When Was the Last Time You Replaced Your Tires? Chaya Explains

Chaya teaches car ownership the way it should be taught — plain words, no jargon. Start with your tires.

Chaya Milchtein — Mechanic Shop Femme — has 822,000 TikTok followers and a verified badge, and her whole mission is teaching people about cars in words they can actually understand. Her bio says "Cars, Travel, Life — no DIY": she is not teaching you to rebuild an engine, she is teaching you to own a car without getting ripped off. She wrote the book on it — literally: "Mechanic Shop Femme's Guide to Car Ownership" (Hachette, April 2025), which covers everything you wish someone had taught you about owning a car. Her tire video asks the question most drivers never think about until it is too late: when did you last replace your tires?

Watch: When was the last time you replaced your tires?

What to take from it

• Tires age out, not just wear out. Even with tread left, old rubber hardens and grips less — especially in the cold. Age matters as much as wear.
• Know your tires before winter. Worn or aged tires are the difference between stopping and sliding. Check them in fall, not after the first storm.
• Small jobs are easy jobs. Chaya's wiper-blade lesson is the same idea: most blades use a simple hook, take a few minutes, and the instructions are right on the package. Lift the arm, lay a towel down first so a snapped-back arm cannot crack the glass.

Follow Chaya Milchtein (@mechanicshopfemme) on TikTok for more.

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