TIRE MANUFACTURE DATE AND AGE
Learn how to read the tire manufacture date and age of a tire
In this article, we break down the Department of Transportation number in to three sections so that you know how to read the tire manufactured date.
DOT Number
First, tires sold in the United States are stamped with a US Department of Transportation, DOT, number. Secondly, the DOT number is a series of 10–12 characters stamped on one side of the tire. Lastly, the last 4 numbers in the DOT number sequence indicate the date (week & year) the tire was manufactured.
Age of Tire
DOT number appears on one side of a tire as per DOT regulations. You may need to look on the opposite side of the tire to view the stamped DOT number. It is important to know the age of your tires to ensure safe operation.
In the image below, the example highlights the DOT number and circles the week and year with a read circle. The last part of the DOT number displays the week and year manufactured. This example shows 3909, 39 for the 39th week of the year and 09 for the year 2009.
