You drive your car every day and take your tires for granted. They have nice, thick tread and they’re far from bald. But the health of your auto tires is important, and they could be older than you think. Auto tires are made of rubber and can dry and crack over time, often from the inside out. Tires that are too old can be a hazard on the road, so you should be aware of their age. Here's how to figure out the date that your auto tires were made.
Look at the sidewall of your auto tire and find the branding code known as the Tire Identification Number. It'll start with the letters "DOT," followed by 10, 11 or 12 more letters and/or numbers that tell you the location where your auto tire was made, its size, the manufacturer’s code, and the week and year it was made.
Note the last four digits of the code branded on your auto tire. It may or may not look like a recessed triangle. A code that ends in four digits indicates that your tire was made after the year 2000. The first two digits identify the week your tire was made, and the last two digits identify the year your tire was made. For example, DOT PK9R DFM 1208 means that an auto tire was made in the twelfth week of the year 2008.
Determine if your tires were made before the year 2000. In that instance, you'll see only three digits instead of four at the end. The first two digits tell you the week your auto tire was made, and the last digit indicates the year of the decade it was made. For example, DOT PK9R DFM 128 says that an auto tire was made in the twelfth week of the eighth year of the decade, or 1998.
Crawl under your car if the branding code is not visible on the outside of your tire. It may be hidden on the other side. Be sure to take a flashlight with you, because it may be too dark to see. Manufacturers don't like to make it easy for you to find out the age of your tire.
Check all four of your auto tires to find the date they were made. They may not have all been made together even though you bought them at the same time. Some tires may have been sitting in the tire shop for two years or more waiting for you to buy them, and they've already started their aging process.
