Question of the week: Is a tyre with a damaged sidewall safe?
Fri, 12 Dec 2025
Dear Honest John,
"I recently hit a kerb with my front offside tyre on a badly-lit road. When I inspected it the following day there was a 50mm strip of rubber partially sheared away from the tyre wall just below the tread area.
When I took it to my local tyre centre they said it was okay to drive on if there was no air leakage. I thought this was dubious advice as I didn’t want to have a blowout if the tyre became unsafe and understand that tyre walls are not that thick (mine are 215 60 R17 for a Suzuki Vitara).
I asked for the tyre to be changed and when I asked what they would do with the old one (which wasn’t very worn) they said they would throw it away as it could not be sold again. Was I correct to change it immediately and would that kind of damage have resulted in an MoT fail?"
- NL
Dear NL,
Any damage to a tyre should be taken seriously, and if you are unsure of the severity of the damage we would recommend having a trusted garage or tyre fitter examine the damage.
The MoT inspection manual states that 'a tyre with a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords' is considered a major fault, so it may be that this damage was not sufficient to fail, but that is no guarantee that the tyre is still safe.
Significant damage to the sidewall can weaken the structure with the potential risk of deflation, failure or even a blowout, so we would always err on the side of caution and have it replaced. It is also good practice to give each tyre a visual inspection when checking pressures as it is always better to catch any damage as early as possible.
