How to find out the age of your tires

[BarbRN]

There has been some controversy about dealers selling aging tires that have been on the shelves for too long. They find the compounds deteriorate and soon render them unsafe. Do you know how to read the date on the tire?

Look at the DOT number and the last four numbers is the date of manufacture. Yesterday while getting my new tires, I asked to see the particular ones I would receive. The last four numbers were 2305. That means the 23rd week of 2005. Easy enough but not everybody knows about it.

[four_by_ken]

Good think to know.

Thanks

[Ca Pete]

Very cool, but I'm now afraid to go look at my tires.

[CBxr]

What is the age limit on tires being stored before deterioration begins and the tires are considered too old to install?

[SeminoleWind]

I just bought new tires (Diablos) about a month ago and I just checked .......... They were made in 2003 ........ I don't see any problems with them though. They're still sticky and ride nice.

[drvslow]

I had some concerns after a small repair shop told me he wouldn't mount anything older than 5 years due to being liable in case they came apart or were dry rotted. I did a bit of research, another cycle formum stated most motorcycle tires are warranted for 5 years past cast date by manufacturer. Some Michelin's I looked at had a 5 year warranty agains defects- nothing about dry-rot.

I asked another dealer here Power Motorsports- he pointed to the tires in the front of the shop and said they were on sale to rotate inventory to ensure he had newer tires in stock.

I say it depends on what you are uing the tire for- racing folks I am sure look at the date?? They don't want to risk having a bad - old tire on. I don't race- so it is an assumption.

You know what they same about assuming.

[KWICK]

Tire age is a big deal in Arizona. On my cars, I replace any tire over 4 years old...they tend to separate and come apart in the 120 desert heat out here. My bike tires never make it to 4 years old , but if they did, they'd get replaced then also.

[grennels]

I just replaced a set of Dunlops on an old Virago.
Those tires were at least 10 years old.
Seemed fine to me. Just normal wear.
Of course, it IS a Virago. So I ain't racing it.

[ChampR1]

Tire age really depends on how and where they are stored. The sun, or more to the point 'Ultra violet' light, kills tires. Indoor storage, out of the sun aint so bad. Sitting in a window for a couple of months can kill tires.

[biscuit]

GO AHEAD and laff but if over the winter you wrap your tires with plastic wrap like the stuff you cover food with your tire will stay softer than without . tires go hard just being exposed to air ( they dry out )i,ve proved this with a durometer . i raced cars in a series that bought a seasons supply of tires in the spring and sold them through out the year. we bought ours all in the spring and wrapped them and kept them in the dark until we needed them
they would test about 10 points softer than the tires the series would be selling half way through the season

[SteveMcGreen]

Cool info,BarbRN I just checked my new tires front 1405 rear 0304.I think I'm good

[dimora]

This information rocks. Thanks! This board is so cool. Mods - you should make this a sticky.

Shane

[BarbRN]

Originally posted by SteveMcGreen
Cool info,BarbRN I just checked my new tires front 1405 rear 0304.I think I'm good

Awww shucks, thanks. Now I'm studying up on car tires that I need, all the numbers and codes deciphered. I feel so good when I'm on top of my game in the store. They usually drop their teeth when I know stuff they don't.

When I went to buy my new Diablos a few months ago at the dealer, I asked to see them before they mounted them. The guy didn't know WT heck I was doing so I taught him too. LOL

[rxrated]

Pirreli guy at the track said to be careful storing tires in your garage next to certain types of equipment like generators as something about the generators going off and on was bad if the tires were in close proximity..Wish I could remember exactly what he said..I will find out at the next race day..

[zrxoa1]

Originally posted by dimora
This information rocks. Thanks! This board is so cool. Mods - you should make this a sticky.

Shane

I just "stuck" it.....

[cooncat]

Originally posted by rxrated
Pirreli guy at the track said to be careful storing tires in your garage next to certain types of equipment like generators as something about the generators going off and on was bad if the tires were in close proximity..Wish I could remember exactly what he said..I will find out at the next race day..

Electric motors create ozone. Ozone also contributes to the deterioration of
the rubber.

[dimora]

Originally posted by zrxoa1
I just "stuck" it.....

You da man, Brent!

[John T]

Originally posted by biscuit
GO AHEAD and laff but if over the winter you wrap your tires with plastic wrap like the stuff you cover food with

You canuks just LOVE Saran wrap.... I don't know what it is...

[rxrated]

Originally posted by cooncat
Electric motors create ozone. Ozone also contributes to the deterioration of
the rubber.

Thanks! EXactly what I was trying to remember..

[chuckc]

Question
Looking for help deciphering the date code on a set of Goodyear GT II?This is on the back, H17R DOT MKUU E3JR 298. Thanks in advance

Answer
Kevin,

The stuff before the letters "DOT" is something that I don't know what it is, but after the "DOT":

MK = the tire was made in Union City, Tennesse

UU = the tire is a P225/70R15 (I did this from memory, so I may gotten it wrong)

E3JR = the tire design and version - Eagle GT II - a guess on my part, but that is what is supposed to be there

298 = the date of manufacture - the 29th week of 1998 (or 1988, or 1978)

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Tire Manufacture Date - The Production Code

tire manufacture date Photo below belongs to a Toyo Proxes T1-S. The production code on all tires are not equal but you will see a special code in an ellipse shape on at least 80% of all tires on the market, and that will help you find tire date of manufacture.

The "last 4 digits" on the ellipse tells us tire manufacture date. The first 2 digits is "PRODUCTION WEEK" and the last 2 digits is the "YEAR". Assuming there are 4 weeks in a month, we can say that this tire was manufactured by the end of March 2003 (12=12th week of the year, 03=Year 2003).

5000 means 50th week of year 2000, which means December 2000.




--------------------------------------
Tire Date Codes

Newer tires now come with a DOT #, the last four (4) digits give the week,then the year

On a Bridgestone tire purchased in Nov 03:
DOT ENU2 VBB3503 = produced 35th week of 03


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How to "read" your RV tires to know if they're too old.



The useful life of a tire is only five to seven years. For cars and trucks driven every day, the tread usually wears out in less than five years. For RVs that sit for a good part of the year, five years can pass with a lot of tread still left on the tire.

Although you may not want to replace what looks like a perfectly good tire, riding on tires more than five years old greatly increases the risk of a blowout.

Date Codes: Every tire has a date code stamped on the sidewall, which gives the date that the tire was manufactured. They look something like this: DOT PDHH MLOR 3403. The date code can be on either side of the tire, so you may have to crawl underneath the rig and look on the inward facing side. The date code always starts with the letters DOT and ends with a 3 or 4 digit number. That last number is the date code, which tells you when the tire was manufactured. The first two numbers indicate the week (out of 52) and the last one or two digits indicate the year. For instance, 3403 means the 34th week of 2003, or the last week in August 2003. Starting with the year 2000, the date codes have two digits for the year, prior to that, only one. A date code of 079 would indicate the seventh week of 1999, or the third week of February 1999.

Tires deteriorate with age, even when sitting on a shelf, so always ask to see the date code when you purchase new tires and insist on tires manufactured within the last few months. The tire dealer may give you a funny look because most consumers don't know about date codes.

[chuckc]

SRS Again Presses NHTSA for Consumer-Friendly Tire Date of Manufacture

Copyright © Safety Research & Strategies, Inc., 2006

(Reprinted from The Safety Record, V3, Issue 3, Nov. / Dec. 2006)



REHOBOTH, MA – Safety Research & Strategies has renewed its call for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require tire makers to mold an easy-to-read date of manufacture on a tire’s sidewall.



SRS submitted comments on December 20 urging the agency to separate this proposal from the more complicated tire performance rulemaking. SRS President Sean Kane argued that now is the perfect time for NHTSA to consider implementing a new date of manufacture labeling regulation, while tire manufacturers gear up to meet their obligations in 2009 to mold the entire Tire Identification Number (TIN) on the intended outward sidewall of each tire. In November 2004, SRS petitioned the agency for a rulemaking to require that tire makers mold a non-coded date of manufacture on their products as a step toward reducing the number of aged tire failures. SRS argued that since the agency and the tire and vehicle manufacturers agree that tire age matters, consumers need an easy-to-read the date of manufacturer on the side of their tires. The agency denied the petition and instead chose to address the issue in its tire performance standards.



Since the 2004 SRS petition, three major tire makers have issued Technical Bulletins warning against the use of tires older than 10 years.



SRS bolstered its recent submission with a list of 108 incidents in which tires older than six years experienced a tread / belt separation, causing loss-of-control crashes that killed 82 and severely injured 115. The incidents were identified from litigation—the only public source of this data. The list only represents a fraction of the total, Kane argued, because less serious accidents go undocumented, uninvestigated or pursued through the courts.



“Because litigation serves as a bell-weather for trends,” Kane wrote in his submission, “We suspect that aged tires are contributing to a significantly larger number of failures than those we have documented.”



Those cases also illustrate the myriad ways aged tires end up in service. Nearly one-third of the cases involved unused or little-used spares, sometimes rotated into service by tire service technicians or automobile dealership personnel who were either unaware of the dangers of aged tires or were unable to read the date – currently an 11-digit alphanumeric code molded onto one side of the tire. In other cases, tires a decade or older were simply sold as new tires.



For example, on July 30, 2005, the right rear tire on Javier Rene Garcia Sr.’s Honda Accord failed as he drove on Texas Highway 359 south of Realitos. The Accord veered out of control into the path of a 2001 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck. The failed tire was a Firestone-made Exxon branded Signature II made in 42nd week of 1991 even though it was purchased several months before. Garcia, his girlfriend and his seven-year-old son suffered fatal injuries. John Lee Woodall, the driver of the pick-up, sustained serious injuries.



Kane also reminded the agency of the 38-year history of the Tire Identification Number, during much of which the Rubber Manufacturers Association fought hard to keep the TIN molded on one side and the date of manufacture an obscure code.



In 1970, the National Highway Safety Board—NHTSA’s predecessor—declined to adopt the RMA’s internal system and proposed its own alphanumeric code. The NHSB proposed a system with four groups of symbols, to be read from left to right. The third group,

consisting of four symbols, would identify the date of manufacture by

week and year. For example, 3171 would mean that the tire was made on the 31st week of 1971. In response, some tire makers complained that they didn’t want the customer to be able to interpret the code, think they were capable of reading it, or believe that it was necessary for the consumer to have that information.



BF Goodrich, for example, said that the consumer would be able to identify a recalled tire based on a defect notification letter that would use the entire serial number. Goodyear said that it was questionable that the consumer would be any better able to decipher the bureau’s proposed four-digit date code than the RMA’s two-digit code. Firestone in particular argued that the bureau should adopt the RMA’s two-symbol date code expressly because consumers couldn’t read it. “Tires are not perishable items,” Firestone said in its petition. “Therefore, a conspicuous disclosure of tire age would unavoidably introduce into the marketplace a totally artificial measure of quality unrelated to product performance and effectiveness.”


When the agency published the final rule in November 1970, the NHSB dropped the decade position, so that 311 would mean that the tire was made on the 31st week of 1971. The agency said that it shortened the date code and moved it to the last grouping to the last position to make it easier for manufacturers to shorten and change the stencil plate. The manufacturing date code remained a three-symbol group until 1999, when the agency publish a final rule based on petitions from the RMA and the European Technical Rim and Tyre Organization (ETRTO) requesting that the grouping signifying date of manufacture be expanded from three digits to four digits -- as was first proposed in 1970.


In the post Ford Explorer-Firestone tire rollover period, the agency began to re-examine the efficacy of the TIN. To better understand the knowledge and desires of consumers, NHTSA contracted a series of eight focus groups to determine what consumers knew about tires and safety and what they would like to know. The agency’s research found that consumers were confused by the codes, but wanted to learn more about what they meant. Some wished that tire information were presented in “plain language.” Since they tended to believe that information provided on tires “is there for a reason,” they wished it was displayed in a more understandable format. Codes may be appropriate for the trade, they suggested, but not for consumers.



Despite this, the agency did not move toward a “plain language” standard. Instead, the agency’s major proposals included re-ordering the TIN information and requiring that the information be molded on both sides. The final rule, published in June 2004, gave manufacturers until September 2009 to ensure that consumers could read the TIN on the outboard side of the tire. This was a concession to tire manufacturers who argued it would cost $224 million to re-work all of the molds. Pushing the date ahead five years gave manufacturers time for current molds to wear-out, before their replacement.



“As the rule stands today,” Kane said in his submission, “consumers still have to wait three years before they get easier access to the TIN. However, consumers are no closer to understanding what these numbers and letters mean. Meanwhile, when manufacturers are reworking their molds to comply with other aspects of FMVSS 139, they could also be incorporating a change in the date of manufacture to a format anyone can understand.”



[For more details on tire aging and SRS’ work in this area visit www.safetyresearch.net]

[chuckc]

Determining the Age of a Tire

When it comes to determining the age of a tire, it is easy to identify when a tire was manufactured by reading its Tire Identification Code (serial number). Unlike vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and the serial numbers used on many other consumer goods (which identify one specific item), Tire Identification Codes are really batch codes that identify which week and year the tire was produced.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires that Tire Identification Code be a combination of eleven or twelve letters and numbers that identify the manufacturing location, tire size, manufacturer's code, and week and year the tire was manufactured.

Today, the week and year the tire was manufactured is contained in the last four digits of the serial number, with the 2 digits used to identify the week a tire was manufactured immediately preceding the 2 digits used to identify the year.

Examples of tires manufactured since 2000 with this Tire Identification Code format:
XXXXXXXX 0600
XXXXXXXX 0600 06 - Manufactured during the 06th week of the year
XXXXXXXX 0600 00 - Manufactured during 2000

And
XXXXXXXX 0604
XXXXXXXX 0600 06 - Manufactured during the 06th week of the year
XXXXXXXX 0604 04 - Manufactured during 2004

The Tire Identification Code for tires produced prior to 2000 was based on the assumption that no tire would be in service for ten years. They were required to provided the same information, with the week and year the tire was built contained in the last three digits. The 2 digits used to identify the week a tire was manufactured immediately preceded a single digit used to identify the year.

For example, if the Tire Identification Code on a tire reads:
XXXXXXXX 0680
XXXXXXXX 0600 06 - Manufactured during the 06th week of the year
XXXXXXXX 0680 8 - Manufactured during the 8th year of the decade

While the previous serial number format identified that a tire was built in the 8th year of a decade, there was no universal identifier that confirmed which decade (tires produced in the 1990s may have a small triangle following the Tire Identification Code to identify the decade). The Tire Identification Code format used since 2000 accurately confirms the year.

And finally, hold on to your sales receipts. Most tire manufacturer's warranties cover their tires for four years from the date of purchase, or five years from the week the tires were manufactured. So if you purchase new tires that were manufactured exactly two years ago they will be covered for a total of six years (four years from the date of purchase) as long as you have your receipt. If you lose your receipt, your tires' warranty coverage will end five years from week the tire was produced (resulting in the tire manufacturer's warranty coverage ending only three years from the date of purchase in this example).

[Jerry]

Electric motors create ozone. Ozone also contributes to the deterioration of
the rubber.

Yeah but the question is does the electric motor create ENOUGH ozone to really do any damage? Maybe HUGE commercial motors, I doubt many homeowners garages have that much electrical power creating that much ozone for a very long time.

[Jerry]

tires go hard just being exposed to air ( they dry out )

Yeah but as soon as you start to use that tire the "dry" rubber is worn off leaving fresh "soft" rubber underneath doing the work.

[green12]

If the date code only has 3 didgets it was made in the '90's. ex: 453 = 45th week of 1993.

[tanner]

tire guy at Garret's last trackday poked at my old tires with a knife and said they were fine...something about pliability,still "moist"? Anyway, these tires were OLD and I have at least 3 full sets ( one mounted with new powdercoat and new sprockets and bearings and stuff ) and these tires have been in the dark, no direct sunshine and they still touch, feel , smell, "moist" just like the set he put on brand new that day at the track. They've been stacked up for at least 3 years ( since the First International rally in Alaska) and I'm gonna' run them away as soon as I get a motor that will make them roll in circular velocities on asphalt. I'll keep you all posted if anything bad happens. Pfffft-"old" tires!

[green12]

tire guy at Garret's last trackday poked at my old tires with a knife and said they were fine...something about pliability,still "moist"? Anyway, these tires were OLD and I have at least 3 full sets ( one mounted with new powdercoat and new sprockets and bearings and stuff ) and these tires have been in the dark, no direct sunshine and they still touch, feel , smell, "moist" just like the set he put on brand new that day at the track. They've been stacked up for at least 3 years ( since the First International rally in Alaska) and I'm gonna' run them away as soon as I get a motor that will make them roll in circular velocities on asphalt. I'll keep you all posted if anything bad happens. Pfffft-"old" tires!

Stored inside. We have vehicles at work that don't go alot of miles. Some are funny. Out side of tires are all cracked on the side walls. The insides are like new. some times I junk a car out for the engine or the body goes to demo dereby. lots of times these cars have pretty new tars on them. I pull them off and stick them in the shed till needed on the pick up or trailer.

[maxz]

There has been some controversy about dealers selling aging tires that have been on the shelves for too long. They find the compounds deteriorate and soon render them unsafe. Do you know how to read the date on the tire?

Look at the DOT number and the last four numbers is the date of manufacture. Yesterday while getting my new tires, I asked to see the particular ones I would receive. The last four numbers were 2305. That means the 23rd week of 2005. Easy enough but not everybody knows about it.

thanks for the info. just checked a new set of tires. good to go

[green12]

There a bunch of gibberish on the tire. Dot code, some manufacture code. The last number in a oval is the date code. Anyway, a city car had a tire shake the other day. Had a Big O tire on it. We don't buy big O tires . Maybe someone went out of town and got a flat. . So, I was wondering how old the rest of the tires were. In some of the gibberish was BEER. Good tire.