Tyres are the only part of the car actually in contact with the road, yet they're one of the most overlooked areas of maintenance. Three things matter most: tread depth, pressure, and age, and all three are simple to check yourself.
Tread depth
Tread grips the road and clears water away in wet conditions, and it wears down gradually with every mile driven. Most tyres have built-in wear indicators, small raised bars within the tread grooves that become flush with the surface as the tyre nears the legal minimum. You can also do a simple visual check regularly and, if in doubt, ask a garage or tyre centre to measure it properly — check your handbook or a tyre specialist for the exact legal minimum that applies.
Pressure
Correct pressure affects handling, braking distance, fuel or energy use, and how evenly the tyre wears. The correct figure for your car is usually printed on a sticker inside the driver's door or in the handbook, not on the tyre itself. Check pressures when the tyres are cold, ideally before a journey rather than after, using a reliable gauge, and don't forget the spare if you carry one.
Age and condition
- Look for cracking in the sidewall, which can develop even on tyres with plenty of tread left, particularly if a car is used infrequently.
- Check for bulges or lumps, which can indicate internal damage and mean the tyre needs replacing straightaway.
- Remove any embedded stones or debris from the tread grooves, and check for anything that might indicate a slow puncture.
- Bear in mind that tyres do age even with tread remaining, so an older tyre is worth having assessed by a specialist even if it looks fine.
Why it's worth the five minutes
A tyre in poor condition affects braking distance, grip in the wet, and how the car responds in an emergency, so it's not an area to leave until the next MOT. Make checking tread, pressure and general condition a monthly habit, and check again before any long journey. It's one of the quickest ways to catch a problem while it's still a cheap fix rather than a breakdown at the roadside.
