Tires: age of new tires, 4 digits, dot code

Question
How can I be sure that the 4 new tires I am purchasing for my 02 camry are fresh and have not been sitting around the shop for some time?  I understand there is a code on the tire after the DOT indicating the year it was made.  If I buy tires today what date should be on the tires.?


Answer
Mary Beth,

Here's how to tell how old the tires are:

First locate the letters "DOT" on the sidewall of the tire.  Nearby will be the DOT code.  DOT codes are 10 to 12 digits long.  BTW the digits can be numbers or letters.

The first 2 digits are a code for the manufacturing plant.  

The next 2 digits are a code for the tire size.  

The next 3 or 4 digits are a code for the type of tire.  

The last 3 or 4 digits are the date code.  The format is week/week/year/year or week/week/year.  These are always numbers.

Starting in the year 2000, the date coding used was 4 digits.  That means the largest number you should see for the year is 09.  Before 1999 the format was 3 digits.  1999 and 2000 are transition years, so you will find both 3 and 4 digits.

The date code only has to be on one side – and it is permissible for there to be a partial DOT code, so long as one side has the complete code.

If you get tires that are less then 3 years old, then that would be considered "new".  But it is common for tires that are older than 3 years old to be discounted in order to get them off the shelves.  In this case, you're getting a good price in exchange for a tire that is serviceable, but older.