Tire Inspections

In addition to performing regular maintenance on your vehicle and your tires, you must also keep an eye out for potential problems that might affect your tires. Regular car inspections can help you prevent tire trouble and keep you rolling safely down the road.

What to Look For When Inspecting Tires

When inspecting tires, we look for several signs of wear and tear. Some of the aspects we evaluate include:

Uneven tread wear on your tires

Uneven tread wear on a tire means that there is more wear on one tread edge of a tire than the other, there is a rippled pattern of high and low wear on the tire, or the car tire has exposed steel wire. Uneven wear can be caused by problems such as under-inflation, misalignment and improper balancing.

Shallow tread on your tires

Bald tires will skid and slide on pavement, and are more likely to be damaged by potholes and other road hazards. The tread on your tires should be at least 1/16 of an inch deep. If the tire tread isn't this thick, the tire must be replaced. To help you see tread problems, tires have built in "tread wear indicators." These are narrow bars of smooth rubber that run across the tread. When the tread is even with the bars, the tire is worn down to the minimum level and the tire must be replaced immediately.

The "penny" test for checking tire tread

You can also perform a simple test to check the thickness of your tire's tread by using a U.S. penny. Put the edge of the coin into the tread, with Lincoln going in head first. If the top of Lincoln's head is covered by tread, that's good. If the top of his head is entirely visible, it's time to replace the tire.

Common tire troublemakers

Check for small stones, pieces of glass, bits of metal and other foreign objects that might be wedged into the tread of your tire and carefully pick them out. They can cause serious problems if they are pushed farther into your tire as you drive.

Damaged areas on your tire

Inspect the tire for cracks, cuts, splits, punctures, holes and bulges in the tread or on the sides of the tire. This can indicate the tire has serious problems and the tire may need replacement.

Slow leaks in your tire

Tires lose some air pressure (about 2 psi) over the course of a month or so, but if you find that you have to add air every few days, have the tire checked. Make sure that an auto shop evaluates the tire, wheel and valve and if necessary, repair the tire or replace the tire.

Tire valve caps

Those small, little black caps on your tire's valve stem keep moisture and dirt out of your tire. Double-check to make sure that each tire has the valve. When you replace a tire, install a new valve stem at the same time.

Don't Drive on a Damaged Tire

Driving on a damaged tire can be dangerous. As you're looking over your tires and see something wrong, have it examined immediately by your tire dealer. If you ever spot damage on your tire, do NOT drive on it; use a spare tire if you need to use your vehicle.

As you're driving, pay attention to the "feel" of your tires. A rough ride may indicate tire damage or excessive wear. Vibrations or other disturbances while driving may lead you to suspect possible damage to your vehicle. Immediately reduce speed and drive with caution until you identify the source of the car shaking. If you can easily identify why your car is shaking, deflate the damaged tire and replace it with a spare. If you do not see any damage yet your car is vibrating while driving, pull over and have your vehicle towed to a mechanic for a thorough inspection.