The Automobile Association is advising motorists to change their tyres when the tread depth reaches 3mm.
The advice comes at a time when the AA has noticed that motorists are holding on to their cars longer.
"Motorists should check their tyre depth regularly," an AA spokesman commented. "The legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm in Ireland but, in fact, that is too low.”
On average, 16 per cent of call outs to four-year-old cars concerned punctures, with the other most common faults being faulty or worn out batteries, followed by alternator, engine and clutch related defects.
