Tires: tire wear vs. warranty, snow traction, odometer reading

Question
Barry,
My wife's vehicle has Goodyear all season tires with almost 40,000 miles on them. The tire manufacturer provided an 80,000 mile treadwear warranty. I drove the car this past weekend and it wants to hydroplane way beyond normal. I took the vehicle to the shop where we purchased the tires and was told the tires weren't the problem as they still had 4/32 of tread left. I took the vehicle to my mechanic and he thoroughly examined the vehicle and said the tires were the issue. I understand that the traction is going to be reduced as the tire wears, but at what point is it no longer safe. It would seem that since the manufacturer sets the treadwear indicator at 2/32nds and warranties 80,000 miles to this point that would make any driving past 2/32nds unsafe. This vehicle does not seem safe right now. I'm loathe to replace tires that have less than 1/2 their warranteed tread life without any compensation. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Answer
Tire wear warranties are based on the tire wearing down to 2/32nds of an inch - which is the legal limit in most states.  BTW, it is a federal law that the wear bars be at the 2/32nds level.

If you have a tire that has not yet reached the 2/32nds level, it isn't officially worn out - and isn't officially covered by the wear warranty.  The fact that the tire has traction issues at that level isn't covered by the warranty.

You asked at what point is the tire no longer safe.  Many folks say 5/32nds for snow traction and 4/32nds for wet traction.  But this has no bearing on the warranty coverage.

I would call Goodyear's 800 number and ask them to make you a deal.  But before you do  - be sure that all 4 tires are worn evenly and all 4 have reached 4/32nds, and that you have a receipt showing the odometer reading when the tires went on.  This information is needed to be sure that even though you haven't reached the official wearout point, you are going to get there soon, and that you otherwise would qualify for warranty coverage.   

And just so it is clear, they will do a proration based on what miles you would have gotten if you had waited until the tire were worn to 2/32nds - and apply that to a comparable set of Goodyear tires.  That means you should expect to pay about 60% to 70% of the cost of the new tire.