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 Number (often referred to as the tire’s serial number).
Unlike vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and the serial numbers used on
many other consumer goods (which identify one specific item), Tire
Identification Numbers are really batch codes that identify the week and year
the tire was produced.
The U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
requires that Tire Identification Numbers be a combination of the letters DOT,
followed by ten, eleven or twelve letters and/or numbers that identify the
manufacturing location, tire size and manufacturer's code, along with the week
and year the tire was manufactured.
Tires Manufactured Since 2000
Since 2000, the week and year the
tire was produced has been provided by the last four digits of the Tire
Identification Number with the 2 digits being used to identify the week
immediately preceding the 2 digits used to identify the year.
Example of a tire manufactured since
2000 with the current Tire Identification Number format:
In the example above:
DOT U2LL LMLR 5107 |
|
51
|
Manufactured during the 51st
week of the year
|
07
|
Manufactured during 2007
|
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