Rep Power: 193

Hi folks,

So, I have an 01 Civic that has a spare in the back. I never bothered taking it out. Today, I had to take it out to use to rotate my tires on my own. Anyways, it's brand new, but completely deflated. I've been wondering, though. Is this spare tire still ok to use? I've emailed American Honda for a response, but thought I would ask here too. I know most tires are rated for 10 years. I wonder if that applies to the spare donut tires. As an aside, my wife has an 09 Civic, and the spare was a life saver. But, I can see why they no longer include it in their newer cars.

Much thanks

 
Rep Power: 511

I would take that tire into a tire shop to have them look at it, just to be on the safe side. Could be good enough to hold air while inflated, but degraded enough to fail under load.

And actually, the only new civic that doesn't have a spare is the Type R. My 2018 Sport hatch has one

 
Rep Power: 0

After about 7 years, the tire compound becomes harder which affects performance (longer stops, bad handling, etc.).
In fact, I just threw away an 8 year old Toyo that had 90% tread life left. A new tire is a fraction of the cost of my deductible!

 
Rep Power: 0

Very high risk of tire tread peeling on old tires like this. Of course, provided that they were not preserved with silicone and stored in a cool, dark place.