Tires: Tire cracks, 2003 acura mdx, acura mdx

Question
I too have a Michelin tires.  I have Cross Terrain on my 2003 Acura MDX.  The vehicle has about 60,000 miles on it.  The tread still appears to have some life in it but it has alot of small cracks in the grooves of the treads.  They may be an inch long and don't appear to go very deep into the tire.   The sidewalls look in great shape and also where the side walls meet the tread.  I took my truck to Big O and the mechanic was basically saying they are about to fail at any moment and I should immediately replace the tires.  He kept saying if I take it on the freeway tomorrow, he is confident I would have a blowout.  I thought it was way to dramatic and the fact that he said it would fail the next time I take it on the freeway was a little much for me.  I own a company and we have a fleet of about 30 work trucks.  Just from that experience, I usually know what tires look like when they are about to fail.  I know you don't have the luxury to see my tires and can only give me a general answer, but the research I did on the Internet implies that these type of cracks in the tread area are usually more cosmetic.  Also note I live in Las Vegas and saw your answer about 6 years in the desert but I have another truck with tires that are 8 years old and they look even better.  I may change them anyway to be safe but I felt offended by the sales person and wanted to know if you think he may have to pushy in trying to scare me?  Any thoughts?  Thanks.  

Answer
David,

This is all about risk.  How much risk are you willing to subject yourself to (or subject your employees to)?

I am a firm believer that the 6 year limitation is real.  Finding a tire 8 years old in good condition doesn't change that.  For example: Would you expect all your tires to wearout at the same time or would you expect there to be a wide range?  

Same thing with age and failures.  I don't expect every tire to fail right at the 6 year mark -in fact I expect they won't.  But when a tire fails, the result can be very tragic - and I want to avoid becoming part of THAT end of the statistic.  

So a little caution - knowing there is a cost to be paid - avoids the cost of tragedy.