On 20/20 they said Sears, other tires stores, selling tires that are too old, tread comes off, code on tire?

Question

What about Sears and other tires stores that are selling tires that are too old and the tread is going to come off and cause a horrible accident and kill people and there is a special code on the tire that tells when the tire was made and if it is more than six years old it is too old and the tread will separate and come off and cause a horrible accident. There were stores selling tires that were 12 years old or more and very dangerous and why isn't something being done about this. Why isn't this regulated so they can't sell those old tires that are so dangerous.

Answer 1

It is impossible to regulate.  You have to look out for yourself.  Motorcyclists have the same problem with tires that are shelved for so long that they develop dry rot before they  are sold.

(Sears auto dept. had such a terrible reputation in my town that they closed it, years ago.)

Answer 2

As a loss prevention manager for Sears, I can say that this claim is TOTALLY FALSE. I know from a loss prevention aspect, that we are not filling our stockrooms with old tires. We have strict guidelines that we must follow, and stocking old tires in our showroom IS NOT one of them. I personally believe this is an irrational fear. The media is hyping up something that doesn't need to be worried about. Blowouts happen everyday. I had a blowout one time and there was nothing wrong. Another driver alerted me to the blowout! I had no idea my tire was gone! I think this is an irrational fear. We have too much other things to worry about than whether our tires are gonna blow out and kill us.....It is not a rational fear. We get a truck once a week with new tires from the factory...so I do not see how we are selling "old" tires. This is not anything to worry about.

Answer 3

I wouldn't doubt it with sears they have been cheating customers for decades in their auto dept.

Answer 4

I work at a sears auto center and have for 15 years. We have never sold tires that old. It is not a common practice. You have a greater chance of a tire blowing out from a piece of metal in the road than your tires being old. I have delt with blow outs on a weekly basis, and no one has ever died. Ever watch cops?? they chase somone, and they put down spike strips and blow out all for tires, and the guys are still running at 70mph with no problems. Do they ever blow out and crash and roll over? Not really. Just because you saw it on the news does not mean its real. I just saw a news report about a man attacked by a flying alien witch. I am sure that did not happen. Please just drive on your tires and not worry about it. You would better worry about dying from the stuff they stick in your food. I assure you its not something to worry about. Sears is not filling the stock rooms with 10 year old tires.

Answer 5

From reading many different stories about these stores and the tires that they are selling, it looks like it all comes down to making more money at the cost of forgetting about the customers safety.

These stores work the same way that the automakers do, they what is called "bean-counters" and they determine the over cost that the company can and would suffer if an accident would happen.