Tires breaking down from muddy roads?

[Paul in Idaho]

I recently noticed several cracks around the edge of the sidewall of one of my truck tires. There is still a lot of tread left and I wasn't expecting to have to replace them this year or next.



There are about 15 cracks like that around the tire. I removed that tire and put a spare on before my last scouting trip. The other 3 are not as bad but showing early signs of the same problem.

I asked about this at the shop where I bought them. The mechanic said there would be no warranty because of "off road" use, and that the cracking is due to muddy roads drying out the rubber.

These tires have never been off of a road, though I guess some of the forest and BLM roads I drive stretch the definition of "road." I had not heard of mud damaging rubber, nor have I had similar problems like this before with my same driving habits. Since I know most of you here travel the same types of roads I do, I wanted to get your opinion on this.

Do your truck tires break down well before the advertised mileage rating? Do you take any steps to clean or condition tires after driving on muddy backroads?

 

[Coyotes-R-Us]

Sun and age but never mud.
I think your tire guy is looking for an out...

 

[mtmuley]

What tire? mtmuley

 

[El Jason]

Mud doesn’t dry rubber out.

 

[nrpate05]

That seems a bit sketchy. Can't see mud doing that to a tire, especially if its only one tire. Only rough gravel and rock would do that kind of cutting to a tire. Maybe whacking a curb with some speed?

 

[WapitiBob]

Bad tires and a worse tire shop.

 

[Doublecluck]

I have owned , Pro Comp, BFG, Nitto, Swampers, Kelly safaris, among others from 33-37” and driven year after year in the nastiest mud on earth (Salton sea) thru some of the driest conditions in America (Indio/Palm Springs) Till the tread was gone on all of them and never seen that.. is it on the inside and out?

 

[p_ham]

Bad tires and a worse tire shop.

^^^^
Also, how old are these tires?

 

[Yotkilr]

How many years old are the tires and does your truck sit outside in the sun? That's my guess is just age and sun eating them up if you don't put many miles on in a year on that truck.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Sounds like BS from your tire shop. My wife used to smack the curb and scrape along it when parking for years on the same side with my truck and I never saw any damage.
Also from looking at the pic, how can an off-road tire not be meant to use off-road as far as warranty. Time to find a new tire shop.

 

[homerj]

I've never seen that from mud. Rocky rutted tracks might do that if your sidewall were forced up against the walls of the ruts where the rocks could cut into the rubber :

 

[TheTone]

I have a hard time buying it. If it was mud kids I went to high school with would have went through a ton of tires.

 

[HighDesertSage]

They shouldn't do that. Tell your tire shop to pony up. That looks like a warranty issue to me. What tire and tire shop?

 

[antelopedundee]

Tires are usually date coded so maybe that one is older than the other 3. How many manufacturers warrant their tires against weather cracking?

 

[antelopedundee]

My tire shop man suggests that it's from too low tire pressure which if true would probably void the warranty anyway. Can you confirm if it was properly inflated?

 

[BrentD]

that is not caused by mud.

what brand and model are they?

 

[Elkmagnet]

That's tread separation. Get those tires off of there asap. Tire tread separation is known to cause a lot of roll over accidents. Especially in SUVs and trucks.
As said above the culprit is usually under inflation.
If you know that the tires were not run under inflated then demand the tire shop pull one off the rim for you to inspect together.
A tire that looks like this from under inflation will have a lot of burnt rubber dust and chunks inside from the sidewall over heating.
If their isn't anything in there than it is a manufacturer defect or old tire. Either way if you have bought them in the last few years you should have a warranty claim

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Thanks everyone. The tire is a Hankook Dynapro. I bought them in May 2016 from a small mechanic shop that has taken great care of our vehicles for 10+ years. It was a new employee that blamed the problem on mud. I haven't talked to the owner yet, so won't post the shop name. The receipt isn't where it should be. I will call the shop owner once I locate it.

I maintain my truck carefully. The truck is parked outside, but is driven at least twice per week. Most months I drive to the mountains at least 2 weekends, and each trip is 500 miles or more. Tires are rotated every other oil change, so 6 months between rotations. Sometimes more often if I put the miles on.

The tires are usually filled to 40psi. The truck has low pressure alert that hasn't shown yet. Tested tonight, 35psi on the damaged tire.

The damaged tire was taken off a couple weeks ago since it looked like it could break apart under pressure, like from turning tight curves on hot asphalt.

The damage from a curb is a possibility, though I rarely drive places that have them. The only place I'd be likely to scrape one is pulling into a parking spot, so low very speed.

The rocky rut idea is more likely, but I'd expect matching damage on the front tire. This one was on the rear driver's side. I can find only one minor crack on the driver's front tire.

I spent some time this evening inspecting the tires more. They came from 2 lots. 2 were made in China, including the damaged one. The other 2 came from a Korean factory. They were made in 2015 if I'm reading the DOT codes right. (3115 on Korea tires, 0215 on Chinese)

There is a lot more damage on the outside of the tire than the inside. I found only one crack on the back.

I chose Hankook tires since many of the locals in the area I hunt use them. A friend that lives there said he has used them for years and never seen anything like this. Until these cracks showed up, I had only good experiences. In late archery and other snowy mountain travels, I never had to use chains.

When I get info from the manufacturer or shop, I'll post an update.

 

[antelopedundee]

IIRC 3115 would be the 31st week of 2015 and 0215 the 2nd week of 2015; at least that's how it was recently explained by an acquaintance who works in a tire shop.

 

[antelopedundee]

Any update from your discussion/s with your tire shop?