WASHINGTON, D.C. — Inefficient tires are costing California drivers more than $180 on extra gasoline over the lifetime of a new set, according to a report published today by the Coalition for Clean Air and the Consumer Federation of America. The report finds that standards ensuring replacement tires are as efficient as the ones that come on a new vehicle would save drivers money while reducing pollution. But while a 2003 state law (AB 844, by Assemblymember Joe Nation) directed the California Energy Commission (CEC) to set standards for the tires by 2007, agency efforts restarted in 2020 now appear stalled.
Bill Magavern, policy director at the Coalition for Clean Air, said: “Ensuring replacement tires are as good as the tires on a brand-new car is a commonsense step to save California drivers money while reducing needless pollution. It’s time for Governor Newsom to get the job done on these standards we were promised decades ago.”
Courtney Griffin, director of consumer product safety at the Consumer Federation of America, said: “After purchasing new tires, drivers often find themselves refueling more frequently, and our study shows those extra costs can add up significantly over time. This hidden expense hits low-income drivers the hardest, as they are more likely to own an older vehicle with replacement tires. The good news is that efficient tires, which are already standard on new cars, have been shown to be safe and reliable.”
Former Assemblymember Nation, now a professor of public policy at Stanford, said “I wrote AB 844 in 2003 because I saw an opportunity to save drivers money on fuel costs and reduce the emissions that are driving climate change and air pollution. I never thought we’d still be talking about this in 2025, but the need is even greater now, so I urge the Energy Commission to implement the law and deliver a win-win for Californians.”
Car manufacturers typically ship new vehicles with fuel-efficient tires because they are a low-cost way to help meet vehicle fuel economy standards. However, because there are no efficiency standards for replacement tires, many have high rolling resistance, requiring more energy to rotate. Fuel-efficient replacement tires are readily available on the market today and leverage advances in rubber chemistry and tread design to achieve low rolling resistance. The new report cites expert testing data of 149 tires showing that efficient tires do not compromise safety or tire longevity.
Statewide, inefficient replacement tires are costing California drivers more than $1.1 billion in 2025 alone, the report estimates. The bulk of these added costs today are for extra gasoline; a small but rapidly growing share is for added electricity needed to charge EVs with replacement tires. The report finds that inefficient replacement tires are costing EV drivers an extra $161 on average on electricity over the lifetime of a set of tires—similar to the $184 average for drivers of gasoline vehicles.
The inefficient tires are causing additional emissions of 1,490 tons of nitrogen oxides, 106 tons of particulate matter (PM2.5), and 2.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide this year alone. These emissions are equivalent to the annual emissions from nearly three-quarters of a million gasoline vehicles.
Efficient replacement tires would yield fuel savings of about 3.1% for gasoline vehicles and 4.0% for EVs, equating to a range increase of 10–15 miles for a typical EV.
With standards, savings on gasoline or electricity would far exceed the additional upfront cost of a set of replacement tires matching the efficiency of typical new car tires, offsetting those costs in just over six months. The average lifetime of a replacement tire set is roughly four years, and a typical vehicle has several sets of replacement tires over its lifetime.
See the report: Burning Rubber and Cash: How Inefficient Replacement Tires are Costing Californians
The report was prepared by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (which is housed at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy). It was based on calculations using data published by the CEC and federal, state, auto industry, and other sources.