How to Read Tire Date Codes on Tires

There is no doubt that understanding the basics like the type of tire, pressure, and tread depth is necessary, but knowing the age of your tires is equally important. Just like the performance and tire wear factors, age can affect your tires as well as the capability and the overall safety of your vehicle.

When you can keep a record of your tires and know their age, this will become helpful for you to save money on repairs and take care of your vehicle in a proper way. That is why you should know how to read tire date codes on tires because it helps to know when your tire has to be replaced.

What is a DOT date code on a tire?

The DOT date code on the tire has to be located if you have to find its actual age. This code is a symbol that indicates the manufacturer's compliance with the safety standards of the US Department of Transportation (DOT).

With the code's help, you can know about the manufacturer of the tire, where the tire was made, and any other related information. This code can also indicate that the tire has been able to pass the tests of the Department of Transportation and the requirements of the NHTSA manufacturer.

How to find the DOT code on the tire?

It may not be easy for you to locate the tire DOT code, as there are no such regulations regarding where this information has to be placed by the manufacturer. Therefore, it gets important for you to look at the number of sides of the tires in order to locate these numbers. The inner sidewall of the tire is where the identification information is usually found.

Reading the tire date code

When you look at the tire's sidewall, you will find a code that follows the letters DOT. This code has a few characters that can give you all the information required to identify the tire and its manufacturing date.

The first two numbers that appear on the DOT code represent the week the tire was manufactured, while the other two show the year of its manufacturing. For the tires that were manufactured in 2000 and later, their last four digits indicate the week and year of production. The week is identified by the first two numbers, whereas the next two identify the year.

Conclusion

The car's capabilities in terms of acceleration, cornering, and braking are determined by the tire condition. With time, the tire rubber starts to degrade, while the tire warranties are tied to the date of its manufacturing.

There is a date code stamped on each tire sold in the United States, and it helps you understand better when you have to replace the tire. The date code is important for various reasons, but most importantly, it is used to register the tire with the manufacture, and that is why it is crucial to know how to read tire date codes on tires.