long service life. Full-on racing tires may last only a few hours. Photo: Alex Kwanten

Max Performance/Track Tires

Performance tires are the grippiest and stickiest road-legal rubber. Their ultra-soft compounds and near-slick tread surface give the highest track-level performance in dry conditions. But this extreme traction doesn’t last. Tires in this category, such as the Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R, will be toast after 10,000 miles or less. No tire in this category comes with a treadwear warranty.

Summer Performance Tires

Summer tires are optimized for ambient temperatures above 60 degrees. Their soft compound and low rolling resistance are meant for sports cars and high-performance vehicles that require max traction at fast speeds. These tires also handle wet conditions very well, but since they prioritize handling and traction, they typically last no longer than 30,000 miles. A limited amount of summer tires come with treadwear warranties, such as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate.

Winter and All-Weather Tires

Obviously, winter tires are the polar opposite of summer tires, but in their own way they’re similarly specialized. What makes summer tires soft and pliable at high temperatures is exactly what happens with winter tires in freezing temperatures. But their life doesn’t last much longer, usually around 40,000 miles (or five or six winters, depending on how bad your winters are).

All-weather tires are a newer category and essentially are modified winter tires that perform better year-round in areas where temperatures rise but never get too hot (such as Colorado). These too generally have the same compromises in tire life.

All-Terrain and Mud Terrain (A/T and M/T) tires are designed to grip in loose dirt or on rocky trails, but they wear out more quickly on pavement than other types of tires. Photo: Getty

All-Terrain and Mud-Terrain Tires

These off-road tires can bite off small rocks and debris while clawing through dirt and mud. Their rough, chunky tread contributes to a shorter life than all-season tires but an equal if not longer life than winter or all-weather tires. Tires with A/T (All Terrain) or M/T (Mud Terrain or Maximum Terrain) designations vary in performance. Those geared for extreme trails will not come with a treadwear warranty and will wear faster than more street-friendly A/T or M/T tires. The Hankook Dynapro AT2, for example, has a 60,000-mile warranty comparable to an all-season tire.

All-Season Tires

All-season tires do it all. They’re the best compromise for most drivers and most vehicles, which is why they’re the most popular choice and are designed to last the longest. Because they sacrifice ultimate grip in dry, wet, or wintry conditions, all-season tires have less rolling resistance which means less friction wearing down the tread.

They are also fitted to vehicles with conventional suspensions and powertrains that ensure a more even, consistent performance life as they age. These tires can last upwards of 70,000 miles, if you happen to drive that much in a few years. One caveat: Ultra-high performance (UHP) all-season tires wear out faster because they mimic the construction of a summer tire.