I'm wondering if this looks like cosmetic damage to you.

Damage to the sidewall near rim happened about a year and a half ago at around 20 mph. Tire has been holding air as well as the others over the last 4k miles since damage -- total mileage on tire is 7k and it is 3 years old.

The scrape is not very deep but it is long (see second shot with finger pushed against deepest part). Dealer thought it was cosmetic. Its been fine for the last 1+years but not sure how it will fare with 5 hours of driving for two weeks straight on an upcoming road trip.

enter image description hereenter image description here


It looks cosmetic to me especially since the gash isn't very deep. The length of the gash doesn't look very concerning since there appears to be plenty of material left underneath the gash. You also stated that it has held air fine over the past year plus, so I would think you'd be fine. If it really bothers you, it wouldn't be a bad idea to just replace the tire though. I often find myself replacing small things like that just so I don't think about them the entire time I'm driving on a road trip. No sense in stressing if you don't have to.

Your Answer

