Tire Sidewall Crack - what would you do?

[DesertRat19]

Hard to tell but are those other cuts in the sidewall just to the right of the yellow circle?

They look like scratches that don’t go all they way through like the crack I circled.

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[wessermgm]

The bigger problem you will have is that the OEM Falken Wildpeaks AT3W 235/65/17 are out of production. They are still hanging around at Discount Tire for now, but they have been reduced to $156 a tire.

Falken moved onto the AT4W and the tread patttern is different and they don't make an OEM model for Ford anymore. Thus, you won't be able to replace any of them soon.

My advice, get 4 new ones at this dirt cheap price and take the best one of your current and mount it as your spare. If you have space, hell store the other two good ones. Chances are if you lose another one down the line, these will be a fine replacement. You arent going to ever do better than $625 for 4 brand new Falken AT tires. That's insane.

 

[DesertRat19]

The bigger problem you will have is that the OEM Falken Wildpeaks AT3W 235/65/17 are out of production. They are still hanging around at Discount Tire for now, but they have been reduced to $156 a tire.

Falken moved onto the AT4W and the tread patttern is different and they don't make an OEM model for Ford anymore. Thus, you won't be able to replace any of them soon.

My advice, get 4 new ones at this dirt cheap price and take the best one of your current and mount it as your spare. If you have space, hell store the other two good ones. Chances are if you lose another one down the line, these will be a fine replacement. You arent going to ever do better than $625 for 4 brand new Falken AT tires. That's insane.

This is what I was thinking if I had to do all four. My discount tire has them. Ford quoted me $624 for 2 tires.

 

[DesertRat19]

Do you think the crack was from some type of impact damage or like BLUEOVALRACER said maybe older than the other tires? If due age of tire maybe covered by tire manufacturer warranty?

Also, I’ve noticed dealerships over inflate tires to 40+ psi. I’d imagine that compromised integrity.

 

[DWG]

My guess is exposure to elements plus off roading.
As for tire warranty how do I find that out. These are the tires that came with vehicle during purchase in 2023. Dealership wasn’t helpful in finding out about manufacture warranty

Your Ford Warranty book for 23 BS discusses tires starting on page 11. owner-manuals. Page 12 has list of tire manufacturer contact information including telephone number. Also the Fallen Tire website has a section at the bottom of their website titled "Tire Care Safety" that includes a link to OEM tire warranty. I think that with all of the listed exclusions warranty coverage is probably a long shot but if you do not ask you will never know.

 

[Quashish]

The bigger problem you will have is that the OEM Falken Wildpeaks AT3W 235/65/17 are out of production. They are still hanging around at Discount Tire for now, but they have been reduced to $156 a tire.

Falken moved onto the AT4W and the tread patttern is different and they don't make an OEM model for Ford anymore. Thus, you won't be able to replace any of them soon.

My advice, get 4 new ones at this dirt cheap price and take the best one of your current and mount it as your spare. If you have space, hell store the other two good ones. Chances are if you lose another one down the line, these will be a fine replacement. You arent going to ever do better than $625 for 4 brand new Falken AT tires. That's insane.

good advice this guy!

 

[sajohnson]

From the (2022) manual, page 321:

"It is recommended that the two front tires or two rear tires generally be replaced as a pair."

From page 111:

From page 309:

So the manual has conflicting advice. The main concern seems to be about using the spare.

We have a full-size spare, so I don't know the diameter of the 'donut' spare, but I believe it's significantly smaller than the regular tires. Also, it's only 1 of 2 tires on an axle (not both).

Obviously, what's best is to replace all four tires. However, if 4 tires aren't in the budget, Ford does say that replaciing the two front tires or two rear tires is OK.

 

[Sojourner]

1. My vote is to replace all four and as @wessermgm says keep at least one as a spare. I personally would keep all three as you never know. Or sell them.

2. My dealership has always said speak to the tire manufacturer about warranty issues. Probably why your dealership seemed unhelpful; not their concern/not in their wheelhouse.

Best of luck.

 

[NMhunter]

I often replace just one axle at a time. I always put new tires on the front, because I've had front wheel blowouts at 70 mph a couple of times. It pulls you right out of your lane. I've been lucky both times, and no one was next to me.

The tire in the photo looks like rock damage from off roading. I did that to a BFG k02 in my Jeep. Can't be fixed.

If you had the Discount Tire road hazard guarantee, they'd replace it. I don't believe anyone else would.

 

[Bucko]

Measure tread depth. AWD has a tread difference spec. May be 2/32". May have to buy four. Or shave new tire, if they can do it.

Tread depth gauge is a few dollars at Autozone and the like. It's with the tire patch kits.

A penny only costs, well, a penny and works well to measure depth.

If you need one, come visit. I have a large mason jar with about a thousand or so.

 

[tjm73]

With only 16K miles on them I'd inspect the remaining three tires set the two best aside for the rear and put two new tires on the front. Millions of cars on the road in this exact situation. Replacing all four is a "recommendation" not a requirement.

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