Tyres are an integral part of any vehicle, and it is essential to keep them fit, safe, and sound for safe journeys. Any and every driver must know how to check tyre manufacturing date. Furthermore, it is also essential to visibly evaluate your tyre’s condition to take any precautionary or safety measures beforehand.
The most neglected part of the car might be the tires. The majorities of the people who own a vehicle emphasize keeping the exterior part of the body clean and neglect the condition of the tires. Tires are one of the most vital parts of the car. Without tires, you won’t be able to travel anywhere in your vehicle. On top of it all, your and everyone else’s life also depends on the tires. There are several tyre manufacturers and a list could be found here.
If the tires are old or not maintained properly, they may burst, leading to the car spinning out of control and putting the lives of everyone inside the vehicle in danger. Suppose you are driving your car and taking your kids to school in the morning when traffic flow is also high. Suddenly you hear a loud pop sound and soon realize your tire has burst.
Luck favors you, and you safely drive your car onto the shoulder without getting into an accident. You are shocked why the tires burst since you installed them only a few days ago and are new tires. It can be a challenging and confusing situation for motorists. If you are in Dubai, here’s a suggestion of a tyre shop in Dubai for you!
It is possible that there won’t be any need to physically or manually check the tyre’s expiry date in the future. Sensors and Sensor Fusion in Autonomous Vehicles can, in future, enable drivers and riders to check the status of a tire’s expiry automatically. However, at the moment, it isn’t possible.Â
How to Check Tyre Manufacturing Date?
The fact is that just like many other things which we consume and use daily in our lives, tires also have an expiry date. Now, most people don’t know about this, and when they buy a tire, they don’t check for the tire’s manufacturing date and purchase them, thinking it’s brand new.
The reality is that even though the tires you bought are brand new and haven’t been used by anyone, the tires may have been old and waiting to be sold for several years. For instance, you buy bread even though it’s brand new; you check the expiration date on it to see whether it is consumable or not. The same is the case with the tires.
You should check its manufacturing date irrespective of whether they are brand new. All the tires in the world have a manufacturing date written on them. The expiry date can be calculated by checking the date of manufacturing. The expiry date of a tire is 6 years after its production date.
Car experts and companies recommend that motorists change the tires after 6 years as they become a liability after that and become a significant risk. So, the fundamental question which comes to mind is, how can you avoid all this trouble? The answer is quite simple. Ask for the manufacturing date or check it yourself when you buy a new tire.
How to read and check the manufacturing date?
This article will help you understand how to read and check the manufacturing date of the tire so that you don’t buy an old one thinking it’s brand new.
Have you ever wondered how old my tires are? If not, now is the right time to ask this question. Knowing the age of your tires is essential for your family’s safety and yours as well. If the tire is older than 6 years, you are putting yourself in danger. Tires are composed of rubber.
When the rubber becomes old, it begins to crack and dry from the inside, which is not visible, and you may think your tires are in good condition based on their outer look. The tires’ manufacturing date is mentioned on the outer part of the tires in the form of digit codes. To better understand the manufacturing date, let’s look at these manufacturing codes before and after 2000.
MANUFACTURING DATE AFTER 2000
Since 2000, the tires have had a manufacturing code of 4 digits instead of 3 digits, inscribed on the sidewall of the tires. The first two digits indicate the week, and the last two digits talk about the year of production. Following is an example of a 4-digit code.
DOT T2MM KMKR 4809
The last four digits indicate that the tire was made in the 48th week of 2009.
The companies must mention the tires’ manufacturing date on the sidewall of each tire. However, existing regulations also demand that the DOT (department of transportation) and the four digits code be mentioned on the opposite sidewall. There might be a possibility that the manufacturing code on the tire may appear incomplete, and you need to read it on the opposite sidewall of the tire.
MANUFACTURING DATE BEFORE 2000
The tires produced before the year 2000 had a manufacturing code written, and they weren’t meant to be used for more than ten years. Even though the information mentioned on those tires was the same as today’s, the only difference was that the production week and year of the tires had a code of 3 digits.
The first two digits were for the weeks, and the last digit was for the year of manufacture. If your tire has a 3-digit code, you immediately need to change the tires. Let us look at the date of manufacture code before the year 2000.
DOT Ml7H PED 397
The last three digits indicate the manufacture date of the tires. Thirty-nine means that the tires were made in the 39th week, and 7 refers to the 7th year of the decade. The problem with these codes was that even though they mentioned the year of the decade, they failed to tell which decade it was.
SIGNIFICANCE OF REPLACING CAR TIRES
We only realize the importance of changing tires until we are stranded on the side of the road with a broken tire. At that time, the feeling of guilt starts kicking in, and you begin to realize why you did not keep an eye on the condition of your tires or replace them on time? We don’t realize that there are a lot of benefits of replacing old tires apart from avoiding being stranded on the side of the road.
One such benefit is that a good tire can improve the fuel average of the car and give better mileage which will save you a great amount of money on your gas. Another benefit is that the overall performance of your car depends heavily on the tires—for example, braking and acceleration.
WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE THE TIRES?
As already mentioned above, the life of a tire is 6 years. Anything beyond that becomes a high risk and should be changed immediately. However, try changing your tires after 4-5 years to be on the safer side. Car tire manufacturers usually give 4-5 years of warranty.
So, if you have bought a new tire, you can drive it for 4-5 years. But here is the tricky question. If you bought a brand-new tire from a shop in 2021, does that mean you should change the tire in 2025-2026? The majority of us would say Yes. However, that is not the case. You should check the tire’s manufacturing date before coming to any conclusion. The tires you bought may have a manufacturing date of 2018 which means you would have to change the tires in 2023-2024.
WILL THE PRODUCTION DATE OF ALL 4 TIRES BE THE SAME?
A critical thing to check and consider before buying a new tire is to make sure that you check the manufacturing date on all 4 sets of tires that you are purchasing. Don’t just check for only a single tire and assume that the others will have the exact production date.
There is a strong possibility that all the tires will have a different code written on them, which indicates that every tire has a different date of manufacture. After purchasing the tires, if you find out that all the tires have an additional year of manufacture, you should visit the tire shop and demand a refund or change of tires with the same year of production date.
WHAT IF YOUR TIRES DON’T HAVE A CODE?
If there is no code mentioned on the outer sidewall of your tire, then you don’t need to worry or panic. There might be a possibility that the code is written on the inner sidewall of the tire. The reason for doing this is that tire companies try to make it difficult for you to see the 4-digit code. They don’t want you to know the code. Grab your torch and try to read the code mentioned on the tire’s inner wall.
