Before you get behind the wheel for a long road trip, take a minute to answer one question that is important to your safety and the safety of your passengers: How old are the tires on your vehicle?
There is an easy way to identify the date a tire was made by reading its Tire Identification Number, which is also referred to as the tire's serial number. Tire Identification Numbers are batch codes that identify the week and year the tire was created.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) require that Tire Identification Numbers are on every tire. DOT serial numbers make up a combination of the letters, followed by ten to 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.
All tires made after 2000 have four digits representing the week and year each tire was produced. If a tire has a number code only three digits long, the tire was made in the 1990s.
You can determine the age of a tire by looking at the last four digits of the Tire Identification Number. The first two digits identify the week and the last two digits to identify the year.
Finally, when you buy new tires, hold on to your sales receipt. Some tire standard manufacturer warranties cover their tires for four years from the date of purchase or five years from the week the tires were manufactured.
Let's say you have a receipt showing you purchased new tires that were manufactured exactly two years ago. The tires will be covered four years from the date of the purchase for a total of six years since they were manufactured. If you lose the receipt in this same case, the warranty coverage for your tires will end five years from the week the tire was produced resulting in the tire manufacturer's warranty.
For additional convenience, Belle Tire provides customers their invoices via email with the warranty coverage listed. The warranty information provided can be for either the number of miles or years that the warranty is covered.
Visit a local Belle Tire store to speak with a tire expert who can help answer any questions you may have regarding the age of your tires.
