Cracked Rubber - Help!

[SuPhistiKatEd]

When I washed my vehicle yesterday, I noticed that there was a hairline crack about the length of a credit card on the sidewall. From what I could see, it's just on the surface, not all the way through. I also noticed that in between the treads, there are tiny cracks everywhere on all four tires. Is this something I should be concerned about? Should I consider purchasing a new set of tires?

The vehicle only has 34K on it, and it's a 2000, so with the low mileage...it seems pretty odd for that to happen.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[duffspec]

What kind of tire are they? I assume that they are factory issued tire also, I would get new tires for sure. Getting a blow out at highway speeds is deadly. Personnally i wouldn't risk that in any ride, deffinetly not on a SUV.

[Raz]

its not so much the mileage, its the age of the tire... DaimlerChrysler bought ALOT of tires in bult about 6-7 years ago, probably the ones you got on your car were 1-2 years old, and are now on their last legs

I drive with hairline fractures on my tires, they don't REALLY do anything but can easierly lead to a 'blow-out' which isn't so much fun as it sounds.

- Rasmus

[benyl]

Just means your tires are old. Use has nothing to do with it as mentioned.

Ozone in our atmosphere is what breaks rubber down. Nothing lasts forever.

[rockym20]

That's right, no matter the mileage, you should change tires every 5 years or so as the rubber degrades over time.

[SuPhistiKatEd]

The tires are Toyo Transpaths. It was a private sale. I believe the Cherokee's came from the factory with Good Year Wrangler RTS tires...so the Toyo's can't be that old. But, I'll take your word for it. Thanks!