bjmitts

Hey Guys, my rear driver side tire has a crack in it. The tires only have about 10k miles on 'em. Truck is 2WD.

Is this the type of crack that I need to be concerned about a blowout? If so, can I replace just the one tire or do I need to replace both rear tires? I'm planning a road trip with the family soon, and I don't want to be on a highway with shady tires. Ya know? Any help or suggestions from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

dewman

You should put your spare tire on and get that thing replaced. That is not the kind of thing to try your luck with while driving. You should be fine replacing just that tire, but make sure you replace it with the same tire.

Fast Hampster

It seems that your tire doesn't have any cord damage, it's only a surface crack. Anyway i'm 100% agree with Dewman about it. If you don't have a spare, you can use this wheel as rear one, but only for a short while and without any significant load. You can also replace both tires on this axle, so their thread and wearout would match.

bjmitts

Great, thanks guys...you have confirmed that I need to replace that tire. But, just like the research I've done, you guys have conflicting views on replacing just the one or both of my rear tires.

If I could get a way with it, and not experience a degredation in drive quality, I'd rather just replace the one, but if I must, I'm fine with replacing both of them.

I mean, what really is the risk with replacing only 1?

SinCityFX4

The tread is not that agressive so the height difference wont be atrocious, but it is the standard practice to replace both at the same time.

94'snap

I am telling you from experience replace both rear tires at once. A friend only replaced one rear tire and got in a super bad accident, the cops said it was due to the one tire having more tread then the others. So just replace both tires.

dewman

That may be possible, but with only 10,000 difference on a 50,000 mile tire, he will probably be fine. If the difference was 25,000 miles, I would say replace both for sure and rotate the good tire to the spare position.

Oh, and I have replaced a tire, on a 97 Taurus, that went flat on the highway and ruined the sidewall. I only bought 1 tire, there was not a significant amount of miles on the other tires, and I never had any issues with the car after that, relating to tires.

Fast Hampster

If you have a spare with same thread, you can use it for replacement. My opinion is that tires should be exactly the same on one axle to prevent any tire related possible surprises in some extreme situations. But that's only an opinion. Our safety rools only mention same threads, and say nothing about height difference.

iowaredneck

Replace it with the same tire and you should ask if the tire is under warranty. You may get it replaced for free or a fraction of the cost because it is a tire malfunction. They always tell you to replace both tires, but I would ask the tire guy what he thinks. They can usually tell you what is best depending on the % of tire wear on the other tire. Good luck with your tires and dont' forget to ask about warranty replacement.

bjmitts

hey good call iowaredneck, I think my tire is under warranty from Michelin, I will definitely ask about that when I take it to the tire shop tomorrow. And, I think I will feel better if I replace both the rear tires.

Maybe I will move the spare to the rear passenger side, replace the driver side with a new tire, and put the current passenger side under the truck as a spare. Then I'm only buying 1 tire.