What does a DOT Code tell me about my tyres?
Tuesday 7th June 2022Knowing the age of your tyre is a valuable step in making sure that your tyres are safe when driving on the road.
Do tyres expire?
A tyre is still considered to be fit for sale 5 years from the date of production, although your tyres can live beyond this date. It’s recommended that you replace them after 6-10 years, beyond this time your tyres may look safe, but could become brittle over years due to UV exposure.
How can I find out the age of my tyre?
By law, all tyre manufacturers must include the tyre ‘DOT Code’ on the side wall of car and truck tyres. Any tyres sold before the year 2000 can be identified by their three digits, whereas tyres manufactured after this date will have four digits. It is important to replace any tyres sold before the year 2000 as they could pose a significant safety risk.
What is a DOT Code?
DOT code (Department of Transportation) outlines the location of manufacture, tyre size, the unique identifier for the manufacturer and the year and month of production.
If you need to find this identifier it will be prefixed with the word “DOT” firstly outlining the manufacturer’s information, then the circled section states the week and year of production which you can see an example of in the image above. You can find a handy DOT decoder here, which will allow you to find out the exact age of your tyre in years and months.
Learn more about tyre maintenance at our page here as well as further steps you can take to make sure you are safe on the road here.
