Cracked tyres - are they dangerous?

I have a 10 month old Kia Sorento fitted with Nexen N8000 tyres. The tyres have covered 8000 miles over the past year and still have 6-7mm of tread, but just recently I have noticed channel cracking at the bottom of the main outer grooves and around the treads.

This is happening on all four tyres including the spare which was rotated onto the car and has only covered 2500 miles. I have been advised by a Kia garage that this is normal. Is this correct?

Asked on 15 April 2014 by jjk155

Answered by Honest John
Some tyres crack between the treads. It does not necessarily make them dangerous, but it might, so better to get them checked by an independent party, such as an MoT station (rather than a tyre specialist who may merely want to sell you new tyres).
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