10 Deaths linked to a Goodyear RV tire

[Heidi Mull]

Good sleuthing FR, any automotive tire that old is dangerous to drive on and could kill people due to blowouts/rollovers. There’s a reason the recommendation is change tires at least every 8 years.

I’ve driven on 8 yr old severely cracked Michelins and wasn’t comfortable at all with them, and that was a lightweight Honda CRV.

I learned this the hard way.

My very first van, I took it to multiple mechanics, and aside from saying it was a good reliable van (it was not) they all praised the tires. "Really good tires!" They'd spontaneously mention.

Except the tires were 13 years old.

After one freeway blowout and one semi-slow leak that was deemed irreparable (tearing--that should hve been a sign but I knew nothing at the time), I got two tires replaced (I could not afford more--I literally had no money for food and lived off of a few snacks for the last two weeks of that month). The tire place did NOT check or warn me about how old the tires they were replacing were.

As such, I had another freeway blowout.

Yes, I survived two freeway blowouts with no collision. Both times the tire was down to shreds.

It wasn't until the 5th mechanic I took the van to that I was told the date of the tires.

Of course now I know how the check the dates myself! But it was my first vehicle, and with everyone who supposedly knew better than me saying I have really good tires, I didn't realize there was a chance that every single one of them could be wrong.