If you have a seldom used vehicle you need to be sure your tyres haven’t passed their expiry date. Tyres on a regularly used vehicle will usually be replaced due to wear, with front tyres on a front wheel drive car lasting around 20,000 miles. Rear tyres will typically last longer than the fronts. If you’re only doing around 5,000 miles a year, the rears may last for 10 years. Tyres that see little use will eventually start to degrade. This degradation could lead to a potentially deadly blow out, possibly causing the vehicle to become uncontrollable, especially at high speeds.
Tyres that are kept in storage with no use at all will actually degrade faster than tyres that see some use. Trailers and caravans may have minimal use and the tyres should be checked for signs of degradation, which typically manifests itself as cracking/crazing of the side wall. Tyres over 10 years old should be replaced and unused tyres in storage may not even last that long. The DOT code on the tyre sidewall shows the date of manufacture, the last 4 digits showing the week and the year
