How to Locate an Automobile Tire's Date

The DOT requires tire manufacturers to stamp a date code on the sidewall of tires.

We ask a lot of out automobile tires. Along with supporting the entire weight of the car, its load and its occupants, the tires bear the brunt of bumps, potholes and other road hazards. When purchasing replacement tires for your car, learn how to check the date code. Some tires, such as those with rare sizes or tread patterns, may sit on the rack in tire shops for years before finding buyers. Since tires' rubber can deteriorate even before installation, purchase the newest tires possible. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requires that all tire makers stamp tires with theit week and year of manufacture.

Instructions

1. Locate the tire identification number on the sidewall of the tire---a 10- to 12-digit code beginning with the letters "DOT."

2. Remember that that the DOT only requires that manufacturers stamp one sidewall with the tire identification code. Check the other side of the tire if your tire sidewall has the letters "DOT" and only four more characters, as this does not constitute a complete code.

3. Make a note of the last three or four characters of the 10- to 12-digit code. Tires manufactured since 2000 will have a code ending in four consecutive numbers, while tires manufactured before 2000 will have a code ending in three consecutive numbers.

4. If the code ends in four consecutive numbers, read the first two characters of this four-digit code to learn the week of manufacture; read the last two digits to learn the year. For example, a tire stamped "DOT 2RLL LMLR3408" was manufactured in the 34th week of 2008.

   If the code ends in three consecutive numbers, the first two characters of this three-digit code indicate the week of manufacture, and the last digit indicates the year. For example, a tire stamped "DOT EJ8J FMD309" was manufactured in the 30th week of 1989 or 1999.

Tips & Warnings

• Since the DOT codes on tires manufactured before 2000 do not have a universal identifier to determine their decade of manufacture, check at the end of a code for a small triangular symbol containing a number. The triangle marks the tire's decade of manufacture as the 1990s, and the number indicates the year.

References

• Tire Rack: Determining the Age of a Tire